Students throughout Carson City jumped at the chance to strengthen hearts - their own and other people's.
As part of the 25th annual Jump Rope For Heart, students collected pledges to donate to the American Heart Association in exchange for 45 minutes of jumping rope.
"You have to try to keep the rope going without stopping," said Dani Garrett, 11. "Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it isn't."
Over the last two weeks, some schools held schoolwide assemblies for the students to jump rope. Fremont Elementary School physical education teacher, Dennis Coyne, incorporated the jump into his regular classes.
He set up several stations for fourth-graders Friday morning, including one where they jumped rope individually, another where two children twirled the rope for a jumper and another where they played a game of Chinese jump rope.
"We have to learn to exercise like Mr. Coyne says," said Brandon Green, 10. "We're getting better and better at every activity."
Alvaro Lopez, 10, took advantage of the individual jump rope station to practice some new skills he learned during a special assembly the previous Friday.
"You go, sideways, sideways, then you jump," he explained as he swung the rope on either side then opened it up to jump through it. "It's getting easier. I just want to learn to do it and get good at it."
At the end of the class, Coyne explained to the students the importance of lifelong fitness, healthy eating and avoiding cigarettes to maintain strong hearts.
"If we didn't do PE and stuff, we probably wouldn't have a healthy body or a healthy heart," explained Ali Fleming, 10. "When you get older, if you haven't taken care of your heart you will die quicker. It's really important."
In addition to raising money for the American Heart Association, teaching the students to jump rope will help them with their own development.
"It's a great aerobic exercise," Coyne said. "And it's a motor skill that gets the whole body in rhythm. Kids need to learn rhythm to help them out in their academics. For example, there's a rhythm to reading."
Contact Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or at 881-1272.