The Takhini Heartbeaters didn't let a tough field stop them from achieving some stellar results at a provincial rope skipping competition.

The group returned to Whitehorse Monday after competing at the 2009 B.C./Yukon Rope Skipping Championships, hosted this past weekend in Victoria.

The Heartbeaters include a rookie and mainstream team, each made up of five skippers.

The Takhini skipping team was the lone Yukon skipping group at the provincials. The Victoria competition featured both team and individual events.

Thanks to a fifth place showing at the provincials, the mainstream squad will travel to Abbotsford, B.C. in May for the Canadian Rope Skipping Federation National Championships.

Seven teams competed in the mainstream category in Victoria.

"They did well," said Heartbeaters head coach Judy Ratcliffe. "The mainstream team is up against top notched teams, so they did as well as I thought they would do and we did get some good comments from some of their routines."

Takhini's mainstream team's best results came in the double dutch relay and double dutch pairs. In both events, the team placed third overall.

The group also placed fourth in speed relay and double dutch pairs free, while placing fifth in the double dutch single free and fifth in the team four-person competition.

The Yukon rookies also did outstanding, placing first in four team categories, including speed relay, power relay, double dutch pairs speed and the double dutch pairs free event.

Ratcliffe was pleased with the performance of her rookie team. She said the team didn't show any nerves at its first competition.

"The rookies did really well and I think part of that is this isn't their first year skipping," she said. "They have been skipping for two or three years, but this was their first competition, and so they just have that little bit more experience. Our rookie teams tend to be stronger."

Thirteen-year-old Alex Schultz has been on the Heartbeaters team since she was in Grade 1.

This past weekend, however, marked her final skipping provincials with the Takhini mainstream group. Schultz admitted to being a little nervous in Victoria.

"I got really nervous, I don't know why, just watching everybody do their routine, which I probably shouldn't do," she said. "It was a feeling that I had my first year I went, but every other year I have never been nervous."

She said she expects the experience in Victoria to help her at the skipping nationals.

"After going to my last provincials I should be probably better going to my last nationals."

Schultz said her goals for nationals just involve personal bests.

"I just really want to do our best, and get all of our personal bests and maybe even place, which it will be really hard because there's probably three times as many teams going to nationals," she said. "It's going to be tough, but I think we might be able to do it."

Other rookie results included a second place finish in double dutch relay, double dutch free and the four-person team event.

The rookies also had a number of notable finishes in the singles category, which included Nila Stentson placing first in the single free eight-to-nine-years-old category.

Stentson said she enjoyed the singles competition the most and wasn't nervous about competing in her first skipping provincials.

Heartbeaters' skipper Heather Wilson also competed in the eight and nine category. Wilson, who finished second in the singles free, said she enjoyed her time in Victoria and also liked the singles event the most.

Emma Hoogland placed seventh in the rookie 10-to-11-years-old category, adding said she had a fun time in B.C.