CINCINNATI — Hundreds of young athletes from across the country will descend on Cincinnati this month for the American Double Dutch League World Tournament — the first time the event has been held in the Midwest since it began in the early 1970s.
The tournament runs June 25-27 at Princeton High School and is free for spectators.
Three local teams are preparing to compete: the Cincinnati Double Dutch Rope Twisters, the Cincinnati Rhythm Ropers, and Cincinnati Premiere.
Gayle Brock, the state representative for the Ohio American Double Dutch League and one of two top world freestyle judges for the organization, helped launch the double dutch program at Cincinnati's West End YMCA. She expects 300 to 400 boys and girls to participate.
"Double dutch is not just single rope turning, but it's double rope turning where the ropes are turning in egg beater style. It can go slow and it can go fast," Brock said.
She traces the competition's roots back more than five decades.
"It's interesting because it literally started as a competition in 1973. There were some police officers in Harlem, New York, and they noticed the boys had football, they had organized basketball, but at that time the girls didn't have organized competitive sports," Brock said.
After establishing a formal set of rules, the competition has been held every year since. Athletes compete for trophies, jackets, and scholarships across three events: compulsory, freestyle, and speed.
In the speed event, jumpers must go as fast as possible for two minutes without missing.
"They have to jump two minutes. The idea is to jump as fast as you can without missing. Every time the left foot hits the ground, that's what the counter is counting," Brock said.
Leading the Cincinnati Double Dutch Rope Twisters is Dr. Elaysha Nicole Benson, a former world champion and an assistant principal for Cincinnati Public Schools. She has been jumping double dutch since fourth grade and says the program offers young athletes far more than athletic training.
"When you're in competition mode, a lot of things are really in your head, so we try to teach our young ladies to try and not be so hard on themselves and not to be in their head but to really live in the moment, have fun doing something that they trained so hard to do and at the end of the day, just put your best effort and best attention and effort on the floor," Benson said.
The program connects families to tutoring services and offers a sixth-through-12th-grade junior executive mentorship program.
"Before some of our kids got to us, they were getting suspended from school and struggling with their home lives, and I think when they joined the Cincinnati Rope Twisters, we had a lot to offer. And so with this program we are focused more on the academics and their self-esteem, more than we are at winning championships," Benson said.
For 10-year-old Julia Summerlin, the sport has been a natural fit from the start.
"I wanted to see what double dutch was about, so I joined and ended up being really good at it," Summerlin said.
The athletes say the rewards of the program extend well beyond competition, including making new friends that become like family.
For Summerlin, the tournament is a chance to show what she and her teammates have worked for.
"You're out there by yourself, it's like it's show time, it's my time to shine," she said.
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