Shaun Hamilton is a man who is serious about the competitive world of jump rope. He’s so serious about it that he’s the president of the World Jump Rope Federation. He took time on Tuesday, 26 January to talk about the sport with Troy Rotarians during their weekly meeting.

Hamilton, a former world champion of jump roping, has been part of the sport for 25 years and has traveled to more than 27 countries. Today, he markets jump roping as a competitive sport, speaking to schools and groups around the globe about the benefits of jump roping competitively and for performance.

Competitive jump roping involves either single rope or Double Dutch disciplines. There are two event categories involving speed, which means jumping as fast as possible in a given period of time. The fastest jumpers do seven revolutions per second. Another category is freestyle, which involves different stylistic gymnastic moves. Judges rate the moves based on creativity, complexity and difficulty. Hamilton was instrumental in forming the Troy Pop Rocks, which is a performance group. His input and expertise has helped lead that group to national and international recognition. Hamilton’s ultimate goal is to have competitive jump roping added as an Olympic event.

World Jump Rope is an international sports federation dedicated to spreading the sport of jump rope. They host high level performances and competition all around the world. Braga, Portugal will be the host country for the 2016 Championship and Camp event from July 19-27, 2016. To learn more about the federation, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit their Web site at www.worldjumprope.org.

Troy Rotarians, and the Troy Rotary Foundation, support several community projects annually. In 2014-15, more than $16,000 in scholarships and community aid was distributed from the fund, including the annual Shoe Project, Troy After Prom and support for summer camps at Brukner Nature Center and Waco Air Museum. Club members are always looking for new topics to share at weekly meetings. If you are interested in presenting your business or organization, please visit the Troy Rotary Web site at www.troyohiorotary.org and submit your information in the “Contact Us” section. Troy Rotary is a member-involved, goal-oriented service club focused on socio/economic issues that have an impact both locally and internationally. You can follow their activities on Facebook at Troy Rotary Club.