Jumping into fun: USU jump rope club welcomes all
© CWild Photography Jump rope club members Maddie Miller, left, Sadie Sadler, Brandon Hammond, Sydney Schmidt and Liz Rasmuson pose for a photo during practice on Oct. 27.
When it comes time to register for athletic clubs, students across campus look at their options. While most are drawn towards more traditional sports like soccer and basketball, a small group of students gather to share a unique passion: jump rope.
Since its founding in 2017, the organization has been able to hold practices, performances and competitions. They had an especially strong year in 2020, earning bronze at the collegiate cup in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Club opportunities like this are fairly unique to Utah State University, as the Aggies are one of only 22 schools across the nation to be recognized by the National Collegiate Jump Rope Association. Many students have enjoyed the activities whether they want to compete, make friends or learn a new skill.
Coach Sydney Schmidt, a longtime jumper at USU, spearheads much of the program.
“So we’re a club sport, really recreational. We’re a place for people to come and learn about the sport of jump rope because a lot of people don’t know that it’s a competitive, international sport. We do a lot of teaching and learning, collaborating with single rope, double Dutch, and other fun events,” Schmidt said.
Coaching students has been a big part of Schmidt’s time at Utah State.
“It’s a way to be creative and it’s also a great way to exercise. It looks crazy good on resumes, it catches your eye because people don’t know about it. It also gives the opportunity to work in a group, teach other people, and also compete if they’re interested and do shows if they’re interested in putting themselves out there,” Schmidt said.
Some join the club new to the hobby. Others, like Schmidt, reminisce on childhood memories as they jump.
“I grew up jump roping so I’ve been doing it my whole life, in Montana mostly. When I moved here there was already a club started by a girl who jumps here that I used to compete against,” Schmidt said. “She had this started and I just kind of came on and joined the club. When she left I got more into the leadership.”
Senior Brandon Hammond joined in his first year at Utah State on a whim but has begun to take it more seriously.
“I found out during my freshman year at Rec Fest. They were doing an event, teaching double Dutch jump roping, and then me and my friend thought it was cool and joined,” Hammond said. “We do a lot of things, performances, competitions, we focus a lot on service with club sports and any opportunities that come up through other events and organizations that invite us to their things.”
Jump roping has let Hammond find a new way to express himself on campus. The club’s benefits have improved both his mental and physical health.
“I think it’s helped me, it’s given me a really good environment of great people to hang out with. It’s been a really good form of exercise, having a place to output a lot of stress and anxiety I have about school. And it’s a really good break from everything else I have in my life. It’s just fun,” Hammond said.
Sadie Sadler echoed these sentiments as the jump rope club has helped her feel more comfortable in her first year as an Aggie.
“I went to the day on the quad and was always interested in it. I signed up for it and came to the practices,” Sadler said. “It gives me a break. It’s fun to meet new people and try something new even though it can be scary. But it’s honestly one of the best times to take a break and have some fun.”
While traveling is expensive, the club hopes to travel to Indianapolis this spring and return to competition.
“Most competitions are not here, so if we compete it’s going to be further away. It’s been expensive to do that so we haven’t competed in a few years, but we hope to this coming spring in Indianapolis,” Schmidt said.
Students who are interested in attending can register at usu.edu/campusrec for just 10 dollars.