The 40+ Double Dutch Club and other groups are returning women and girls to an urban pastime many thought they had left behind.
But that informal play began to wane in the 1970s as a New York league added rules and regulations, competitive double-Dutching entered schools, and gang and drug warfare made some city streets more dangerous. The rise of the internet since has kept more children indoors, too.When Robinson was a child, double Dutch was her “happy place.” For her, as for many women, returning to the game in adulthood symbolized a return to caring for herself, after years of taking care of others.
Now, the Facebook group has more than 50,000 members, and 40+ has more than 100 subsidiary clubs around the world, including a few in Germany, Israel and Canada. Rita Jackson, 58, of Lorton, Va., said she had grown up double-Dutching in New York but left when she was 11. She joined 40+ after her daughter went to college and she craved more social interaction.
When she was 78, Young was working as an election judge and heard about the group from a colleague. She attended a meeting. “It was just so rewarding,” Young said. She closed her eyes. “It just made me feel great. I hadn’t jumped in ages.”
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