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Abbotsford jump rope athletes: Skipping to Nationals

Locals shine at Provincial Jump Rope Championships
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Abbotsford rope skipping athletes excelled at the Provincial Jump Rope Championships, which ran from Friday to Sunday at Rick Hansen Secondary.

More than 100 competitors battled it out, with trips to the nationals on the line.

Abbotsford was represented by the Skipping Sensations and RopeWorks, and members from both teams qualified for nationals.

Individual events ran on Sunday, and the format saw athletes compete in four events (freestyle, 30 sec speed, consecutive double or triple unders depending on age, and three minute speed). One-hundred points was awarded for first place, 99 for second and so on. These scores were then added to compute the overall score.

The top eight in each age group then qualified for nationals.

In the female 18 to 29 division, Arden Mills from the Skipping Sensations and Kourtni Eckstein from RopeWorks placed second and third respectively to qualify.

The female 15 to 17 division saw locals earn six of eight national spots.

Those qualifying included Skipping Sensations athletes Kaeli Wiens (first), McKensi Paton (third), Faith Stewart (sixth) and Sadie Baird (seventh).

RopeWorks competitors Natalie Jorgensen (fourth) and Ellory Smith (fifth) also performed well.

The female 13 to 14 division saw the Skipping Sensations secure seven of the eight national spots.

Abbotsford skippers Sarah Korstrom, Clea Brummitt, Libby Baird, Lexi Reitsema, Stella Voth, Taryn Leppky and Casey McAvay all made the cut.

In the female 11 to 12 division, the Skipping Sensations qualified Olivia DeWit (second), Hayden Voth (fourth) and Kyra Hauff (seventh).

Abbotsford dominated the 10 and under female division, with all eight spots going to locals.

Skipping Sensations athletes Kendra McLaughlin, Grace Bensler and Haley Wilms finished first, second and third, while RopeWorks competitors Eden Bergen, Sophie Todd, Hailey Andersen, Venecia Watrin and Kendra Madill finished fourth through eighth.

Team events ran all day on Saturday, but because both local clubs mixed up their jumpers in the eight different events or did not compete in all eight events, none of the teams qualified for nationals.

The Skipping Sensations’ senior team set a new national record in the 4x30 second speed relay (their record score averages 173.5 jumps each in 30 seconds).

In individual competition, Faith Stewart set a new record in consecutive triple unders with 102, only to have it broken by her teammate Kaeli Wiens in the very next heat.

In other news, McKensi Paton of the Skipping Sensations won the senior sportsmanship award.

The opening ceremonies on Friday featured guest speaker Kourtney Kujawa, and also showcased performances from the junior and senior group shows.

Skipping Sensations head coach Deirdre DeGagne said the event showcased the local growth of the sport.

“One thing we are excited about is that we have reached a point in B.C, and in particular in Abbotsford, where we have a good recreational base of young jumpers who did not attend provincials, but will in the future,” she said.

“Whereas in the past, the sport tended to peak in numbers in the 12 to 14 age group, we now have a larger number of athletes aged 13 and older, in particular 15 and older in our competitive stream.”

She added it’s also great to see many longtime athletes make the transition to coach, including Kira Glasgow and Brittany VanHerk from the Skipping Sensations, and Emily Whitman and Kourtni Eckstein from RopeWorks.

Qualified athletes now head to the Nationals, which run from May 19 to 22 in Kingston, Ont.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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