[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 184 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HARLEM DOUBLE DUTCH CLASSIC

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 2, 2011

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 20th 
Anniversary of the Harlem Double Dutch Classic, which competition takes 
place every year at the world famous Apollo Theater. I also would like 
to recognize the National Double Dutch League and my good friend Mr. 
David A. Walker who passed away in 2008, and the rise of director Ms. 
Lauren Walker, Mr. Walker's daughter.
  David A. Walker, the founder of the National Double Dutch League made 
Double Dutch into the game it is today. Together with Ulysses Williams, 
whom he met while working for the New York City Police Community 
Affairs division, were able to make the game into a competitive team 
sport that quickly gained momentum as a World Class Sport. By 1974 
Double Dutch had gained enough popularity to have the first tournament 
of fifth through eighth graders, in which almost 600 students 
participated.
  Double Dutch has since become a citywide, national and international 
sport. Community centers and school throughout the national have 
thousands of students compete to be champions of this wonderful sport. 
For 18 years, Walker served the American Double Dutch League as 
president, and later went on to form the International Double Dutch 
Federation, the National Double Dutch League, which we are honoring 
today, and the Dynamic Diplomats of Double Dutch team. Walker managed 
to create an approach to the sport that has spread throughout the world 
as the default method to compete. Double Dutch has risen and fallen in 
popularity over the years, but Walker was able to help the game stand 
the test of time and rise once again in its full glory.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to educate themselves on this 
important sport that has changed the lives of young girls and boys 
throughout the nation and the world. We must honor the man that has 
helped put our children's energies into safe pass times such as this, 
and David A. Walker was that man. I know that his daughter will carry 
on his legacy and keep this incredible sport alive and thriving.

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