THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507010187
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHELE SNIPE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Pounding feet compete to beat the ropes.
Stomp ... stomp ... stomp ... stomp ... stomp ... stomp.
The feet are almost a blur.
Suddenly, Allisa Keeling grabs her sneaker, extending her leg above her head. Then, she spins around, jumping on one foot.
Stomp ... stomp ... stomp.
There's jumping rope. And then there's Double Dutch.
Just ask 14-year-old Allisa.
She and 30 other members of the Norfolk Express All-Stars recently returned from Charleston, S.C., where they competed in the 22nd World Double Dutch Championships.
Norfolk Double Dutchers still haven't quite ``jumped'' into national prominence, but they're getting there. Three of the 14 teams that competed - the fourth-grade singles team, and the eighth grade and open division (high school graduates and older) doubles teams - placed sixth.
The top five teams went on to the finals.
Back at Norview Recreation Center, the eighth-grade team wasted no time jumping back into action. They practiced stunts they learned at the competition.
Coach Pamela Gadson, 32, also known as ``Stunt Woman'' because of her zest for new tricks, watched as team members did splits, cartwheels, flips and other stunts.
``Their motivation kicks in right after the competition,'' she said, shaking her head as if in disbelief.
Just then, Allisa screamed, ``Ouch, I have a concussion in my stomach,'' as she crouched on the floor holding her waist, laughing at her own silliness.
The ``wheelbarrow'' stunt she was practicing with All-Star Keny Jones, 14, didn't work out quite right.
``It's not that we don't have the ability,'' said Juanita Etheridge, team program director and coordinator. ``We have good jumpers but not good competitors.''
Team members get intimidated by watching their opponents perform, she said.
But jumper Tuesday Fuller, 13, said, ``We're going to do better next year because we learned and experienced more from watching others.''
It has been three years since the state team was organized. The number of statewide participants has grown from 20 to 210.
All 18 recreation centers in Norfolk have contributed jumpers and rope turners, who competed in the statewide competition. The state winners went on to the World Championships.
Although Double Dutch may seem like a new phenomenon, the sport has been around since the 1890s, originally brought to the United States by Dutch settlers.
Double Dutch requires two ropes spun in egg-beater fashion, with one hitting the floor, followed quickly by the second.
But the history is not all that important to the All-Stars.
These kids want to make some history of their own by winning a national championship.
``We look at Double Dutch not as something that you do just for fun,'' said Keny, one of five male team members. ``This is where it is serious. People who won the championship got scholarships.''
But winning takes speed. All-Star Alici'a Thornton, has a high of 258 jumps in two minutes. An opponent at the competition jumped 451, putting Norfolk's jumpers to shame.
Scoring for the competition is based on a two-minute speed round, a 30- to 40-second compulsory round and a 45-second freestyle round.
The compulsory category consists of an entrance and an exit, two turns, 10 high steps and a criss-cross step. During the freestyle round, jumpers perform choreographed routines.
Routines are judged based on difficulty, execution and originality.
The team's poor performance during the speed competition kept them out of the finals, Etheridge said.
But at Norview Rec Center, Alici'a Thornton, with a high of 258 jumps in two minutes, didn't seem to have trouble keeping her head low and her feet moving as team members beckoned turners to spin the ropes faster.
To guarantee their success at the World Championships next year in Savannah, Ga., they need to get mad, Gadson said.
``They have to have a good mind, stay motivated, have attitude and discipline themselves,'' she said.
As Gadson looked on, Allisa performed a round-off into the ropes. She then fell to the floor in a split and returned to her feet without a hitch.
Stomp ... stomp ... stomp. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BETH BERGMAN
The Norfolk Express All-Stars recently competed in the 22nd World
Double Dutch Championships.
by CNB