Twice the fun

May 22—HIGH POINT — At 66, Audrey McLaurin isn't exactly your typical Double Dutch jump roper.

"I'm adventurous — I like to try different things," the Jamestown woman says with a chuckle during a recent practice session of the Southern Bellas, a local Double Dutch club for women 40 and older. "I got the urge to come out and see if I could still do it, and I did it. I love it."

As McLaurin suggests, Double Dutch isn't new to her. She remembers a childhood filled with Double Dutch days on the streets of Delaware, where she grew up, jumping with her friends until the streetlights came on and it was time to go home.

"Oh, it was just so much fun, being out there jumping rope and just being with my girlfriends," she says.

But that was half a century ago. Surely, she can't still jump like a schoolgirl, can she?

Oh yes, she can and she does — with a spring in those 66-year-old legs and with a smile on her face.

"She's full of life — she moves like she could be 18," says Southern Bellas captain Lisa Bogans, who started the club just over a year ago after learning of a nationwide Double Dutch movement among older women.

The national group, called the 40+ Double Dutch Club, has nearly 36,000 members. The Southern Bellas have about 16 members, ranging in age from their early 40s to their 60s. They practice every Tuesday from 6 to 7:15 p.m. at Washington Terrace Park.

Double Dutch, for the uninitiated, is a form of jumping rope in which the jumper jumps two long ropes that are being simultaneously turned in opposite directions. Sometimes additional jumpers hop in and jump with the first jumper, and tricks are often performed to add additional degrees of difficulty. As with traditional rope jumping, the best Double Dutch jumpers make it look effortless, which adds to the fun of watching.

The members of the Southern Bellas — most of whom jumped Double Dutch during their childhood — say even inexperienced jumpers can catch on.

"Anybody can jump as long as you want to learn how to do it," says co-captain Kina Kerr, 50, who lives in High Point but grew up in Brooklyn, where she learned Double Dutch as a girl and even jumped in sanctioned competitions. "It's really simple once you learn the concept of how the ropes go. Some of these ladies did not know how to jump when we started — they were intimidated by the ropes and were afraid to jump in — but now they're confident. It just takes some time."

Bogans, 53, also learned Double Dutch as a little girl, jumping with her three sisters in her native New Jersey. She even has some of the old trophies she won when she competed.

When she started the Southern Bellas last April, though, at least three decades had passed since the last time she had jumped.

"But you don't forget," Bogans says. "To me, it's almost like riding a bike — it's still fun, and we're reliving our young-girl memories."

Another co-captain, 50-year-old Mimi Gorham — who grew up in New York jumping Double Dutch — says she never forgot how to jump, either, but her body wasn't ready for the shock the first time she jumped with the Southern Bellas.

"It was hard at first, especially on my knees," Gorham says. "But I'm good now. I do single-rope jumping at home to stay active so it won't hurt as much."

In addition to the fitness aspect of jumping Double Dutch, the Southern Bellas have discovered another obvious benefit — sisterhood.

"We're all women of different ages, but the camaraderie is great," Gorham says. "A lot of times, we'll go to lunch or dinner together, and we just have a great time together."

Kerr agrees, explaining that the women enjoy "a sisterhood kind of thing."

"We all work, we've got regular jobs, we've got kids, we've got grandkids, but we have a lot of fun with each other," she says.

That much is evident during their Tuesday evening practices, when the shouts of encouragement and the frequent laughter are loud enough to be heard throughout the park.

Even 66-year-old McLaurin, the group's oldest jumper, fits right in.

"Oh, the sisterhood is wonderful," she says. "I have so much fun. I can't wait for my Tuesdays."

Sounds as if McLaurin has come full circle. She grew up having fun as she jumped Double Dutch with her girlfriends, and 50 years later, she's doing the same thing.

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579