Double dutch team ropes in gold at AAU Junior Olympic Games
August 27th, 2009
Article originally found at SouthtownStar.com
Byline: TANIA KARAS
Publication Date: 08/27/2009 12:00 AM
The Pink Panthers double dutch jumpers are a blur of pink and black as they flip-flop, skip and cartwheel between two ropes slicing through the air around them.
The rope makes a sharp pitter-patter as it smacks against the blacktop outside the Hazel Crest Recreational Center where the team practices.
The Pink Panthers’ 15- to 17-year-old team recently brought home the gold medal for overall excellence, placing in all five events at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa and becoming the first Illinois team ever to win gold overall at the competition. And the Pink Panthers’ 13- to 14-year-old team received a bronze medal for their overall performance, medaling in two events. While the team had won gold medals in individual events at previous national competitions, they’d never taken team gold before. ‘We did not think we were going to win,’ said Tiffany Dickerson, of Homewood, a gold medalist jumper for the 15-to-17 group. ‘They announced us and everyone started screaming. The whole team got up and we were all just hugging and yelling.’ It was a dream come true for team, which head coach Joyce Dickerson started on a whim five years ago when her daughter Tiffany and some friends showed an interest in double dutch.
The group now consists of almost 50 serious jumpers ranging in age from 5 to 17, seven volunteer coaches and a host of choreographers and professional double dutch jumpers who volunteer as needed to help improve the girls’ skills.
Pink Panthers jumpers come from Chicago Heights, Homewood, Calumet City, Matteson and Hazel Crest. The team has grown by word of mouth. ‘It just took off and every year we got bigger and better,’ Joyce Dickerson said. ‘The girls can jump over each other in the rope and do flips in the rope. People don’t realize how athletic and how creative double dutch can be. The girls take jump rope to a whole ‘nother level.’ Their sport is a hybrid of gymnastics, jump rope and acrobatics. Two turners control the ropes’ movement as one or two jumpers perform tricks inside.
A jumper might begin by cartwheeling into the spinning rope, then continue to jump in a push-up position on the ground or standing with two girls stacked on her back.
All this, while maintaining their composure and smiling. ‘Inside the rope you can do just about anything you can do outside the ropes,’ Tiffany Dickerson said. ‘You can flip another person, you can do the splits, flip-flops. ‘I just like the reaction we get from shows we do. First everyone’s like ‘Jump rope?’ They think that’s a joke. Then when they see us everybody be surprised and shocked. It’s just something different.’ The Pink Panthers practice three days a week during their regular season, which runs from October to May. They perform in local parades, talent shows, block parties and town festivals.
They typically participate in two competitions per year, but are looking to increase to five for the upcoming season. After all, a nationally ranked-team needs to keep challenging itself.
Coaches challenge the girls to succeed outside of practice as well. Team members need to keep up a minimum 2.5 GPA in school in order to practice, and girls often help each other with homework to keep up their grades. Skills learned in double dutch extend well beyond fancy rope tricks – lessons such as teamwork and sportsmanship can be carried to many other aspects of life. ‘Teamwork is very important in double dutch,’ said Michelle Cagle, of Homewood, a jumper for the 13- to 14-year old bronze-winning group. ‘If two girls have a falling out, they need to get over whatever they fell out about. ‘That’s the most important thing about double dutch. You put everything else aside and just jump.’ TAKING HOME THE HONORS
The two Pink Panthers double dutch teams competed in five events at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa July 31 to Aug. 3: Single speed, in which one person jumps as fast as she can for one minute. 4-by-30 relay, in which four jumpers take turns jumping for 30 seconds each. Double under, or power, in which the two ropes turn simultaneously rather than one after the other. Single freestyle, in which two rope-turners and one jumper take turns showcasing their best tricks. Double freestyle, in which two jumpers do partner tricks together.
Tiffany Dickerson, DaJae Robinson, Carissa Townsend and Shareefah Williams, all on the Pink Panthers’ 15-to-17-year-old double dutch team, won gold overall. They won gold in single speed, 4-by-30 relay and power, silver in pairs freestyle and fifth place in single freestyle.
Michelle Cagle, Loren Jones, Taylor Jones and Alayna Rouse, all on the Pink Panthers’ 13-to-14-year-old team, won bronze overall. They received a gold medal in single speed, silver in 4-by-30 relay, fifth place in single power, fifth place in single freestyle and sixth place in pairs freestyle.
Toni Dickerson, Latonya Goodson, Alyson Harris and Amber Lane, also part of the 15-to-17-year-old team, won bronze medals in both single and pairs freestyle events. The Pink Panthers are looking for sponsors for a trip to a national competition in Boise, Idaho in February. For more information, visit www.pinkpanthersdoubledutch.com or phone (708) 647-0506.
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