Double Dutch was known as a little girl's game seen on the sidewalks and in parks throughout the five boroughs. It wasn't until 1973 when two NYPD Police Officers turned a vision into reality. NYPD detective Ulysses "Mike the Cop" Williams watched a police-organized one-mile cycling race in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park. There were races for boys and races for girls and according to Mike, the girls did terrible! He'd seen girls playing double dutch on the streets throughout the city and had an idea for an event where the females could shine. Mike called on his friend and fellow cop David Walker to take the street game to the next level. The two began to contrive the sport of double dutch, taking rules from other sports and applied it to the game. They took elements from track and gymnastics such as speed testing: how many times players could jump over the rope in two minutes. The gymnastics element includes compulsory tricks which is what we know today as "Coordination Drills". Two turns on the right foot, two turns on the left foot, two criss-crosses right over left, two criss-crosses left over right, ten high steps with knees to waist parallel to the floor. The final element they included was like ice-skating, the competition ended with a three-minute freestyle.
To systemize the sport they organized a police department–run league and reached out to public schools asking gym teachers to start spreading the sport. The first ever official double dutch tournament took place in Harlem at Intermediate School 10 on West 149th Street in 1974. There was a sponsor, Royal Crown Cola, and the New Yorker even wrote an article published on March 11, 1974. From there, with their commitment, the sport grew. The NYPD Officers toured the country teaching double dutch in public schools. "It grew to the point where USA Jump tried to get on board," says Mike. "But it belonged to the streets of Harlem."
Their initial dream was to make double dutch an Olympic sport and at the start it looked like an achievable goal. 50 years later it is still not an official category at the Olympic Games. Double Dutch Aunties are true New Yorker's representing from North to South, East to West. We honor their legacy by picking up the torch and jumping from state to state to keep the legendary NYPD Officer's dream alive.
The sport was created in 1973, however, the first ADDL competition was in 1975 at Lincoln Center, in New York City". In June 2023 hundreds of people from across the United States traveled to Sumter, SC for the 50th World Invitational Double Dutch Championship.
Fifty-six teams participated this year. All teams had to qualify in their states and traveled from New York City, Connecticut, North and South Carolina, Massachusetts and Ohio. Coach Kizzy attended the milestone event with a new generation of jumpers to witness teams of all ages going up against the best.
Double dutch is a varsity sport in some NYC schools joining the list of thirty-four other varsity sports played in NYC high schools. The city has co-ed teams, many in predominately-black neighborhoods.
The first tournament was organized at a NYC public school in 1974 and It's apart of our legacy. In the early 90's some of our members enrolled in Double Dutch gym course at Walton High School and it's where some members was first exposed to the sport.
Today, we partner with teams and nonprofit organizations to produce annual tournaments to qualify teams for advancement to various league World Invitational & Championship competitions.
Double Dutch Aunties are advocates and many are graduates of HBCU's. We pride ourselves on exposing youth and professional adults continuing their education to HBCU via our campus tours from North the South.
In the 1920s and 1930s, historically black colleges developed a strong interest in athletics. Sports were expanding rapidly at state universities, but very few black stars were recruited there. Black schools hired coaches, recruited and featured stellar athletes, and set up their own leagues.
Some of our athletes that have participated in partnership events have gone on to attend institutions of higher learning across the United States and Virgin Islands.
Double Dutch Aunties are legacy AAU members. Our adult members grew up participating in AAU Track and Field and Basketball clubs in NYC. Now our children and grand children are members and athletes on traveling teams in different states. Coach Kizzy is the Jump Rope State Director and produce qualifying tournaments from north to south for teams to advance to the annual AAU JRO's.
The AAU Jump Rope program offers opportunities for boys and girls, ages 22 and under, in all skill levels to participate in jump rope. Events are held throughout the country, including local competitions, invitationals, District Championships and the National Championship.
We offer coaching services and partner with city parks and recreation centers to offer free or low cost Double Dutch and Jump programs. Our experienced coaches and instructors provide personalized training sessions to help athletes improve skills and achieve goals.
Our team administrators, club directors and coaches must complete the Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Online Courses:
LEVEL 1: Double-Goal Coach I: Coaching for Winning and Life Lessons
LEVEL 2: Double-Goal Coach II: Culture, Practices and Games
LEVEL 3: Double-Goal Coach III: Developing Triple-Impact Competitors
Double Dutch Aunties are not only members and athletes, many are competition judges. We offer something for everyone! Our training program is filled with powerful tools that are based on the latest research in sports psychology and reflect the "best practices" of elite judges, coaches and athletes.
We offer workshops to provide the tools our Judges need to help youth athletes improve their skill. Double Dutch Auntie members have judged local tournaments at parks, public schools, World Invitational and AAU Championship Qualifiers. Contact us for more details on judging workshops and tournament opportunities.
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