THE Red Hearts Skipping Team from Ararat West Primary School has spent two days touring schools in Melbourne promoting the Heart Foundation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There are 13 students from grade five and six which make up the team, with the group visiting seven schools including Melbourne Girls Grammar School during their tour.
At each school they perform a 25-minute routine which demonstrates their skills using single ropes, partner skills and long ropes routines.
They also promote the Heart Foundation and encourage students to keep their heart healthy through skipping.
All the schools the team visited are going to be holding a Jump Off Day as part of their fundraising for the Heart Foundation and the skills the Ararat West team showed each school have encouraged the kids to have a go at skipping.
“The students are very dedicated to what they do,” Ararat West Primary School principal Terry Keilar said.
"They practice weekly as a team and are also in the school's hall at recess and lunch times practicing on their own.”
During the tour of seven schools they performed to more than 1000 students, with the largest school having 450 pupils.
The team were professional and engaging for the audience showcasing highly technical skills.
Ararat West's team has participated in many events since it was formed more than five years ago.
In 2011 the school won the group routine state championship at the Jump Rope for Heart Demonstration Showcase, while in 2013 the team joined in the 30-year celebrations of the Heart Foundation's fundraiser Jump Rope for Heart at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat.
Ararat West has been invited to enter a team in the National Championships in Canberra later this year, which is still to be decided, while the students will compete in the State Championships in November this year.
The students received wonderful feedback during their schools tour last month and were praised from each site they visited.
Jump Rope for Heart started in 1983 with the idea of getting primary school students physically active, to make them aware that exercise keeps hearts healthy and to raise money for life saving research into heart disease.
Each year, more than 500 Victorian schools, including primary schools in the Ararat and surrounding areas, and 80,000 students participate in Jump Rope for Heart.
The charity event has raised more than $60 million nationwide over the past three decades.