Jump Jump Clap!

Not all of the sports discussed on these pages are destined to languish forever in the underground. Some are bound to go mainstream sooner or later. Even baseball, our great American passtime, was once the province of delinquents smacking various objects around an alleyway. One urban sport that's seen such good fortune is the playground favorite double dutch, which gained varsity sport status in New York public schools two years ago.

You may not know double dutch by name, but you would most certainly recognize it if you saw it. Two girls stand opposite each other, spinning the ropes while a third player performs all manner of maneuvers inside the twirling maelstrom.

Even before the NYC school system added the sport to the curriculum, it had a long a storied history in the city. A written history compiled by David A. Walker credits the earliest recognizable form to a game played by early Dutch settlers. Walker, a former sergeant in the NYPD founded the American Double Dutch League, the sp in 1974 and held the first organized tournament that same year. Almost 600 school children participated. Walker also developed the official rules for Double Dutch so it could be played competitively. From then on players earned points for their speed, form and technique. There were also a number of routines and acrobatic feats that had to be performed such as back flips and cartwheels.

CHAAAARGE!: The Warriors of Bicycle Polo

All this talk about bike polo, I thought you might like to see them in action:




Customization is key. Here you can see one of the many wicked wheel designs. These covers look cool and guard against a mallet in the gears.





Some players dress for speed (left) others for intense physical combat (right)!




Goals are scored between the cones. As you can see, things can get a little crowded.





Hunt him down!!




Collision is imminent.