About a dozen women gathered at Rogers Park on Saturday morning for double dutch, hula hoop, hop scotch and line dancing.
All the women had one thing in common: They were all over 40 years old.
The gathering was part of Inglewood’s 40+ Double Dutch Club, which was founded in 2021 by Stacy Adams Wright.
“The members who started with us from the beginning, said the sisterhood of our group saved them during the pandemic,” said Wright, 61.
The group’s typical workout usually lasts at least 90 minutes each morning, but it’s the camaraderie that keeps them together.
“Some people can’t jump but they can turn (ropes), they can fellowship and have a good time,” said Carolyn Omotayo, 56, who’s been with the Inglewood club for three years. “I think just getting together no matter what’s happening in your life, is very uplifting.”
The double dutch club provides a community for women over 40, who can feel overlooked by society. It also provides a space where women are seen, celebrated and supported by other women who are in similar phases of life. Outside of staying fit, the group also uses their double dutch skills to uplift the community through hosting events at museums, schools, churches and for incarcerated women.
Members said those experiences are about making connections.
“It’s a good workout, I love meeting new people and it’s therapeutic,” said Annette Smith, a club member in Inglewood.
The 40+ Double Dutch Club started in Chicago
Inglewood’s group is actually a subclub of the 40+ Double Dutch Club, which was founded by Pamela Robinson 10 years ago in Chicago.
“In the beginning, a lot of people came out for the double dutch, but they stayed for the sisterhood,” Robinson said.
Robinson told The LA Local she started the club after ending her 20-year marriage and it was exactly what she needed as she navigated that difficult transition.
“When you’re playing outside, you’re not thinking about the stresses of life,” Robinson said. “You’re having fun.”
Through social media, public events, and community outreach, she said the 40+ Double Dutch Club has a simple message that socializing and fitness don’t have to disappear after 40.
“We’re inspiring women over 40 and letting them see that as long as you’re moving and connecting with other women, you’re winning,” Robinson said.
Since its founding in 2016, the 40+ Double Dutch Club has evolved into an international network of women, with more than 75 subclubs or chapters throughout the United States, Canada, Germany, Israel and Ghana, Robinson said.
Clubs host double dutch events at schools, churches, for women who are incarcerated, girls in juvenile detention centers, at homeless shelters, and food pantries throughout the country.
As the group began making a name for itself, they released a 40-minute film in 2022 entitled “Beyond the Ropes: The 40+ Double Dutch Club Documentary”, which now airs on Tubi.
In July, the club will hold its annual National Play Date in Chicago, with nearly 1,000 women expected to attend, Wright said.
“This sisterhood is needed and I love the fact that we have women of all races and cultures,” said Wright, founder of the Inglewood club.
Here’s some double dutch history
The National Double Dutch League describes double dutch as “a rope skipping exercise played when two ropes are turned in eggbeater fashion.” When the ropes are turned by two people, one on each end of the ropes, a third person jumps within the ropes.
Double Dutch has been a staple in Black communities and urban neighborhoods since the 1940s, according to the National Double Dutch League. For 40+ Double Dutch Club members, stepping into the ropes is about more than exercise — it’s about a sense of cultural identity and revisiting a simpler and less restricted time in their lives.
But the benefits go far beyond childhood memories. Jumping rope is a high-impact cardiovascular workout that improves coordination, endurance and mental sharpness.
“It’s wonderful to be old, but to be old and still be able to do things you love, that’s what’s important,” said Joyce Arceneaux Smith, 91, who likes to hula hoop and joined the Inglewood club four years ago.
