Thursday
September 19, 2024 
New Hope-Solebury ninth-grade student Zach Peckman this summer competed in the 2023 World Jump Rope Championships in Colorado Springs.
As a junior member of the U.S. National Jump Rope Team, Peckman competed in five events, including Speed Sprint, Speed Endurance, and a mixed pair event called “Wheel” with teammate Bree Hall. Hall and Peckman train with Zero Gravity, a Doylestown-based competitive jump rope team.
Peckman was among 1,200 athletes representing 27 countries competing at the World Championships.
Peckman’s introduction to jump rope happened in New Hope-Solebury’s elementary schools, where he had the opportunity to see a local jump rope team of older students perform in an assembly. He then had the chance to try it out himself by joining the school’s Jump Rope Club, a morning extracurricular activity run by physical education teacher Jim DiTulio.
“It is challenging because it takes a long time to develop your skills, to see improvement, and to build endurance,” said Peckman. “Once you do, it’s very rewarding.”
Peckman’s father Marcus said he couldn’t be happier for his son.
“We’re so proud of Zach because this was 100% his own motivation,” said Marcus Peckman. “He’s trained really hard for it, and it was a thrill.”
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