One thing that motivates Sacha Willetts in her jump-rope skipping is to watch athletes who are at “the top of the game”.
But the 40-year-old jump roper is on the brink of her own significant journey, preparing for the chance at an international title at the World Jump Rope Championships next year in Japan.
The Thames woman told The Profile she always pushed herself to do things she shouldn’t be able to do after joining the sport “so late” and “being the age I am”.
“And I think that has helped me get better because I’ve always tried to do stuff that is out of my league.”
However, the Thames athlete’s recent competition results proved she was doing something right. Sacha competed at the Australian Rope Skipping Championships in Canberra from September 27 to 30 and medalled in five out of seven events. But that’s not all. The jump roper also managed to clinch the win and claim gold in the Masters Freestyle category, which Sacha said was “my specialty”.
“It’s the thing I feel most comfortable in.”
The Masters Freestyle category consists of a 75 second routine, put to music, with all the best tricks the skipper can dish out.
Sacha said she made a “fairly big mistake” because her rope got caught and took a few seconds to recover from it. “I lost the time there where I had to kind of adjust in my head.”
There were certain skills that needed to be executed in the routine so Sacha said she had to think quickly to make sure she covered all of the elements. While it didn’t stop her from sweeping up the win, “I felt like I could have done better”, she said. “But I am very hard on myself.”
Something Sacha believed set her apart from the others was her multiples or triples skills, which is when the rope is rotated around the body three times in a single jump, she said.
But something else happened during the final day of the competition.
Sacha, who is also the president of Skipping New Zealand, said New Zealand gained membership into the International Jump Rope Union (IJRU) and was officially welcomed by one of the Board of Directors and the Executive Vice President.
The IJRU was the global body for the sport and now New Zealand was a member, “it opened doors to the World Champs”, she said.
It meant Sacha’s first place victory in the Masters Freestyle event secured her a spot to compete and “make history” as the first New Zealand competitor at the World Jump Rope Championships in Japan in 2025.
She also placed second in the endurance speed and 30 second speed sprint categories, which meant she could compete in those events too, she said. “I just want to go out there and have fun, really, and not sort of worry about how well I do.”
Even though the Thames jump roper achieved a gold medal and a spot on the 2025 world stage – she was hesitant at first to take part. “I didn’t want to compete and I was terrified to be honest.”
But Sacha said she could see what the sport could be for New Zealand kids.
“I had to go into competitions to learn more so that I can bring it home and, you know, introduce it to more kids.”
Sacha was helping to grow the sport in New Zealand by running skipping classes for kids in Thames at the Jack McLean Centre during the school terms.
And thanks to the Rotary Club of Thames, which gave Sacha a $1000 grant towards the classes – not only would kids be provided with new equipment, the hall hireage would also be covered so classes could be free for local tamariki, she said.
But the “number one” thing in the sport, according to Sacha, was fun.
“That should always be the number one, right? That should be the focus, first of all.”
And secondly, “just give it a go”, she said.
Sacha’s classes for kids were very casual and fun – “there’s no pressure”, she said.
“You just don’t know what you’re capable of until you give it a go.”
DETAILS: For more information about Sacha’s skipping classes, visit www.sachaskips.com and to follow Sacha’s skipping journey, follow her on instagram: @sachaskips.
