Jesse Bica, the world's fastest jump roper in the world.This is no joke...he won the World Championship Speed Jumper title in South Africa last year. I never even knew there was such a thing.
Last summer, as part of his Eagle Scout project, he organized a fundraiser for a friend who had been in a near fatal car accident. This fundraiser was a jumproping exhibition and included routines done by the whole "Hot Dog" jump rope team.
I went to this fundraiser and I was flabberghasted by what I saw. It wasn't just double dutch...it was gymnastics, it was speed, it was teamwork. It was a variety of athleticism that I had never seen before.
What I was most impressed by was the intricacy of their teamwork...each jumper was absolutely and totally dependent on the turners for the rhythm of their jumping, the coordination of their flips and somersaults, and ultimately the safe outcome of their routines. One wrong move and a flip between two ropes could result in a broken neck and permanent paralysis.
The turners depended on the rhythmic sound of the jumpers to keep their own rhythm.
It was all a very coordinated group effort made up of individuals' precision athleticism that caused me to re-think my definition of team work.
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