GREAT FALLS — This Tuesday and Wednesday at CMR High School in Great Falls, the Double Dream Team and Lewistown Hoppers jump rope teams teamed up with the Idaho Fall’s Proform Airborne jump rope team to bring kids of all ages a chance to learn the basics of the sport while promoting youth fitness.
Carey Hamrick, head coach of the Double Dream Team, helped coordinate the clinic to expand the reach past his place of work, Valley View Elementary School in Great Falls.
With the help of Lewistown Hopper’s head coach Loraine Day and some of the jumpers from the acclaimed Proform Airborne team, Hamrick was able to take steps in the right direction to achieve his goal.
“The goal is to eventually open it up to the community instead of to just one school to get more kids involved in the community to come out to jump rope and enjoy jump rope,” Hamrick explained.
“I’m super passionate about youth fitness being fun and a good thing and jump rope is a good niche for them” Day added.
However, though the sport's main focus is on participation, the competition and rigorous training are also emphasized. The three teams have seen regional and national competition having been to various tournaments and even the Junior World Olympics. Proform Airborne has even seen international competition in countless countries.
Preston Ballard has been jumping with Proform Airborne for six years and has seen firsthand where the sport can take you. “I have friends all over, in every continent and I learned how to speak with different people, people with different languages that I can’t understand,” Ballard explained. “It’s a good sport to have to learn those social skills.”
From a growing participation at the youth level and in the expanding community along with the competitive nature needed to perform at a high level, the sport of jump roping is trending upward in the Great Falls area and the state of Montana.
