Jump roping is not for the weak. And jump roping competition demands strength. Lori Dion is the School District 49 jump rope team coach, and she and 19 young jump-roping enthusiasts traveled to Orlando, Fla., in June to compete in the USA National Jump Rope Tournament at Disney World. The competition will be televised on ESPN in September. Last year, the team won in the single-rope speed relay 12 to 14 years old division. This is their 10th year in the nationals and their seventh year participating in the Junior Olympics. Fifty jump ropers compete with the D 49 team.The girls practice four to five times per week two hours per day. Their jump-roping shape leads them to other sports, too, like basketball, softball, tennis and gymnastics. Rose Waskosky enjoys jump roping because the trips are fun and she likes to compete. Ten-year-old Nicole Dion likes meeting other people. Nicole won the Junior Olympics for the 9 years old and under category.The program began in Falcon in 1998, and, since their first year, the girls have qualified for the United States Amateur Jump Rope National Tournament and the Amateur Athletic Union’s Junior Olympics. They have marched in parades and jumped at Spring Spree, the Balloon Classic, the Air Force Academy, Chapel Hills and Citadel malls and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. They have also performed in at various schools in D 49. The jump ropers are young philanthropists as well, teaching kids from D 49, the Girl Scouts and the Romanian Adoptees. They have helped raise thousands of dollars for the American Heart Association and volunteered their time at “Joy Rides for Down Syndrome’s Buddy-Up” night. Every year, the team donates school supplies for KKTV’s “Back to School” drive.The D 49 team is the only one in Southern Colorado; Boulder, Denver and Pueblo have jump rope teams as well.The team and their parents raise funds throughout the year to help with travel expenses. For more information about the team, contact Lori Dion at 380-9862.We’ll report back next month on how they performed in Orlando.
