App State finds itself home to many club sports, from alpine skiing to rugby to soccer, but two freshmen hope to highlight a lesser-known sport: jump rope.
App State Jumps, while not yet a club sport, is looking to bring people interested in jump rope together in a noncompetitive environment.
Maggie Kepner, a freshman interior design major, started competitive jumping in second grade. She continued until sixth grade, when the sport became too much of a time commitment. Kepner said she would wake up at 6 a.m. on a daily basis in elementary school to practice jump rope.
“I was just not ready to commit to all that, but it was fun. I just thought this was a good way to have something not as extreme,” Kepner said.
Neela Bell, a freshman art education major, has known Kepner since kindergarten, and the two call each other their best friend. Bell moved elementary schools, but the two remained friends and both ended up at App State. The pair are from Hillsborough.
While Bell does not have the same history with jump rope that Kepner has, she grew up playing soccer and finds jump rope is an enjoyable way to keep up with cardio.
“I’m not really a jump roper, but I will be,” Bell said. “I’m just trying to help out with the club, and it’s so fun actually doing it.”
According to a study from the National Institute of Health, jump rope saw an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, with those who jump rope indoors for physical activity increasing from 4% to 8% of people. #JumpRope has 1.7 million posts on Instagram, and UNC-Chapel Hill has a collegiate jump rope team that competes on a national level.
Clare Shoffner, a sophomore, started jump roping in elementary school for a physical education class, like Kepner. Shoffner’s physical education teacher was also the coach for her local jump rope team, the Apex Skip-Its. He would look out for kids who especially excelled in the jump rope unit.
Shoffner was part of the Apex Skip-Its from third grade until she graduated high school. Shoffner didn’t compete, rather she did performances. Jump rope performances involve doing a routine with tricks and music in the background.
Kepner, on the other hand, did competitions, including an individual speed jumping event to see who could get the most jumps in a span of thirty seconds.
Shoffner’s favorite trick is called an Awesome Annie, where she places one arm under her leg, jumps on the leg her arm is under, then switches legs, jumps again and switches again, totaling to three jumps.
Kepner said her favorite trick is a Frog Jump, where she starts in a handstand, and manages to jump over the rope and land back down on her feet.
Shoffner said she’s looking for a jump rope community at App State because she loves the special connections she is able to make with others due to the rarity of the sport.
Shoffner attributed the sport’s lack of popularity to the association it has with kids.
“It’s like something you do on the playground. But then, after that, you kind of forgot about it and don’t really do it anymore,” Shoffner said.
Kepner said, in her experience, people tend to take jump rope less seriously than other sports.
“When we were at the club fair, some people were laughing,” Kepner said. “Jump rope’s kind of silly to them, you know?”
Shoffner compared the sport to dance and cheerleading. She said she’d like to see jump rope in the Olympics one day, and it’s sometimes included in the Junior Olympics.
Shoffner grew up mentoring younger teammates on her jump rope team, and she enjoys teaching others who are less familiar with the sport. She looks forward to helping out others in the club, as it is open to those who have no experience with jump rope.
Kepner and Bell hope to expand to a club sport one day, but they said that will be a big challenge. Their main goal right now is to have fun with the club and provide a space where people who are interested can learn.
“I’m not very good at it,” Bell said. “I can jump with a single rope, but I’ve been really trying to get the double dutch recently. Once you get it a couple times, it’s just amazing. I feel so accomplished. That would probably be my favorite part.”
