Find skills by award
Eight colour awards, then the Bronze, Silver and Gold medal awards. Choose one award to see the skills it names. Tick the box to include skills that go with that award level too.
Individual skills
One skipper, one rope. From the first forward skip to the hardest tricks.
Preliminary skipping skills
Start here. These are the backbone of every other skill, and the preliminary skips for the Bronze Award.
Coaching pageVPoise
Also called Safety and PoiseHow to stand, hold and handle the rope safely. The first check of the Bronze Award.
Orange AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVForward skipping double bounce
One turn of the rope for two bounces. Jump over the rope, then do a little bounce while the rope is above your head.
Orange AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVBackwards skipping double bounce
Turning the rope backwards. Many skippers find it easier than forwards, so it's a good one for first-timers too.
Green AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVForward skipping single bounce
One turn of the rope for one bounce. Quicker and lighter than the double bounce, and the base for most of the harder tricks.
Bronze AwardCoaching pageVBackwards skipping single bounce
The single bounce with the rope turning backwards: one turn of the rope for every bounce.
Green AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVRunning on the spot double bounce
One turn of the rope to two steps. The same rhythm as the double bounce, but one step goes over the rope and the next happens while the rope is above your head.
Coaching pageVRunning on the spot single bounce
Running on the spot with one step for every turn of the rope. Quicker and lighter than the double bounce version: every step goes over the rope.
Yellow AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVHopping on one leg
Also called HoppingHopping on one leg. Try two, three or four hops on one leg, then switch to the other. Great for balance.
Footwork and straddles
Jumps that change what the feet do: side to side, front to back, crossed, tapped and kicked.
Blue AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVSlalom
Also called SkierJump the rope with both feet at the same time, from one side to the other, like a slalom skier.
Blue AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVBell
Jump forwards about 30 cm with the feet together, then back to the same spot, like a rocking bell.
Coaching pageZeds
Combine the slalom and the bell to draw a Z on the floor: jump to the side, diagonally back, then to the side again.
Coaching pageSquares
Combine the bell and the slalom to draw a square on the floor: forwards, then right, then back, then left.
Green AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVSide straddle
Also called Jumping jacksOne turn of the rope with the feet together, the next with the feet apart, and so on.
Blue AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVScissors (front straddle)
Also called ScissorsOne turn with the feet together, the next with one foot in front and one behind, like a pair of scissors. Back to feet together, then switch feet.
Bronze AwardCoaching pageVCombined straddle
Feet together, straddle, feet together, scissors. Then round again, swapping the front foot on the scissors.
Blue AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVEx
Also called Cross feetJump with the feet together, then with the feet crossed, then together again and crossed the other way.
Bronze AwardCoaching pageVWounded duck
Skip with toes touching and heels apart, then heels touching and toes apart.
Bronze AwardCoaching pageVTwister
Start with a normal skip. On the next turn of the rope, turn the feet to the left; on the next, to the right; then back to the middle.
Coaching pageToe tap
Feet together, then tap the toe behind. Feet together, then tap the other toe behind. Four turns of the rope.
Coaching pageHeel tap
Feet together, tap the heel in front. Feet together, tap the other heel in front. Four turns of the rope.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVCombined toe and heel tap
Toe behind then heel in front on the left foot, then toe behind and heel in front on the right. Four turns of the rope.
Coaching pageVBoxer
Also called Boxer's skipLeft foot, left foot, right foot, right foot. Each bounce is one turn of the rope.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVCan can
A knee raise followed by a high kick on the same leg. Kick from the hip, not the knee.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVFrog can can
Lift the knee to waist height as for a can can, then kick the leg out to the side without the foot touching the floor. Your legs are doing breaststroke.
Coaching pageCan can X
A can can, but instead of the high kick the leg crosses over, lifts again, and goes back down: up, cross, up, down.
Coaching pageVWW kicks
Feet together, hop on the right leg and click the heels together to the left, then hop on the left leg and click the heels together to the right. Repeat. Yee-haa!
Gold AwardCoaching pageVRazzle dazzle
Cross the feet. The back leg comes out to the side for a heel tap, then crosses in front. The new back leg comes out for a heel tap, and so on.
Rope and arm skills
Side swings, crosses and tricks where the arms and the rope do the work.
Red AwardBronze AwardCoaching pageVSide swing
Holding a handle in each hand with the hands together, swing the rope to the left, then to the right, then open out and jump it. The hands draw a lazy 8: an eight on its side.
Black AwardSilver AwardCoaching pageVSide swing X
A side swing followed straight away by a crossover. Swing to the left and it's the left arm that comes across the body, and the other way round.
Red AwardSilver AwardCoaching pageVCrossover
Cross the arms as the rope comes over the head, jump through the crossed loop, then uncross and skip normally.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVContinuous crossover
Cross the arms and keep skipping with them crossed.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVCross cross
Forward skip, cross the arms, cross them the other way, then uncross into a normal skip. Your comfortable cross followed by your uncomfortable one.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVCaboose cross
One normal skip, then jump to a side straddle and cross the arms behind the knees. Jump the rope (stepping over it is a good start), stand up, uncross, and carry on skipping backwards.
Black AwardSilver AwardCoaching pageVDouble unders
Also called The bumpsThe rope passes under you twice in one jump. Known for years as "the bumps", and in some places it still is.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVCoil
Also called Body wrapAs the rope comes over the head, wrap it round the left arm 2, 3 or 4 times. Turn round, unwrap and skip backwards once. Wrap it onto the right arm backwards, turn round, unwrap and skip forwards.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVRodeo
Rope in front, feet shoulder width apart. Left leg through the loop of the rope, left arm round the back of the head until it points out in front, step the right leg out, and repeat. Then do it with the right arm.
Silver AwardCoaching pageVCyclone
Hands together, the whole rope goes round the head. Then a rodeo, then the rope goes under the left foot and the right foot, then another rodeo, and round the head again to finish. Named by school children in Sheffield, and it stuck.
Turns
Turning round while the rope keeps going.
Bronze AwardCoaching pageV180 degree turn
Also called Half turnSkip forwards, side swing and turn round at the same time, following the rope as it brushes the floor. The rope is now going backwards. To turn back, start a backwards skip and turn round when the rope is above your head.
Black AwardCoaching page360 degree turn
Also called Full turnSide swing and turn, as for the 180, but keep going all the way round. Arms in front and the rope as high as possible, then finish with a forward skip.
Coaching pageTexas 360
Start a 180 with a side swing and let the rope come over backwards, but don’t jump it. Keep turning another 180 before it lands and skip forwards: the rope seems to bounce off the floor behind you.
Advanced tricks
Arms under the legs and crosses behind the back, for confident skippers.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVCrougar
Also called PretzelPut the right arm under the right leg from the inside (or the left under the left) and skip with the arm there.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVSkipping into and out of the crougar
Also called Into and out of a pretzelSkip into the crougar, with an arm under the same-side leg, then come back out into a normal skip without stopping.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVToad
Cross the arms, with the lower arm (nearest the stomach) going under the opposite leg. A cross between a crougar and a crossover.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVEB
A crossover with one arm behind the back. Side swing, bring that side's arm round behind you, bring the rope over with the other arm and jump it. Uncross as the rope passes over the head.
Gold AwardCoaching pageVMarlee
Also called Inverse crougarSkipping backwards, put an arm under the same-side leg as the rope comes over. Jump the rope, spin 180 degrees as it rises, then hop over it with the raised foot and carry on skipping forwards.
Partner skills
Two or more skippers sharing ropes. Timing, trust and a lot of laughing.
Why partner skipping matters, from Lee
skip-hop coach Lee Collinson-James has used partner skipping for 25 years to help children learn to skip. It’s the doorway that unlocks the mystery of turning a rope and jumping, and putting the two together. It can give a child their first ever experience of being inside a turning rope, and their first step towards understanding how a moving rope and bouncing feet fit together.
Partner skipping is surely one of the most effective ways to develop children’s physical health and spatial awareness. None of it is possible without the three C’s: cooperation, coordination, concentration.
It is that eureka, “I can do it” moment that can make the most reticent child into an active teenager. I have first-hand experience of this: lifelong adult skippers.
For a child who is struggling to skip, start face to face with them: Lee’s tips for SEND pupils and young skippers.
Blue AwardCoaching pageVFace to face partner skipping
Two skippers face each other with only one holding the rope. Stand so you can just reach your partner's shoulders with straight arms. The skipper starts, and the bouncer joins in, jumping in time.
Coaching pageFacing turn and clap
The bouncer (the one without the rope) faces the skipper for two turns of the rope, clapping twice on the second. Then they turn 90 degrees and clap again on the fourth turn, and so on round.
Coaching pageMirror skipping
Partners face each other and share one rope, one holding a handle in the left hand and the other in the right, like looking in a mirror. Turn the rope slowly so it hits the floor, then pass the handle under the matching leg as the rope comes down, in time with your partner.
Coaching pageVMexican hat
Skipper and bouncer stand side by side. The skipper brings the rope over and steps round in front of their partner, scooping the rope under the bouncer backwards for one or two partner skips. Then they step out to the bouncer's other side, skipping forwards again.
Coaching pageVChinese wheel
Two skippers stand side by side with a rope each and swap one handle, then turn the two ropes one after the other so they jump in turn, like a turning wheel.
Coaching pageChain skip cross
Chain skipping, but everyone crosses and uncrosses their arms at the same time.
Coaching pageWindscreen wiper
Face to face, then the skipper jumps out to the left, back to the middle, out to the right, back to the middle, and so on.
Coaching pageVSide by side scoop
Two skippers stand side by side sharing one rope. Both side swing with the rope arm, so the rope scoops under the second skipper and comes back to the first.
Coaching pageVSide by side one handed pass
Two skippers stand side by side, each holding one handle of the same rope, and pass the rope from one hand to the other: three jumps, then two, then one.
Long rope
Two turners, a long rope and the whole class.
White AwardCoaching pageWiggly worms
Two people hold a long rope low and wiggle it along the floor like a worm. The skippers jump over it without touching it.
Coaching pageWaves
The turners move the long rope up and down vertically along the floor to make waves. Skippers jump over the waves without touching the rope.
Yellow AwardUnder the Moon
Skippers line up at right angles to the rope. Turned so the skippers run with it, the rope swings away from them and each one runs underneath and out the other side. Perfect for Nursery, Reception and Year 1.
Orange AwardSkipping inside a long rope
The skipper stands in the middle of the long rope while two turners turn it, and jumps every time it comes round.
Green AwardRunning into a turning long rope and jumping
Run into a turning long rope, jump once and run out the other side.
Coaching pageVCluster jump
How many skippers can you get in one rope, in single file, without anyone making a mistake? Double it with two lines side by side.
Coaching pageVFigure of Eight
Keep a continuous flow of skippers each doing one jump without anyone missing a turn of the rope.
Skydiver
One skipper goes in, hands held out. The next runs in and holds hands. A turner shouts "break", the pair let go of one hand and the third skipper joins the ring. How many can hold hands in the middle and still jump?
Skipper inside a long rope
A skipper turns and skips their own rope while also jumping a long rope turned by two other pupils.
Coaching pageVTexas Star
Four turners turn two long ropes that cross in the middle. Skippers jump where the ropes cross, with both ropes going up and down together.
Weave
A long rope game for the whole team, turned by two turners.
Double Dutch
Two ropes turning in opposite directions, and a skipper in the middle.
Coaching pageVDouble Dutch rope turning
Two turners turn two long ropes in opposite directions, hands mirroring each other, so skippers can jump in. The first Double Dutch skill to learn.
Starting inside the Double Dutch ropes
The skipper stands between the two Double Dutch ropes before they start. The turners begin turning and the skipper jumps each rope as it comes round. The easiest way into Double Dutch.
Red AwardCoaching pageVJumping into the Double Dutch ropes while they turn
Two turners turn two ropes in opposite directions while a third skipper in the middle jumps each one. Using the skip-hop method, skippers come in from the end, next to a turner, and jump in on the count.
Coaching pageVSkipping inside the Double Dutch ropes with your own rope
Once inside the Double Dutch ropes, the skipper turns and skips their own rope as well.
Team skip
Whole-team skills and games for PE lessons, clubs and festivals.
Travelling
A windscreen wiper along a line of bouncers. Bouncers stand two arms' lengths apart, fingertips touching, so there's room for a skip in each gap.
Coaching pageVFigure of Eight
Keep a continuous flow of skippers each doing one jump without anyone missing a turn of the rope.
Skydiver
One skipper goes in, hands held out. The next runs in and holds hands. A turner shouts "break", the pair let go of one hand and the third skipper joins the ring. How many can hold hands in the middle and still jump?
Weave
A long rope game for the whole team, turned by two turners.
30 second speed relay
A team speed-skipping relay against the clock.
Coaching pageVChain skipping
Also called Butterfly skippingTwo or more skippers, each with a rope, stand side by side and swap handles with the person next to them. Someone counts them in and they skip together, ropes rising and falling as one.
No skills match. Try another award or clear the search.
From schools that worked with skip-hop
I don’t know how he managed to fit in so many skills, but we’ve certainly got a lot to go at! … It was an extremely enjoyable and productive day, enjoyed by all who took part.