Joshua Stephens started jumping rope after he was mesmerized by the American Heart Association’s demonstration team for the Jump for Heart program more than a decade ago.

"I played tennis and they were practicing at the same time. I told my dad I wanted to do that," he said. "I volunteered with them to promote health and fitness until I was about 15 years old."

Things got competitive thereafter. After a few years of training, Stephens, now 19, placed second in speed at a national jump-rope competition last year.

"Everyone is always rooting each other on, building each other up," he said. "Our whole family does it. There are no age restrictions."

Stephens and his three siblings are members of Hawaiian Island Skippers, a group of competitive jump-rope athletes who will represent the state at the USA Jump Rope National Competition in Long Beach, Calif., in June. The team, led by coach Christy Fritts, practices three times a week in Mililani.

"They are pretty committed," Fritts said. "They also practice for single-rope events on their own."

In addition to working on choreography, the group endures heavy-rope drills, push-ups, sit-ups, squats and jumping drills during practice.

"The choreography needs to be precise, with a beginning and ending pose. It’s timed and needs to be between one minute and one minute and 15 seconds or they are penalized," she said.

Sprained elbows, wrists and ankles and other injuries are common, according to Fritts. "When the kids get hit with the rope, they have welts for weeks," she said.

Mililani District Park is the Hawaiian Island Skippers’ home on Mondays and Fridays; Wednesdays the group practices indoors at the Mililani Recreation Center.

"Being outdoors has definitely toughened them up," Fritts said. "They are used to practicing in the wind and rain — on a concrete surface."

Team members are mixed in ages and gender, with a lot more boys joining, she said.

"The boys can do harder tricks and lots of acrobatic moves. Sometimes, they are faster and have a stronger upper body," she added.

Fritts’ husband, George, 42, son Allen, 19, and daughter, Abby, 13, have all competed at regional and national competitions.

Marian Fletcher, executive director of USA Jump Rope, said 57 teams with about 760 competitors participated in the national competition last year.

"Jump rope is different from many sports because the teams are all friends and support each other. When jump-rope athletes first see each other, they run up and hug each other," Fletcher said.

"The Hawaiian Island Skippers are loved by all of the teams on the mainland and keep up with them through Facebook and email."

ANA Kurashige, 16, can attest to the camaraderie. "People from other teams cheer you on and congratulate you. We share tricks with each other, too," she said.

She acquired a passion for the sport at an early age, and at 8 years old was a member of the Heart Association’s demonstration team. "My mom made me go, but after the first class I was hooked," she said.

Now a member of the Skippers, she says she is often teased by family members and friends who don’t understand the competitive aspects of the sport.

"When they think of jump rope, they imagine a girl jumping on the playground and singing songs," Kurashige said. "They don’t really get it … we don’t just do the simple stuff."

Her biggest worry is that people on the team will be moving on to college and other ventures. "Our team is on the older side, so we are trying to get more exposure. We are the only competitive team in Hawaii. We don’t want to see it die out," she said.