On Friday May 9, children from many schools around Australia skipped non-stop for three minutes in a bid to set a new Guinness World Record for skipping.
The Guinness World Record attempt is an initiative by the Heart Foundation of Australia as a celebration of the 25th birthday of Jump Rope for Heart. Established in Australia in 1983, the Heart Foundation's Jump Rope for Heart is renowned for being one of Australia's most popular physical activities and fundraising programmes in schools.
Each year, thousands of schoolchildren take part and friends and families sponsor. At school, children learn physical activities, like rope-jumping, to improve their strength and to gain confidence and stamina. It is all about teaching schoolchildren how to keep fit and healthy. The students enjoy the activity and at the same time, they are learning about helping to save Australian lives.
One of the schools taking part in the record-breaking attempt on Friday was Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, a secondary girls' school in Melbourne. Eighty year 7 students showed their competitive Aussie spirit by accepting the challenge. Robyn Rayment, the school's organiser of this event, said that the children had been practising for weeks in a bid to set a new world record.
"They are very keen," she said. "They have been practising hard and as well [they are] collecting sponsorships from family and friends."
They gathered in the school hall with their skipping ropes ready to help Australia beat the record set in the United Kingdom last year. The participants are required to skip for three minutes non-stop and if they have to stop, they are only allowed 10 seconds.
Gemma Chris, one of the student participants, has a good reason to support the Heart Foundation, as her brother has a heart condition. She said it felt really good taking part in something so worthwhile.
Did Australian schoolchildren set a new record? "We don't know yet," said Ms Rayment with a smile. "But skipping is fun and a good way to encourage children to take part in physical exercise."
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