Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope team highlights end-of-summer camps

Summer is winding down and the start of the traditional school year is approaching, so recreational athletes around the Triangle are taking advantage of their final summer sports camp opportunities.

Among the camps are the annual Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Camps conducted by the Chapel Hill-based organization that has won numerous national and international championships. The Bulldogs recently returned from a 17-day tour of England, Denmark and Sweden.

The quick-footed Bulldogs' final camps of the summer run Aug. 10-14 and Aug. 17-21. Would-be rope-skippers can participate for a day ($40) or for a full week ($200). Call 919-493-7992 or go to www.bouncingbulldogs.org.

Coach Ray Fredrick said Monday night that a few openings remain. Campers attending the Aug. 17-21 camp will get a bonus - they'll get to see the Canadian national team training with the Bulldogs.

"Then next summer in London we all compete for the world championship," said Fredrick, who added that the public is welcome to watch the sessions.

The Bulldogs' international experiences don't end with the camp. "The heartbeat of jump rope is right here," Fredrick said as he described the Bulldogs' next international event, a gala event planned for the first weekend in November. Details will be announced later.

The Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Team won their their sixth national team title at the USA Jump Rope National Age Division Championship held June 25-27 in Galveston, Texas. The Bulldogs competed against 72 other teams from 41 states.

In the speed competition, the Bulldogs broke two age division records and won the Overall Speed Team title.

In the 12-and-under age division, the Bulldogs' Single Rope Speed Relay Team -- consisting of Ilana Fried, Madeline Futch, Aninda Manocha and Morgan Smith -- produced a score of 681. That broke the previous division record of 680, which the team set at the 2009 Region 2 Qualifier in North Carolina.

In the 12-and-under age division, Ilana Fried, Madeline Futch and Morgan Smith set division record in the Double Dutch Speed Relay with a score of 617. The previous record of 590 was set by Bulldogs team members in 2007.

Mary Hunter Benton tied the female 18-and-over record in consecutive triple unders, and she won the Grand National Champion Award in Female Triple Unders for her score of 264 (the number of consecutive triple unders multiplied by 2).

In the USAJR Freestyle Competition, the Bulldogs and the other 72 teams were tested in rope skill, creativity and performance presentation. The Bulldogs placed second in the Small Group Team Show and received numerous awards in other single rope and double dutch events.

With their six gold, four silver and one bronze medal in freestyle events, along with several fourth- through 10th-place finishers, the Bulldogs earned the Overall Freestyle Team Title.
 
In addition to winning the Overall Speed Team and Overall Freestyle Team Awards, making the Bulldogs 2009 USAJR Grand National Champions, the team had the top all-around individuals.
 
Individual All-Around Champions
Female Junior Division (age 14 and under)
1, Morgan Smith
2, Madeline Futch
3, Anna Reeb
 
Female Senior Division (age 15 and up)
1, Mary Hunter Benton
2, Erica Zenn
 
BOUNCING BULLDOGS' medals
Speed and Freestyle individual, group and team events
Gold 37
Silver 52
Bronze 13
 
Bouncing Bulldogs 2009 Nationals Team Members
1. Nicole Abrahams
2. Madison Bennett
3. Mary Hunter Benton
4. Eleanor Christopher
5. Lindsay Crater
6. Taylor Ellis
7. Ilana Fried
8. Madeline Futch
9. Emily Greshes
10. Rachel Hare
11. Jamie Katz
12. Ollie Kuo
13. Erika Ladd
14. Haley Malek
15. Aneesha Manocha
16. Aninda Manocha
17. Morgan Mann
18. Andrew Mauch
19. Briana Merrigan
20. Hannah Merrigan
21. Lily Merrigan
22. Isabella Mezzatesta
23. Rebeccah Musson
24. Isabel Osborne
25. Pasangi Perera
26. Anna Reeb
27. Luke Riley
28. Reagan Roeber
29. Kenzie Ruston
30. Una Sammon
31. Jennifer Savino
32. Brighton Smith
33. Morgan Smith
34. Graham Stopa
35. Mia Stopa
36. Paige Tatum
37. Scott Taylor
38. Austin von Alten
39. Whitney Watkins
40. Grace West
41. Mary Margaret West
42. Adam Weston
43. Isabel Whitcomb
44. Emily Williams
45. Kristina Witcher
46. Kara York
47. Erica Zenn

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- Teri Boggess