Dana kids jump Guinness Record

Nearly 800 students at Dana Middle School — the entire student body, plus a few energetic teachers — set out at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 1, to be part of a statewide effort to break the Guinness Record for the most people jump-roping simultaneously.

With Mayor John Wuo, several other City Councilmen, the chiefs of fire and police, and many other dignitaries and community organization members on hand as volunteer assistants to validate all the rope-jumping, the students at Dana held up their end, hanging in there for 10 minutes without stopping for more than a few seconds at a time. (Story continues below the following video.)

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Now it was up to the other 88,000 or so estimated to be participating state-wide, with some Californian soldiers in Iraq also slated to join the effort via the Internet. Prior to Monday the record for “Most People Jumping/Skipping Rope at the Same Time” was 59,000 Australians who did it for nearly three minutes.

Dana P.E. teacher Janna Sanchez has been preparing her students and organizing the event at Dana since October, which has required a lot of logistics, coordination, and more than $2,000 to buy 800 jump ropes and an $800 entry fee/donation.

The statewide event was in cooperation with California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD).

Sanchez said the event ties in perfectly with the school’s mission of engaging students in physical activities that will be appropriate for a lifetime of staying fit. Jumping/skipping rope is something that anyone can do almost anywhere and it doesn’t require much money or equipment, she said. It’s also fun and helps fight childhood obesity.

The PTA provided water and granola bars for every jumper.

– By Scott Hettrick