Four members of the Comet Skippers will be featured in the 87th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade when it steps off Nov. 28 in New York City.

Joining more than 200 jump rope athletes from across the country will be local jumpers Joci Hinners, Kevin Morrissey, Sean Newport and Singyi Yen.

Organized by the Heartbeats Jump Rope Team in Cleveland, the group will appear under the acronym J.U.M.P. (Jumpers United for Macy’s Parade).

These athletes will showcase their talent alongside giant character balloons, celebrities, floats, marching bands, performance groups, and clowns. This will be the second time in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as 140 jumpers, ages 12-24, from teams across the country appeared in the 2009 Parade.

When the jumpers will arrive in the Big Apple on Nov. 26, it will mark the first time all 200 jumpers are together. Jumpers will be performing many tricks and skills in unison as they jump their way along the parade route to the delight of New Yorkers who line the streets 20 deep and fill windows and balconies along the streets overhead.

After arriving in at the fabled Herald Square, the group will be featured in a live one-minute segment broadcast on NBC national television with an estimated 50 million viewers. This choreographed TV routine, built around a group of 72 athletes performing a complex inter-connected matrix of jumpers, will include Joci, Kevin, Sean and Singyi.

The local athletes have been practicing for months under the direction of coaches Mike and Carmen Simpson.

From: www.todayspulse.com