Elise had her first jump rope competition this weekend. She was participating just for the experience to see what competition is like. She is in a competitive age bracket with lots of girls who have been jumping much longer than she has, so she wasn't in a position to medal. That kept some of the pressure off, but we both had nerves wound as tight as the braids on her head that morning at 7:00 when we left the house.
The first events of the day were speed - male and female single rope speed (60 seconds), male and female endurance speed (3 minutes), male and female triple unders, single rope speed relay, double dutch speed relay, and double dutch pairs speed. Who knew there were so many different ways to do speed? The floor looks like this during the speed events with up to 12 athletes jumping at the same time. In each section, three judges count each time the jumper's right foot hits the floor.
Elise was only entered in the female single rope speed event. She started out smooth, consistent, and fast. You can hardly see the ropes during the speed events. They jump with coated steel wire ropes which are nearly invisible once they get moving.
Unfortunately, about 40 seconds into it, she landed on the side of her foot, twisting her ankle. It hurt me just watching it. I knew it must have hurt her. Somehow, she managed to compose herself and finish out the minute, but she came limping off the court crying at the end. We treated the ankle with ice and ibuprofen and treated the disappointment over a lousy speed score with hugs. Fortunately, she had a couple hours to relax, ice her ankle, and get a snack before she needed to jump again.
Freestyle went much better. She flubbed a rope release trick and accidentally omitted one section of the routine, but overall, she was happy with her performance. The day definitely had its ups and downs, but she says she definitely wants to compete again, so I would call it a success.
Here is the video of her day:
Since her double dutch partners did not enter this competition, Elise was done after single rope freestyle and could relax the rest of the day anxiety-free and enjoy watching her teammates compete.
In the afternoon, spirits sank as one of our team members was seriously injured. One of the most talented athletes on the team (the only one on our team who qualified for the FISAC World Championships in a singles event) was in the practice gym doing a move he has probably done thousands of times, a mule kick. It involves basically diving into this position:
I'm still not clear on exactly what happened, but something went horribly wrong. Imagine that move without the hands in place. He came crashing down on his head and face and was knocked unconscious. When we came to, he was dazed and had amnesia. His double dutch teammates were crying and felt responsible. Our coaches were shell-shocked and trying to hold back tears. He is a sweet, popular kid on the team and one of the team mentors. Elise has taken private lessons from him, and everyone on the team, both parents and athletes were upset and in shock. When the ambulance arrived, the EMTs initially said they were going to take him to the local hospital but after examining him, decided to take him to the big hospital with a trauma center. As much as we all tried to keep our smiling competition faces on, he was the main focus in everyone's minds.
I credit the coaches and kids though with finding a way to bounce back. The top 5 teams in each division advance to nationals. In the double dutch division that this team would have competed in, there were six teams competing, so without A, they couldn't have qualified for nationals. USA Jump Rope gave the team permission to substitute another jumper for A and jump in the last double dutch heat. That gave them about 15 minutes to teach another jumper A's part in the double dutch routine. They only had to beat one team to advance. The two athletes who had been turning for A when he fell had to wipe away their tears and focus back on jump rope. The three of them went out on the floor laughing, having no idea if they could pull it off. They did. It was amazing. I think adrenaline kicked in, and they jumped their hearts out for A. They finished 3rd or 4th and qualified to move on to nationals. A ended up being released from the hospital late that night with a concussion and mild hernia in the neck. I'm not sure how long his recovery will take, but we were all glad to hear he was back home.
It was a long, draining, emotional day but a lot of fun too. Elise is excited to do more competitions, and I think it will be less stressful now that we know what to expect. I loved watching all the amazing talent in the room, and look forward to going to another one. This is the best team picture I got. It was one of those, "Fifteen different cameras are taking pictures and every kid is looking at a different one" sort of photos. It is a great group of kids.
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