March has already given us a spring in our step
but it’s about to get even more active with National Skipping Day. 18th March
is the 14th National Skipping Day and this year it’s expected that over 50,000
children will be taking part. With organised Skipping Workshops, 2016 could be
the biggest simultaneous skipping event on record.
Skipping is a fantastic cardio work-out that’s
fun and active. It’s used by the US Olympic team to increase their
medal-winning chances and can increase footwork skills for footballers, wrist
endurance for tennis players and accuracy and agility for cricket players. The
benefits are limitless and can also help improve skills for swimmers, field
athletes and dancers.
It’s a skill that should be encouraged in
children from an early age and while skipping in the sports hall is a brilliant
way to exercise, combing the activity with playground equipment can bring it to
the top of the fun-o-meter.
We remember the days of playground skipping
games, so here are some of the Playforce team’s favourite ways to take this fun
activity outside:
- Side straddle - One
turn of the rope with your feet together, the next with your feet apart. The
same motion as a jumping jack.
- Ex - Jump with your
feet together, then with your feet crossed, back together and then crossed the
other way.
- Slalom - Jump over
the rope with your feet together from one side to the other like a slalom
skier. Top tip: draw a line on the ground to jump over for guidance.
- Mirror skipping -
Grab a friend to share your rope. Face each other and hold the rope in
alternate hands. As the rope comes to the ground, skippers lift corresponding
leg and pass the handle underneath to the other hand. As the rope lifts up
again, the handle is passed back to the original hand.
- Chain skipping - Can
be played with two or more friends. Stand in a line and swap handles with the
person next to you. Count in and skip as if you were holding your own ropes.
Unison is key or everyone goes down like dominoes.
At Playforce, we know that the fear of grazed
knees and bruised elbows can make the thought of skipping outdoors less
appealing. That’s why we created our safer surfacing to ensure that bumps and
bangs are as pain-free as possible. Find out more about our surfaces and our
playground equipment for schools here.
To discuss your playground needs in any more detail why not pick up the phone to one of our specialists?