Primary school jump rope team from SW China's Chongqing shines on int'l stage

"Start warming up! Let's get moving!" With the weather having warmed up, the jump rope training hall at Xinhua Primary School in Qianjiang district of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has become lively. At the command of coach Yan Jing, the team members quickly lined up and began basic exercises.

The training hall was shrouded in darkness, as the lights remained off. "This is to simulate a 'dark environment' and train the children's sense of touch and reaction ability," Yan explained.

Members of the jump rope team train at the school. (Chongqing Daily/Courtesy of the interviewee)

The Xinhua Primary School jump rope team claimed gold medals in the Single Rope Individual Freestyle in the 9-11-year-old group girls' group, the Double Dutch Single Freestyle in the 9-11-year-old group, and the Single Rope Team in the 12-15-year-old group at the Asian Jump Rope Championships 2024. The team also took home three silver and three bronze medals at the event.

Yan encountered freestyle jump rope by chance in 2012. He was deeply captivated by the rhythmic music, flying ropes, and cool movements. Freestyle jump rope not only provides effective exercise with minimal space requirements but also offers versatile training methods.

"I wanted to use a jump rope to fulfill the sports dreams of children in the mountains," Yan said.

That fall semester, the jump rope team of Xinhua Primary School was established. "Recruiting members was challenging," Yan recalled, adding that the first batch of team members were mostly from the track and field team. They won first place in the team freestyle at Chongqing's jump rope competition for primary and secondary schools.

The jump rope team gradually attracted more children. "The first batch of our team had 13 members, and now it maintains around 30 students," Yan said.

"Since its establishment, the jump rope team has won 18 gold, nine silver, and eight bronze medals, and broke two world records and three Asian records in various international and national competitions," said Yang Rao, Party branch secretary of Xinhua Primary School.

Behind these achievements is the dedication of daily training. "From Monday to Friday, we train every morning from 6:30 to 7:50, and again in the afternoon from 5:30 to 6:30. We also train on weekends and holidays," Yan said.

Yan has also developed a speed-jumping technique. "Compared to traditional straight-body jumping, the bent-body jump can increase speed by shortening the rope's radius while reducing the impact on the spine from high-intensity exercise." This technique has been recognized and promoted in the industry and is often seen in international competitions.

As speed increased, the question became: how to make freestyle jump rope more creative? During an exchange event, Yan Jing learned from foreign coaches that some countries had incorporated dramatic performances into freestyle jump rope. This inspired him.

At the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Jump Rope Championships, he led the Qianjiang team wearing ethnic costumes to perform a combination of jump rope techniques and Tujia ethnic dance, which garnered widespread attention online.

"We hope to use jump rope to bring more of our hometown's distinctive culture to bigger stages," Yan said.