Three gold medals for Chemnitz!

Frizzi Seltmann

Fresh, lively, in a good mood - this is what winners look like! The girls from the Sportensemble Chemnitz may still be feeling the effects of the numerous competitions in their bones, but the joy of their success prevails! At the World Jump Rope Championships in Paris, the Chemnitz "Rope Skippers" (editor's note) brought home several medals. The athletes impressed the jury in various disciplines. Among others, Frizzi Seltmann from Chemnitz won three gold medals, making her a three-time world champion.

First of all, officially, congratulations on your three gold medals from Paris. In which disciplines exactly did you win the three medals?
Frizzi Seltmann: Thank you very much! The first discipline was 30 seconds speed. That means you have to jump as fast as possible for 30 seconds. I won the second gold medal in the three-minute speed event. That's the same thing again, but in 180 seconds. And the third discipline was a freestyle exercise, which is something like a freestyle routine. You actually jump to music for 45 to 70 seconds. In Paris, however, it was without music because there were so many participants. That's why four athletes started at the same time next to each other in front of a judging panel. You have to try to perform as many difficult jumps as possible in one impressive routine.

How many teams took part in the world championships?
There were a total of 680 participants from 23 nations.

Rope skipping is not necessarily a well-known sport. How many clubs are there in Germany?
There are three clubs in Saxony: In Dresden, in Brand-Erbisdorf and in Chemnitz. We don't have that many clubs in the new federal states that offer rope skipping. There are more in western Germany. Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in particular are very well represented.

And how does it compare to other countries?
The sport originally comes from the USA. Accordingly, rope skipping is also very strongly represented there. However, there are also differences. In some clubs, rope skipping is practised as a competitive sport and the athletes train seven to eight times a week. Other clubs do it more as a popular sport. Just like us at Sportensemble Chemnitz. We only train twice a week because it's a hobby and the Sportensemble Chemnitz also offers over ten other sports. The training conditions also differ to some extent. Some have their own training hall or even coaches who only train acrobatics or gymnastics elements. But you can also be successful in popular sports and continue to develop. This is made possible by dedicated coaches, motivated jumpers and diligent training.

How tough is the international competition? Were there moments in Paris when you thought "Oh man, they're good..."?
There were always moments like that. You could really only marvel at them. Starting with the very young rope skippers, for example. 10-year-old girls or even younger, who were already doing really difficult jumps. Not to mention the currently most successful teams, for example from the USA, Japan, China or Australia. So the wow effect was a constant companion (laughs).

How many competitions were there?
The World Championships encompass everything. All age groups in the various disciplines. A few medals were awarded. The medal ceremony lasted up to two hours. (laughs)

The female jumpers won another three silver medals, one of them in the Double Dutch team discipline. This involves two athletes facing each other and swinging two ropes of the same size, with the third athlete jumping in the rope. The girls from Chemnitz also managed to secure fourth and fifth places. A great team result!

How did you get into rope skipping?
I started in 1993. I changed primary school and there was a sports programme offered by the sports ensemble. I was able to choose a sport that I wanted to do and decided in favour of rope skipping. The Sportensemble had only introduced this sport three years earlier, in 1990. That's what I chose and that's what I stuck with.

Are the three gold medals your greatest successes to date?
Yes, definitely. My last competition was in 2011 at the Saxony Championships. Last year in November and December, we decided as a team to tackle the 2015 World Championships because Paris isn't that far away. That was the first championship on European soil. Last year, for example, it was in Orlando. Then we were looking for sponsors and started putting our routines together in January. So we spent six months working towards the championship.

Last year in Orlando, two competitors from Chemnitz took part and surprisingly won bronze. As they had to pay for their trip to the USA out of their own pockets back then, the girls are happy to have found sponsors for the World Championships in Paris. The girls from Chemnitz would like to take part in the World Championships again next year and build on their successes from this year.

Is Chemnitz a suitable city for a niche sport?
I would say "yes", because otherwise our sport would not have been able to survive for so many years. During term time, we train in a school sports hall. As we are a very large training group, space is sometimes a bit tight, but we still manage. If we can't use our gym when schools are closed, there are usually alternatives. In summer, we simply organise open-air training sessions in Konkordia Park. In addition to the training facilities, you also need a dedicated coach to train the group and help them progress. We also have that. The feedback from the people of Chemnitz is always consistently positive. Many of them don't know the sport and are enthusiastic when they see us for the first time. As the Sportensemble is a show ensemble, we also do a lot of shows. We perform at town festivals, company parties or sports galas with our five to six-minute show. This allows us to entertain the audience and present our sport at the same time.

You're from Chemnitz, you found your sport here, what's life like in the city?
I grew up here, sport is my second family, so to speak. I spent a lot of time abroad during my studies and realised that I actually missed sport the most. I work near Chemnitz. So everything complements each other quite well. I was able to stay here after my studies. I find that particularly nice. When you come back to your home country. One of our athletes is also originally from Chemnitz and then studied in Karlsruhe for two years. She has now found a job in Chemnitz and is very happy to be able to live here again.

Has the city changed in recent years?
Yes, definitely in a very positive way! The cityscape is changing. I recently noticed that more and more small shops are springing up. I was recently on Brühl and was very surprised to see that there aren't just the usual shops there, but that people have the courage to set up their own label for clothes or music. I think that's really great. The many concerts in Chemnitz are also always great. Whether at Weltecho, Altra or Subway to Peter. I think Chemnitz is still a green city! A good mix. Not too small, not too big - the right place to feel good!

Our last traditional question: Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Yes, but I think so! The image of Chemnitz has changed for the better. The opinions of people who were last in Chemnitz 20 years ago tended to be: "What an ugly city, so grey..." I think the people of Chemnitz can be quiet about the fact that the city is developing positively.