THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604280049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Quista Mack started with a front flip, moved on to two handstands and finished with a back flip. That she accomplished all this inside two spinning ropes did not go unappreciated by the crowd at Booker T. Washington High School on Saturday during the Double Dutch State Championship.
They cheered, whistled and stomped their feet in the gym bleachers for Mack, the oldest competitor and clearly one of the favorites in the jump-roping finals that determined which teams would go to the nationals in early June.
Competitors - most of them girls from Norfolk - came in all shapes and sizes and all levels of ability. Obviously nervous, some ``messed up bad.''
More than 150 girls and boys participated in three-person singles teams - two rope-twirlers and one jumper - and four-person doubles teams with two jumpers. They practiced moves in the school hallways before entering the center circle of the basketball court, waiting for the announcer's echoing voice.
``Judges ready. Jumpers ready. Timer.''
Then, within the minute or two allotted, they made their moves, living and dying by the rhythm of ropes. A groan went through the crowd when a competitor tripped and the rope stopped spinning momentarily.
Left, right.
Left, right.
Knees up.
Slap under the knee.
Hold up one leg and jump in a circle. Reach down and slap the floor.
Cartwheel out of the twirling ropes.
Team banners and posters on the walls told who was there: Crossroads Cruisers. Huntersville Pacers. Tarrallton Jumping Hornets. Berkley Dazzling Cougers. Diggstown Jumping Panthers. Titustown Jazzy Jumpers.
Most competitors wore white shorts, brightly colored T-shirts with matching socks and white sneakers, and their hair neatly tied back.
``It's really close. We can't tell who's in the lead,'' said event coordinator Pam Gadson. ``The tension's there. It's so close.''
Gadson said some kids were so excited they were up by 5 a.m., ready to go.
``It's fun because you can express yourself,'' said Ashlee Banks, 9, a member of the Fairlawn Tigeresses.
``I like the competition with each other,'' said Katara White, 12, of Titustown. ``I like testing my skills. We challenge each other to be all that we can be and go for first place.''
Gadson said the competitors must be versatile, have a good attitude and be determined and disciplined. To stay on a team, members have to get good grades and get along well with others.
``We've been practicing for two months,'' said 9-year-old Aria Williams, a member of the Diggstown Jumping Panthers. ``We messed up three times, but we could still win because we did our best and we had no attitude and we only dropped the rope once.''
Most of the kids dream of being as good as Mack, who has been jumping competitively since she was 16 and who qualified for the nationals Saturday as a member of the open division team for jumpers older than high school age. Now a sophomore at Shaw University in Raleigh, Mack says she thinks the sport keeps young girls out of trouble and teaches them values and skills that will help them later in life.
``It's been a great experience,'' she said. ``It got me a lot of recognition because I was one of the best. It seems like it just came natural.''
Mack is attending Shaw on a full basketball scholarship and plays softball, too. Her major is recreation, with a minor in criminal justice.
As she headed back into the gym to prepare for her next routine, a young contestant came running up to her, sweat dripping down her forehead.
``We made it through the whole thing without messing up,'' she said, out of breath.
Mack just smiled and gave her a thumbs up. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Quista Mack, center, performs with the Super Express in the state
double dutch jump roping competition on Saturday at Booker T.
Washington High School.
by CNB