Empower Kibera Youth Through Jump Rope

Carolina for Kibera’s jump rope team, the CFK Sprinters, is in top gear preparing for the August In-House Competition and Camp! Each year, the in-house competition—which helps train and prepare individual jumpers for future competitions—takes place over the August holiday. Athletes compete, train together, and exchange tips and tricks to help each other improve and gain confidence going into the next big competition: One World One Rope’s annual East Africa Jump Rope Championship. This year, the East Africa tournament will take place in December right in the Sprinters’ home town of Nairobi!

This year, there is much excitement around Sophia Opiyo, a young athlete who is looking to defend her title as the fastest single rope jumper on the team. Two years ago, after only 4 weeks of training, she recorded the highest speed of anyone on the team by jumping 67 times within 30 seconds. Breaking—or even matching—her record will require focus, fortitude, and a deep desire to represent the Kenya jump rope team during the championship.

Aside from the in-house competition and camp, jump rope’s status as an official sport in Kenya has helped two athletes from the CFK Sprinters tremendously. These two players have been admitted to one of Nairobi’s elite high schools! It is almost impossible for a child from Kibera to get in, let alone pay for the school since school fees are incredibly high. However, these two athletes have benefited from jump rope’s official status as a sport—a process led by CFK staff—and have been awarded scholarships to attend. They will keep skipping rope at school and we are lucky to have them in Nairobi to compete!