Mount Mystics have jumped with pep in their step to the very top – placing first in their division for the National Jump Jam Championships 2022.

The team of 12 from Mount Maunganui Primary School brought their best moves to the competition earlier this month, facing off teams from the North and South Island all jumping their hearts out.

Mount Mystics were beyond excited finding out their team had placed first in New Zealand for the Year 5-6 advanced category.

'Some of them were crying happy tears,” says coach Karen Reed.

'It was a great feeling knowing we had won jump jam nationals. We were overwhelmed with delight and also excited to tell our school and family!” says nine-year-old jump jammer Daisy Garea.

Jump jam is a serious business too with these springy-stepped girls having trained as much as five times a week leading up to the big competition.

'It's quite intense, it's a lot of training and the girls are really disciplined, and they had other things going on like sport and camp,” says Karen.

The team had two other coaches on-board, Lauren Wyse and Mr Rodd Kingston-Smith, making sure the girls' performance packed a punch.

'It's very technical so feet have to stay together, arms have to go up at the same time, it has to run smoothly, they have to do chants, singing – it's a whole combination of things that you get points for,” says Karen.

At the end of the day, it's about fun though! Asked what her favourite thing about jump jam is, Daisy says: 'Connecting with people that I don't normally and the fact I could represent my school”.

Mount Mystics got their jump jam groove onto song ‘Magic 2.0' and had a creative circus theme where Daisy was the ringmaster.

'We got distinction for our costume,” says Karen, who thanked parent Yolande Kind for her makeup skills to glam up the girls.

Looking ahead, Karen and her fellow coaches are getting ready for 2023's competition.

'We're already talking about next year – the pressure is on,” says Karen. And they can count on ringmaster Daisy, who absolutely loves to jump, to be at auditions. 'I don't know what I would do without Jump Jam in my life.”