100 Skips a Day Challenge - FAQs

• Be sure to keep skipping rope away from young children, avoid letting very young children play with them.  
• When attempting the challenge, give yourself plenty of space and make sure that there are no small children or animals within distance of yourself and the rope.  

Supporters raise money for Cancer Research UK by challenging themselves to skip 100 times a day across the month of October.  

Once you’ve signed up, join the Facebook Group dedicated to this challenge and click 'Join Group'. Once you're in, you can complete a form to get your free skipping rope, get tips for completing your skips, be inspired by other fundraisers and find out anything you want to know about the challenge.  

Yes! If you don’t have Facebook or TikTok, you can set up a Cancer Research UK online Giving Page and collect sponsorship for your 100 Skips a Day Challenge.

There’s no entry fee for this challenge, but we do ask that you fundraise for Cancer Research UK through your online Giving Page. All donations to the page will automatically be sent to us.  

While we encourage everyone to complete this challenge in October, this is a personal challenge and you can start and finish at a time that’s convenient for you. If you can’t complete your skipping count on any given day, then you can make up for it at any point of the month and continue the challenge into November.    

We encourage you to complete the challenge in a way that suits you. Some people prefer to build up their skips throughout the month, starting at 20 a day and ending on 50 a day. Others like completing 100 skips a day evenly across October. There are people of all levels of fitness doing this challenge, so everyone will complete it differently. The important thing is that you’re doing something that challenges you – it should be tough, but doable. However you choose to complete the challenge and raise money, you’ll be helping us beat cancer.   

You can order one of our free skipping ropes and complete the challenge with that alone. But here’s some further equipment you might want to consider to make you feel comfortable when completing your skips:  

• Suitable exercise trainers  

• Cordless skipping rope

• Hand tally counter   

• Skipping rope mat  

• Speed rope (for advanced skippers!)  

Warming up properly before your skips will help prevent injury and should only take five minutes.   

• March on the spot for up to 3 minutes – Start off marching on the spot and then march forwards and backwards. Pump your arms up and down in rhythm with your steps, keeping the elbows bent and the fists soft.  
• Heel dig for 1 minute – For heel digs, place alternate heels to the front, keeping the front foot pointing up, and punch out with each heel dig. Keep a slight bend in the supporting leg.  
• Knee lifts for 30 seconds – To do knee lifts, stand tall and bring up alternate knees to touch the opposite hand. Keep your abs tight and back straight. Keep a slight bend in the supporting leg.  
• Shoulder rolls for 2 sets of 10 repetitions – For shoulder rolls, keep marching on the spot. Roll your shoulders forwards 5 times and backwards 5 times. Let your arms hang loose by your sides.  
• Knee bends for 10 repetitions – To do knee bends, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands stretched out. Lower yourself no more than 10cm by bending your knees. Come up and repeat.  
• Read more NHS guidance on these warm-ups.

Stretching after your skips will help relax your body, slow your heart rate, improve flexibility and minimise the chance of injury.  

Buttock stretch for 10–15 seconds  
To do a buttock stretch:  
1.    Lie on your back and bring your knees up to your chest.  
2.    Cross your right leg over your left thigh.  
3.    Grasp the back of your left thigh with both hands.  
4.    Pull your left leg towards your chest.  
5.    Repeat with the opposite leg.  

Hamstring stretch for 10–15 seconds  

To do a hamstring stretch:  
1.    Lie on your back and raise your right leg.  
2.    Hold your right leg with both hands, below your knee.  
3.    Keeping your left leg bent with your foot on the floor, pull your right leg towards you keeping it straight.  
4.    Repeat with the opposite leg.  

Inner thighs stretch for 10–15 seconds  
To do an inner thigh stretch:  
1.    Sit down with your back straight and your legs bent.  
2.    Put the soles of your feet together.  
3.    Holding on to your feet, try to lower your knees towards the floor.  

Calf stretches for 10–15 seconds  
To do a calf stretch:  
1.    Step your right leg forward, keeping it bent, and lean forwards slightly.  
2.    Keep your left leg straight and try to lower the left heel to the ground.  
3.    Repeat with the opposite leg.  

Thigh stretch for 10–15 seconds  
To do a thigh stretch:  
1.    Lie on your right side.  
2.    Grab the top of your left foot and gently pull your heel towards your left buttock to stretch the front of the thigh.  
3.    Keep your knees touching.  
4.    Repeat on the other side.  

Read more NHS guidance on these stretches.  

For safety and optimum comfort, find a surface that’s level and firm but not too hard.  
  
Be sure to check your surroundings before you skip, especially when attempting this challenge inside. You’ll want to make sure you have enough space around you to jump and swing your rope without knocking into anything.  

Read more guidance on the best surface to skip on.    

If you’ve never skipped before (or not skipped in a long time), then it may take some time to build up to a steady number. Always listen to your body and only push yourself as much as feels comfortable. You’ll be surprised how quickly you build up your skips!  
  
Jump on the balls of your feet  
When you skip, try to softly jump up and down on the balls on your feet. Your heels should never touch the ground, which is one reason skipping is a great calves workout!  

Don’t jump too high  
If you’re trying to get in a rhythm and skip for more than 30 seconds without burning yourself out, keep your jumps as small as possible without tying up the rope. Just relax and don’t worry if you trip on the rope.  

Don’t swing your arms and shoulders too much  
Skipping is all in the wrists. If you’re using your arms and shoulders while jumping very high, skipping becomes a very difficult cardio activity. Just use your wrists in a circular motion.  

Position your hands slightly above your waistline  
Hand position is important, and depends on the length of the rope you have. Your arms should be comfortably bent, hands placed about a foot from your sides and just above waist level.  

Get in a rhythm  
You can skip as fast as you want, but getting in a rhythm can make skipping easier and more fun. It’s a bit like hitting your stride as you jog – you can do the same thing skipping.   
For more tips, tricks and variations on how to skip, visit Builtlean    

Complete this form to receive your free skipping rope in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for your skipping rope to arrive.

If you haven’t received your skipping rope in this time, please contact: supporter.services@cancer.org.uk. 

If you’d like to purchase a Cancer Research UK t-shirt to wear while you complete your skips, you can buy one from our online shop. 
  

When filling out your sign-up form, simply select ‘no’ where it asks if you’d like to receive a skipping rope. You’ll still receive an online Giving Page, be able to join the challenge group and take part! Sign up to the challenge here.

If you have any further questions please email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 1231022 (lines open 8am–8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am–5pm at weekends). 
 

Sending out your skipping rope comes at a cost to us, so please only order one skipping rope to make sure as much money as possible goes towards our life-saving work. If you do request a skipping rope or t-shirt, we ask that you set up an online Giving Page and make a donation.  

You can purchase additional skipping ropes via our online shop. 

The skipping rope we provide is one standard length (2.4 metres). If you want to use your own longer or shorter rope that’s better suited to you, then please do.  

For the ideal skipping rope length, you should be able to stand on the middle of the rope and pull either side up to your armpits (see below). 
 

If our Cancer Research UK skipping rope is too long, you can untie the knot in the handle and shorten it to the length you’d like. If you need a longer rope, we advise you purchase one that’s suitable for you.  

If you’re still not sure whether your rope is the right length, see the below table for the recommended rope length for your height.   

You’ll be sent a certificate in your completion email at the end of your challenge. You can also access downloadable digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media.

Unfortunately, sending medals would come at a significant cost to us, so we won’t be sending these out so we can spend more on our life-saving work.

Yes, under-18s can take part in this challenge, but we don’t market to them and any third-party platform forums (such as Facebook forums) are only available to people over 18. If under-18s are taking part, their parent or guardian must consent to the child’s participation, supervise the challenge and accept responsibility for complying with the challenge rules. The child’s parent or guardian must register on the child’s behalf and if a child wants to raise money online and/or join a forum, the child’s parent or guardian must register for an online fundraising page and/or join the forum on the child’s behalf.   

Participants must register as individuals, but you can then set up a team Giving Page to take on the challenge and raise money together. 

Here’s how:  
1.    All your team will need to sign up to the 100 Skips a Day in October Challenge so you each have your own online Giving Page.  
2.    Once everyone has signed up, log into your account.  
3.    Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions.  
4.    Once you've created your team, you can send the team page URL to friends and family so they can join too! Find more information about setting up a team. 

Once you’ve created your team, you can either split the skips up between the group or you can all complete 100 skips a day across the month.  

Using our Online Fundraising Platform is the easiest way to raise money. You’ll receive an online Giving Page once you’ve registered. 

You can then share the page with your friends and family to gather sponsorship for your challenge.

We don’t set a fundraising target for participants, but we recommend that supporters set themselves a reasonable target of raising £150 or more.   

We have plenty of fundraising materials and ideas to help you raise life-saving donations. Visit our fundraising hub for everything you need for your challenge. 

You can use our sponsorship form here to raise money rather than using an online method. Simply download the form, print it off and record all your collected or pledged sponsorships. Once you’ve completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:  

100 Skips a Day Challenge in October, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ.  

This challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by us, therefore all fundraising must go directly to Cancer Research UK.   

Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means Cancer Research UK can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated, without it costing you or your sponsors an extra penny. For a donation to be eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the sponsorship form following the instructions at the top of the page.  

Why has my Facebook Fundraiser ended early?   
Facebook Fundraisers are automatically set up to only stay open for 10 days. To make the most of your fundraising efforts, you need to change the end date to keep your fundraiser open throughout and after the challenge. To change the end date, simply click ‘More’ under the invite button, then click ‘Edit Fundraiser’. We recommend setting this date to at least a month after your challenge has ended so you can continue to collect vital donations and be rewarded for your efforts.   

If my Facebook Fundraiser has closed, can I reactivate it?   
Unfortunately, once your Facebook Fundraiser has finished you can’t reopen the same fundraising page. However, you can create a new page and set the end date for at least a month after your challenge, so you can continue receiving donations once you’ve finished.   

How do I find my previous Facebook Fundraisers?   
To see your past fundraisers, go to the Facebook homepage on a desktop and look underneath your name on the left-hand side. Click ‘Fundraisers’ then ‘Your activity’ and scroll down the page until you reach ‘Your past fundraisers’.   

Is it safe to donate on Facebook?   
Donating on Facebook is safe and secure and there is no fee taken from Facebook to set up a Facebook Fundraiser. If you’ve seen any suspicious charges, we recommend speaking directly to your bank. If you have any questions about your Facebook Fundraiser, please contact Facebook.