Essex Energizers skipping team to compete at nationals in Windsor

Local skippers are gearing up for a national skipping rope competition this weekend which will be held at St. Clair College.

The Essex Energizers are the only local team that will be competing inthe competition. More than 35 competitors have qualified for the tournament.

Skippers spent Thursday evening working on their speed, correcting their routines and practising their jumps.

This is the first time in more than a decade thatnationals will be held locally and, for 16-year-old Reed Hewitt, that has its perks.

"My friends have never been able to see me compete ... They have never been able to see me skip at the level I am now," said Hewitt, who already has a national championship under his belt.

Hewitt said his friends used to think skipping meant "in the school yard with a rope." That was until he showed them a video of him doing a "standing back tuck TJ" a move where Reed does a black flip and continues to spin the rope around him at the same time.

Athletes of all ages will participate in several different competitions throughout the weekend. Judges rank the teams based on creativity and difficulty.

"Not everyone can do it, just like other sports," said Emma Teskey, who has been competitively skipping since she was six. "It takes a lot of skill."

When questioned about whether or not competitive skipping should be called a sport, Teskey said, "the level of sweatythat I am when I leave, I think speaks for itself."

Teskey said the team practices at least twice a week, sometimes more around a serious competition. She said a lot of hard work and technical training goes into each session.

The goal for these athletes is to qualify for the World Championships.

Teskey, who is both coaching and competing this weekend said it's the largecompetitions like nationals that keep her coming back every year.

"It's the love of the sport, when you are out there competing it just feels great and it's different, it's something different than all your friends did."