Troupe bounces into schools and gets hearts racing

Peg’s Creek Primary School performance skipping team the Burrup Bouncers have been busy setting hearts racing around local schools this month in the name of promoting the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle.

School visits, a charity Jump Off and a performance at FeNaClNG have all been part of a packed two-week program for the talented skippers, a Jump Rope for Heart Foundation demonstration team who spread the organisation’s message of heart health through community performances.

Earlier this month the Bouncers hosted a school Jump Off, getting the whole of Peg’s Creek PS involved in learning skills for a skipping routine and performing for 30 minutes as their annual major fundraiser for the Heart Foundation.

Meanwhile the team also spoke about heart health and showed off a routine on Thursday, August 3.

It finished with audience members getting the chance to try their hand at the routine, with some entertaining results, and prompted a lot of children to dust off their skipping ropes at recess and lunchtime.

Burrup Bouncers coach Kristy Fitzpatrick said their performances worked because they showed how accessible and fun exercise could be.

“It’s about teaching kids at a young age about the importance of physical activity and looking after your heart from a young age and different ways to do that,” she said.

“Skipping is one of the best ways to do that because it’s so good for you.

“And it’s also about making it fun — using different skills, different tricks and putting it to music so it amps up the atmosphere and keeps the kids’ interest.”

Jump Rope for Heart is a school-based program promoting physical activity for children which the Burrup Bouncers have been part of for 26 years.