TORI (age 12; Team: River Valley Skippers, West Virgina) is both a cute, precocious little girl and a fierce competitor with intense drive to be the best. In any kid, this sort of determination would be remarkable; in Tori, who suffers from asthma, it is nearly superhuman.
EMILY (age 16; Team: River Valley Skippers, West Virigina) believes in the Golden Rule and says “After the Lord and my family, jump rope is the most important thing in my life.” Introduced as the reigning Female Individual World Champion, she can hold her own against male competitors and has earned accolades from Sports’ Illustrated. Will she stay on top?
MARCUS (age 19; Team: Ropin’ Rockets, Ohio) says, “Without jump rope, I would be dead or in jail.” Introduced as the reigning Male Individual World Champion, he is a natural athlete with spectacular showmanship, high expectations for his team and a growing recognition that his temper could be a setback.
Best friends NICK (left) and JEFF (right) (ages 18; Team: Razz Ma Tazz, Texas) think that “if it’s not the hardest, it’s not the best” – whether or not they prevail. They make their routines so difficult that they can rarely do them without mistakes. In their quest to advance the sport, for these two, risk is its own reward.
LEE (age 20; Team: Summerwind Skippers, Idaho) is a mechanical engineering major in college and completely obsessed with jump rope. He is a creative innovator and the mad-scientist of the sport, meticulously cataloging every possible jump rope move in a book that he calls “The Jumphabet.”
JAZ (left) and STYLE (right) (ages 15 & 14; Team: West End YMCA Rope Twisters, Ohio) have grown up jumping double Dutch on the streets and dream of the sport becoming an Olympic event. Realizing that the only way for them and their sport to get and acclaim is to go “wide”, they attempt to compete in a new jump rope league for the first time.
SHAUN (Community Outreach Coordinator, United States Amateur Jump Rope Federation; age 23) is the philosopher of jump rope and coach of Team USA for the world championship. He is an international evangelist for the sport, helping teams to get started, teaching skills and promoting unconditional sportsmanship.