Nov 22, 2008 5:26 pm US/Eastern
'Jump Hope': Double Dutch As An Olympic Sport?
NEW YORK (AP) ―
Double dutch has gone global.
The time-honored pastime of American black teenage girls is now such an international hit that a Japanese team keeps winning the annual competition at Harlem's Apollo Theater. Enthusiasts are asking the International Olympic Committee to make it an official sport in future Games.
This year's Apollo event is on Dec. 7. It's set to feature men, women, boys and girls from Japan, France, Belgium, the Virgin Islands and the United States.
Double dutch involves two people turning two ropes at the same time, in eggbeater fashion, while others jump, avoiding the ropes.
A New York Police Department community affairs officer turned it into an intramural girls' sport in the 1970s and took a team to Japan in 1996.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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