ATLANTA — A group of Georgia women over 40 is keeping their childhood love of Double Dutch alive, meeting weekly to bond and enjoy the sport.
“40+ Double Dutch Club allows you as a woman over 40 to stay in shape and be healthy," said team captain Swan Fleming. "We went from being just seven ladies coming out to jump and just get away from adulting to now over 40,000 members and 100 clubs all over the world."
The members of the 40+ Double Dutch Club range in age from 40 to over 80 and represent various shapes, sizes, races, skill levels and backgrounds according to club founder Pamela Robinson.
There are four clubs in the Atlanta area.
“You don't look at it as although it's exercise, you exercise because you're having so much fun," said 69-year-old member Glenda Brewer.
Ages proudly displayed on their matching t-shirts, the members say they're stepping between the Double Dutch ropes and back into childhood.
“Summers I would go to New York and we would double jump out in the street til the lights come on," Fleming recalled. "It's always been a culture thing for little Black girls. That's what we did in our community for fun."
During Black History Month, the group is hoping to share their love for and history of the sport.
“It's an inexpensive sport, so that is a clear connection to the Black community," said member Renee Whaley. "There wasn't a lot that we had, so we had to go with what we had to make fun for ourselves. We actually used the clothesline rope to jump Double Dutch when we didn't have our rope of our own. It brought all of us together.”
Double Dutch took off during the Great Depression, a common sight in Black communities across the nation.
By 1973, it became an official competitive sport, and a major influence on the rise of hip hop.
“I come from the projects in Chicago," said 66-year-old member Annie Long. "Everybody there was African American. As a kid, the rope was like pretty much all the toys that we had. So that's what we did. It's like a heritage thing, you know. You have Double Dutch.”
The group is made up of friends, moms, and grandmothers. But on Double Dutch day, they're those little girls again.
“It's just like riding a bike," laughed Long. "I hadn’t jumped in about 40 or 50 years. And it just came back to me just like that!”
Just like that, a pastime makes a comeback. And childhood memories become a grown-up’s renewed love.
"It has gone past sisterhood, we have gone on to be in a movement," said Fleming. “We're gonna keep this movement going even when we're gone.”
