Victorian Rope Skipping Championships
Last Sunday, 10 students from St Joseph's travelled to Melton to compete alongside 6 other teams in the Victorian State Rope Skipping Championships. The students each competed in 4 events in the B Division, comprising of 2 individual speed events and 2 pairs events.
With great excitement, and a few nerves, the students started the day with their individual 30 second speed skipping and 1 minute speed skipping events. Speed skipping involves alternating your steps as fast as you can for a set period where only your right foot is counted every time it touches the ground. It has taken the St Joseph's students a term to master the speed skipping technique and all of their hard work paid off on the weekend with several of our students winning medals in their individual events.
In the afternoon it was time for the Pairs events. Pairs events involve two competitors skipping as a team in both speed and freestyle. The first event up was the Pairs Speed Relay. This is a 60 second speed relay for 2 with each competitor skipping 30 seconds using the alternating step. The combined score for both competitors is used as the final score.
The final event of the day for the St Joseph's skipping team was the Pairs Freestyle. In this event 2 skippers complete a synchronized routine to music for 60 secs. Out of the 4 events this is the most challenging event and it involved many hours of preparation for our students in the lead up to the competition. All pairs performed their routines in front of 4 judges and it was wonderful to see them all finish with big smiles on their faces.
Whilst our students achieved fantastic results across all of their events, it was even more pleasing to see their positive attitude and support of each other throughout the day. I was so proud of them as they cheered each other on and congratulated their team mates when the winners were announced.
Isabelle Freeman
Congratulations to all of our competitors. Below are some of the results achieved:
30 Second Individual Speed
- Grace McKeown, 7th place (11-12 Age Group)
- Milla Emmerson, 2nd place (9-10)
- Hamish Beedell, 1st place (8&U)
- Lenny McGrath-Lorenzo, 2nd place (8&U)
- Michael Conron, 3rd place (8&U)
1 Minute Individual Speed
- Ellie Fielding, 7th place (11-12)
- Milla Emmerson, 1st place (9-10)
- Gaby Noonan, 2nd place (9-10)
- Hamish Beedell, 1st place (8&U)
- Michael Conron, 2nd place (8&U)
- Frances McKeown, 3rd place (8&U)
Pairs Speed Relay
- Milla Emmerson & Gaby Noonan, 2nd place (9-10)
- Hamish Beedell & Michael Conron, 2nd place (8&U)
- Amelia Wells & Lenny McGrath Lorenzo, 3rd place (8&U)
Pairs Freestyle
- Grace McKeown & Ellie Fielding, 4th place (11-12)
- Milla Emmerson & Gaby Noonan, 2nd place (9-10)
- Amelia Wells & Lenny McGrath-Lorenzo, 2nd place (8&U)
- Frances McKeown & Daniel De Jongh, 3rd place (8&U)
Some comments from our competitors:
I enjoyed doing the pair relay because it was a lot of fun. I got a bronze medal in speed skipping and silver in the pair relay and the partner routine.
Michael, Grade 2
I really liked the speed skipping because it’s fun to look at your score. I got a gold for both 30 second and 1 minute speed skipping and a silver medal for the speed relay.
Hamish, Grade 2
I liked doing the 1 minute speed skipping because I did really well in it. I got bronze medal for the pairs free style event with Frances.
Daniel, Grade 2
It was very scary but I had a lot of fun and I'm very proud. I liked how everybody put all their effort into this and how Mrs Freeman organised the whole thing.
Frances, Grade 1
Lenny- I felt nervous and proud and excited. I had to practice a lot and it was really hard but it goes easier because I kept on practicing.
Lenny, Grade 1
I felt happy and really enjoyed it and I was proud. I'm really happy with myself and my teacher Mrs Freeman because I had to put a lot of effort into it.
Amelia, Grade 1
