USU freshman jumps his way to second in world championships
Jared Orme, a freshman in computer engineering, placed second in the singles World Jump Roping Contest in Seoul, Korea.
Earlier this year, Orme and three other team members placed first in the team World Jump Roping Contest.
Orme said he started jumping 13 years ago in Juneau, Alaska when his sister joined the team.
His family moved to Teton, Idaho, and he joined a team in Rexburg, Idaho, currently called ProForm Airborne.
He said his mom has been very supportive with six of her eight children jumping and has worked as assistant coach on the team.
“I’ve been practicing every day at the HPER in a corner of the gym,” Orme said.
In addition, he said he has been traveling home every weekend to practice with his team.
“The biggest thing [Orme] has going for him is his attitude,” said Alex Macbeth, Proform Airborne head coach. “Once an athlete reaches a certain point, it’s the attitude that matters. His is always up and willing to help out with other kids. It plays back on his performance.”
Orme said the competition he just returned from consisted of four events. The first event was called 30-second speed.
“Your feet move so fast that the judges only count when the right foot hits and multiply it by two. You alternate feet as you jump,” Orme said.
He scored 174 on this event.
The next event, three-minutes speed, “is all about endurance,” Orme said. He jumped 850 times and placed first in this part of the competition.
Triple under was next. This is a compeition in which the judges count how many times the contestant gets the rope to spin three times in one jump without messing up. Orme scored 158.
The fourth event was freestyle, in which a participant gets 1 minute 15 seconds to do whatever he or she pleases. The judges score on a scale of one to 10 and Orme received a 9.
The overall score put Orme in second in the world.
MacBeth said ProForm Airborne hopes to travel to Belgium for the next team World Competition in April.
Orme said he plans on being on that team. Teams consist of four or five members.
Before going to Belgium, however, ProForm Airborne must qualify within the top three teams in the United States at a competition held in California in January.
Orme said there are hundreds of teams that compete for these slots in the United States.
The team competition is an octatholon of events, Orme said. There are four speed events and four freestyle events. The team alternates single rope with double dutch.
Macbeth said freestyle consists of gymnastics, different rhythms and switching positions from ‘turner’ to ‘jumper.’ It is normal to see back tucks, pushups, roundoffs and A-frame combos during a performance without the rope stopping.
“It’s been a lot of fun to coach,” Macbeth said.
He said his team performs many times a year at schools and halftimes. They will be coming to do a halftime show at Utah State University and elementary school shows in Logan on Nov. 28.
“The best part is all the places I get to travel,” Orme said.
He said he has been to Europe, Japan and Hawaii.
“Not many have this kind of opportunity,” he said. “Working out all the time isn’t always easy or fun but there are so many benefits.
“I love jumping. It’s a blast,” he said.
Orme said Utah is currently one of the only states that does not have a jump roping team but he hopes that changes. His team is sponsored by ProForm Icon here in Cache Valley.