By Glenn Rolfe

SEAFORD — Double Dutch, anyone?

A rope skipping exercise that has had periods of popularity in America and is making a comeback was among the highlights Saturday at the Eastern Shore AFRAM festival.

The festival, held at the Ross Mansion grounds, featured local entertainment showcased in the Ross Station Event Center, craft and food vendors, and civic and nonprofit organizations.

And all the way from Batesville, Mississippi, Selina Cook, founder of Double Dutch Therapy, brought her rope skipping equipment and other popular children’s games such as hula hoop and hopscotch to the festival.

“Double Dutch Therapy is a group of women, rediscovering healing through childhood play,” said Ms. Cook. “We jump Double Dutch. We hula hoop. We hopscotch. We play hand games, and we just have a good time.”

Dover has a Double Dutch Therapy chapter. Denise Taylor is the group leader for the Dover Diamonds, currently based at the Academy of Dover Charter School.

And a chapter is in the formative works for Seaford.

“Absolutely. We have a sign-up list,” said Ms. Taylor. “The women so far have been engaging and they are loving it.”

Double Dutch traditionally has been a children’s game where players jump over two jump ropes that are twirling in opposite directions.

But Ms. Cook takes that well in adulthood. Her therapy initiative is designed for women 40 and over.

“Double Dutch was coming back nationwide. I joined an organization, and I saw the impact that it was having on women all over, women that were retired and just sitting in the house thinking about giving up on life,” Ms. Cook said.

“To be a member, we just ask that you purchase a membership shirt ($30) with your name and age on the back, because the age is the “wow” factor,” said Ms. Taylor, who is 65. “It shows that women that are over 40 years old can still have fun. We can still live.”

Ms. Taylor added that this is “child-free. It’s male-free. It’s a safe space for women. It’s all about laughter, which helps our heart. It’s about mental release and relief.”

Ms. Cook’s initiative played out on a national level this past May in Tennessee, with a Paint Beale Street Red movement. “Women from all over the world came together and we literally shut down the infamous Beale Street in Memphis,” Ms. Cook said. “That’s how it was formed.”

Since launching her Double Dutch Therapy this past May in Batesville, Ms. Cook’s initiative has expanded with groups based in Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago (where Ms. Cook is originally from) and Newark and Dover in Delaware.

“And we are constantly growing,” Ms. Cook said.

Starting a chapter requires several visits to an existing group to “see how we engage,” Ms. Taylor said. “We also are a sisterhood, so we encourage and lift each other up. It’s great for our mental health, as well as our physical health. It helps to decrease some of the physical conditions that many be ailing us, because we are getting up and we are moving.”

While advertised exclusively for women, information will be shared with interested males.

Seaford Police Chief Marshall Craft Jr. said Ms. Cook’s initiative fits in with the department’s community outreach and its violent crime reduction initiative.

“Absolutely. We have specific community initiatives … throughout the city. We have some community meetings we are working on to bring Neighborhood Watch programs, trying to solicit volunteers from those communities to help run those as team leaders,” Chief Craft said. “They have a list of people to be volunteers to help start this chapter. And we are thinking what better way to merge those two and help those be part of the community events, the community presentations … so we can coordinate together. I think it’s great. We’re going to find out more about it.”

For information, visit www.doubledutchtherapy.org.