Franklin’s Hot Shots of Tennessee jump rope team leaped through Leap Day into 23 top-5 finishes in speed and freestyle events and brought home 41 ribbons from the American Jump Rope Federation Ohio Open held in Mason, Ohio, on February 29 and March 1. The Hot Shots were one of 19 teams competing for top honors, in a field of 250 athletes. The Hot Shots’ 12 competing members are students and alumni of Williamson County Schools.
The following jumpers earned ribbons in the Single Rope Speed Sprint, where athletes complete as many jumps as possible in 30 seconds:
Ethan Walker – 5th place, males 10-11
William Pogue – 4th place, males 15-17
Olivia Byrd – 3rd place, females 18 and older
The following Hot Shots earned ribbons in the Single Rope Double Unders event, where each jumper completes as many double unders as possible in 30 seconds. A double under is when the rope passes under the jumper’s feet twice during one jump.
Ethan Walker – 4th place, males 10-11
Noah Myers – 3rd place, males 12-14
June Haynes – 4th place, females 12-14
William Pogue – 1st place, males 15-17
Olivia Byrd – 4th place, females 18 and older
The following Hot Shots earned ribbons in Single Rope Speed 1X180, where each athlete completes as many jumps as possible in three minutes:
Ethan Walker – 4th place, males 10-11
William Pogue – 2nd place, males 15-17
Jacob Weatherford – 4th place, males 18 and older
Olivia Byrd – 1st place, females 18 and older
Three Hot Shots groups took ribbons in the Single Rope Speed Relay. In this event, each of the four athletes jumps for 30 seconds, one after the other in relay style, for a total of two minutes.
June Haynes, Emeline Lassiter, Olivia Melichar, Ethan Walker – 5th place, ages 12-14 mixed
Helena Cookson, Noah Myers, William Pogue, Keren Rosen – 3rd place, ages 15-17 mixed
Olivia Byrd, Delaney Talbert, Justin Thomas, Jacob Weatherford – 3rd place, ages 18 and older mixed
In the Double Dutch Speed Relay, Olivia Byrd, William Pogue, Delaney Talbert, and Jacob Weatherford took 2nd place in the 18 and older age division, mixed. In this two-minute event, each of the four athletes jumps in the ropes for 30 seconds and turns for two 30-second rounds.
Olivia Byrd, Delaney Talbert, and Jacob Weatherford also placed 5th in the Double Dutch Speed Sprint, where one athlete jumps for 60 seconds as the other two turn.
The Hot Shots were also successful in freestyle events, where jumpers choreograph a routine lasting 45-75 seconds. The following jumpers earned ribbons in their individual freestyle events:
Ethan Walker – 4th place, males 10-11
Delaney Talbert – 2nd place, females 15-17
Keren Rosen – 4th place, females 15-17
Jumpers also brought home ribbons in collaborative freestyle events:
Pairs Freestyle – 2 athletes choreograph and synchronize a routine.
William Pogue, Keren Rosen – 1st place, ages 15-17 mixed
Wheel* Pair Freestyle
Olivia Byrd, Delaney Talbert – 4th place, females 18 and older
*Wheel is a style of jump rope that includes two people with two ropes, both jumping but sharing different rope handles.
Double Dutch Single Freestyle (2 turners, 1 jumper)
Olivia Byrd, Delaney Talbert, Jacob Weatherford – 2nd place, ages 18 and older
Members of the Hot Shots attend Hunters Bend Elementary School, Grassland Middle School, Summit High School, Franklin High School, and Duke University. Team members have earned gold medals at the World Jump Rope Championship, appeared on the nationally syndicated Pickler & Ben television show, and been selected as Jump Rope Ambassador at the Arnold Sports Festival USA, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival. Sara Smith and Jacob Weatherford were also selected to staff the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Summercamp in Berlin this summer. In addition to preparing for the American Jump Rope Federation National Championship in Gettysburg in June, Hot Shots are trying to earn places on the 2019-2020 U.S. National Team to compete at the 2020 International Jump Rope Union World Jump Rope Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, in July.
For more information about the Hot Shots team, visit www.hotshotstn.org, like us on Facebook at Hot Shots TN Jump Rope, or follow us on Twitter @hotshotsjumpTN. For more information about the sport of jump rope, visit www.ijru.sport or www.amjrf.com.
