JUMP ROPE

also called Skip Rope, game played by individuals or teams with a piece of rope, which may have handles attached at each end. Jump rope, which dates back to the 19th century, is traditionally a girls' playground or sidewalk game in which two players twirl a rope (holding it by its ends and swinging it in a circle) and the other players take turns jumping it while chanting a rhyme or counting. The jumps become more complicated as the game proceeds. Each player is required to move in while the rope is turning, complete the jump, and move out without contacting or stopping the rope. There are many types of jumps, including single, double, backward, crossed-feet, hot pepper, quarter turns, half turns, full turns, and two-at-a-time (jumpers); in double Dutch, two ropes are twirled simultaneously in opposite directions; in criss-cross, performed by one person holding both ends of the rope, the arms are crossed back and forth on alternate twirls. There are countless chants, many originally from Germany and England, associated with jump rope, which often dictate the actions or stunts to be performed, such as: One, two, touch my shoe Three, four, touch the floor, Five, six, pick up sticks, Seven, eight, double rate, Nine, ten, out again. or: Apples, peaches, pears, and plums, Tell me when your birthday comes. The jumper chants the names of the months, then the days up to the date of the birthday. In Chinese jump rope, a stationary rope or string, commonly elastic, is held in a rectangular configuration around two players' legs; the jumper performs designated hops in and out of the rectangle, with the rope being raised on each successive jump. Single rope jumping or rope skipping is an exercise popular with prizefighters to develop the lungs and legs.