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Women Turn Childhood Pastime Into Modern Day Workout With '40+ Double Dutch Club'; 'Get Fit While You're Having Fun Doing It'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- What's drawing hundreds of women to Pullman this Saturday, including travelers from all over the country? Double Dutch.

That's right; grown women jumping rope, all for the sake of fitness and fun.

CBS 2 Morning Insider Tim McNicholas shows us how they're still hopping, even after the Delta variant forced them to adjust.

A childhood pastime turned modern day workout.

"When I was growing up, Double Dutch, that was a happy place," said Pamela Robinson, founder of the 40+ Double Dutch Club.

The idea hopped into Robinson's head a few years back at a Memorial Day party.

"Get fit while you're having fun doing it," said group member Stephanie Roberts.

It started with a group in the south suburbs so busy with their families and jobs that they struggled to find time for fitness.

"But now there are so many women are realizing the importance of making the time," Robinson said.

Word started to get out about the group, and soon they grew to other parts of Chicago, and then other parts of the country.

Members of those other chapters are flying in this weekend for their first ever "National Play Date."

"We have women flying in from New York, from Orlando, from Arizona, from Atlanta, from Boston," Robinson said.

Florence Ellis is just in from New York City. She discovered the group on Facebook, and got people hopping all over the Big Apple.

"The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island," she said.

But with COVID cases rising, the club had to adjust on the fly.

Robinson said they consulted with the city's health department, and now they're requiring negative COVID tests for the National Play Date, even for vaccinated members.

"We're taking whatever safety recommendations we need to, because we want to protect all of our sisters who are coming in," Robinson said.

Some of the members will meet each other in person for the first time this weekend.

"When I joined this movement, I felt like I had sisters who held me close near and dear," Roberts said.

It's a safe bet that they'll jump right into a lasting friendship.

That group said they've actually grown during the pandemic, as people looked for a safer way to exercise outdoors. You can connect with the 40+ Double Dutch Club on Facebook.

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