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Kids Jump for Joy at the Apollo for Double Dutch Classic

By DNAinfo Staff on December 4, 2011 9:34pm

By Paul Lomax

Special to DNAinfo

HARLEM — More than 1,500 people packed into the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem Sunday to watch hundreds of kids of all ages take part in the 20th annual Double Dutch League Holiday Classic.

This year's event had special meaning for president and event organizer Lauren Walker, 38, of the Bronx, whose father started the jumprope event.

"This event always means a lot to me, but more so this year as it's the 20th memorial of when my late father David Walker [who passed away in 2008] started this from the streets of New York City and made it into what it is today — an annual international event," she told DNAinfo.

Navasia Madison, 16, and her pal Tailaya Tomer, 15, both from Brooklyn and members of the "Jazzy Jumpers," team have been showing off their skills at the competition since the 4th grade.

Kids from all over the world took part in this years Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Nov. 4th, 2011.
Kids from all over the world took part in this years Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Nov. 4th, 2011.
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DNAinfo/Paul Lomax

"We're having fun today," said Tailya, who began jumping rope at 8 and has won three speed competitions since then. "I love it. It's just so much fun!"

Navasia said she was looking forward to a win. "I'm here with my team and all my family and having a great time," she said. "I hope we win some prizes again this year."

This year's competition drew teams from New Jersey, North and South Carolina, New York and even as far afield as France and Japan to the landmark theater on 125th Street.

The classic dual jumprope game was brought to the New World by the Dutch.  When the English saw the Dutch children playing, they called the game Double Dutch, according to the National Double Dutch League's website.

The competition featured a speed round as well as "freestyle, which is a mix of double dutch, hip hop dance as well as step and anything your mind can think of," added Walker, whose father formed the National Double Dutch League in 1992.

The former NYPD detective helped transform the street game into a sport enjoyed around the world and held the first double dutch tournament in 1974.

"It's a sport, a youth activity started in the urban communities in your schoolyards," said Walker, who now heads the league her father started. "Generations of mothers, grandmothers started jumping rope as a street sport in New York City. Back in the day, they used clotheslines."

Since the first competition 37 years ago, the Double Dutch phenomenon has expanded through most cities of the United States and the world attracting nearly 100,000 kids who compete at national and international events.