For a Stage Challenge student, nothing quite compares to the elation of nailing their performance after more than six months of practice, sweat and tears.
That elation was a reality for hundreds of local students who took to the stage for the regional competition in front of a packed-out crowd last night.
The competition is a staple annual event and a rite of passage for those students who painstakingly brought the various performances together.
Last year's regional competition saw a high calibre of performers, but ultimately Rotorua Girls' High School reigned supreme.
This year local students from Western Heights High, Rotorua Lakes High, Girls' High, Mokoia Intermediate, Tauhara College and John Paul College took centre stage.