On May 3, a  crowd of parents and the just plain curious packed the bleachers of Boothbay Region Elementary School to take in an hour-long demonstration of jump roping courtesy of the school’s jump rope club. Led by BRES instructors Lauren Brown and Donna Jordan, the group has students in grades two through eight.

“We prepare for this show all year,” said Brown, who also is the school’s physical education instructor. “Jumping rope is an excellent cardiovascular exercise.”

The group is now in its sixth year. The season is divided between fall and spring sessions. To prepare for the show, the jump ropers sacrificed one of their recesses and attended an early morning practice on Tuesdays, said Brown.

The event featured a number of solo and team demonstrations. Clad in canary yellow T-shirts, the students began the show with a spirited run around the gym before breaking off into groups. With a not-so-subtle soundtrack as inspiration (“Jump” by 1980's metal-pop band, Van Halen), the squad ably demonstrated the creative uses of skipping rope, from rodeo-inspired lassoing to the popular urban style of double dutch. According to WebMD, jump rope can improve coordination, help ease stress, and help with bone density.

In attendance to watch his daughter Kyla, Boothbay resident Brian Warren may have summed it up best: “It looks hard but a lot of fun.”