Utah's only jumprope team hopes to motivate the 'average athlete'


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SALT LAKE CITY —Finding the inspiration to exercise can sometimes be difficult. When it comes to competitive athletics, team jump roping doesn’t usually leap to mind.

But for one team of kids and young adults, they say the solution is easy, just jump right in! Sponsored by Intermountain Healthcare, “Just Jumpin’” is the only competitive jumprope team in Utah.

"Just Jumpin" recently helped the diverse student body at Salt Lake’s Lincoln Elementary to celebrate some recent fundraising success that brought a cartload of badly needed playground equipment.

Principal Peggy Paterson thought it would be an exciting way to kick off Spring.

“Winter’s over, Spring’s here. Let’s get out and get active,” Paterson said.

While the team’s tricks are hard, their message is simple.

“It just takes a pair of shoes and a rope and you can have fun,” said jump rope team organizer Patrice Wynn.

"You don't have to be on the school basketball 
team or the top scorer in soccer. You can have 
fun and you can be active, including jump rope. 
You just need to get out there and do something 
fun." -Team member Jeremy Lindstrom
"You don't have to be on the school basketball team or the top scorer in soccer. You can have fun and you can be active, including jump rope. You just need to get out there and do something fun." -Team member Jeremy Lindstrom (Photo: KSL TV)

It’s quite typical to see jump ropes everywhere at recess once the jump rope team pays a visit.

“They’ll be jumping and going nuts. That’s what happens at every school we go to,” Wynn said.

After eleven years, the team's schedule is always jumping, with scores of practices and performances each year. The team has received quite of bit of attention.

“We jump all over the state of Utah, it’s awesome,” Wynn said.

Wynn also says last year at Nationals the team took fourth in freestyle and this year they only hope to do better.

Still, their main mission is to motivate the average athlete in all of us.

"You don’t have to be on the school basketball team or the top scorer in soccer," team member Jeremy Lindstrom said. "You can have fun and you can be active, including jump rope. You just need to get out there and do something fun.”

For more information about performances, booking the team or even being a part of it all, visit www.justjumpin.org

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