Chicago Double Dutch group heads to national competition
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Double Dutch Organization, Jumping Juniors, will participate in a major Midwest competition this weekend at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
It's the first Chicago competition for the group which was created in 2020 to get kids active during the height of the pandemic. The nonprofit aims to empower young girls while bringing Double Dutch to neighborhoods throughout Chicago. Through word of mouth, the program has spread to four locations: Tuley Park, Palmer Park, Woodlawn, and Beverly.
"Our first camp started out with pretty much 30 girls, and right now we've had over 300 girls to come through our camp. As we grow, we get more and more girls, and try to open more locations." said co-founder, Lolita Scott.
The "Jumping Juniors" participated in their first competition hosted by the International Double Dutch League over the summer in Washington D.C. Saturday's "Afro Jump" competition will bring teams from across the country to the DuSable.
"We've been preparing for the last few months. This is really huge for us, for Chicago. Chicago has never had a competition of this size. This is a Midwest competition in collaboration with International Double Dutch League, the girls have been going in and practicing every day and doing the best that they can," said co-founder, Paulette Jones.
The "Afro Jump" competition consists of three components where the teams are tested in the categories of speed, coordination, and freestyle. The freestyles are all performed to afro beats. Saturday's competition kicks off at 11 a.m.