Fitness is Fun!
October 2006

Greetings from the office of the President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program! You have received the October 2006 issue of Fitness is Fun, the official e-mail distribution of the President's Challenge. These monthly e-mails will keep you updated on our programs, activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and other current information pertaining to health and fitness.

PCPFS NEWS:

PCPFS 50 Year Celebration IT STILL IS NOT TOO LATE!
The PCPFS Council members, Science Board, and staff are getting ready for 2006, the 50 year celebration of the creation of the PCPFS, originally known as President's Council on Youth Fitness. We encourage national, state, local, private and public organizations, industry, volunteer groups to join us in highlighting the benefits of a fit and active lifestyle and all of the great model programs at the grassroots level! This is a great opportunity for the PCPFS to highlight all of your accomplishment. A special seal has been developed for this celebration and is available for all schools, businesses, and organizations to use. A fact sheet on becoming a partner can be viewed at http://www.presidentschallenge.org/misc/news_research/announcements/pcpfs50.pdf. If you'd like to find out more, please don't hesitate to call Chris Spain at the President's Council Physical Fitness and Sports 202-690-9000.

General Mills Grants for PALA Awards
A unique partnership between the President's Challenge and General Mills Community Action is allowing eligible schools to receive free Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) emblems and certificates for eligible students at their school. Through the General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids program, General Mills Community Action will provide Presidential recognition to eligible low socioeconomic status schools (up to 25,000 students) and the President's Challenge will list the school on our Web site, http://www.presidentschallenge.com/ as a "General Mills Challenge School." In order to be eligible for the awards, students must meet the PALA requirements of being physically active 60 minutes per day, five days a week for six weeks. Also, if 35% of the student population earns the PALA award two or more times during the school year, the school will automatically earn the distinction of becoming a President's Challenge Active Lifestyle Model School. If you are a low socioeconomic status school, fill out the application at http://www.presidentschallenge.org/advocates/gen_mills_sponsorform.pdfand send it in to the President's Challenge office.

PCPFS and ACSM partner for Challenge State Coordinators
The PCPFS and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have partnered to identify state coordinators for the Demonstration Centers of the President’s Challenge Program. ACSM members were asked to participate as State Coordinators. ACSM and its members work in clinical settings, research laboratories, classrooms and fitness facilities to advance health through science, education and medicine. To read more about the Demonstration Centers or to see a list of the State Coordinators please visit: http://presidentschallenge.org/educators/school_recognition.aspx.

If you know of a school that deserves recognition as a PCPFS Demonstration Center please complete the form at: http://presidentschallenge.org/educators/school_recognition/demo_center_apply.aspx
and send it to your state coordinator or to the President’s Challenge Office.

The PCPFS Honor Award Nominations
The PCPFS Honor Award is given annually to an academic or research professional who has made a major contribution to the advancement and promotion of the science of physical activity, in addition to being an advocate of the PCPFS’ mission.

A call for nominations and submission information will be posted on the PCPFS and President’s Challenge (PC) websites and publicized in the PCPFS and PC e-newsletters.

Nominations must be submitted electronically by November 15 to the PCPFS office. Nominations will then be forwarded to the Science Board members. The Science Board will recommend an award winner to the PCPFS Executive Director at the annual December Science Board meeting. The PCPFS Executive Director will make the final decision and notify the award winner.

The award winner may not be a current member of the PCPFS Council and/or Science Board. Arrangements will be made by the PCPFS staff to present the award at a professional meeting, as appropriate.

Nominees not receiving the award will routinely have their credentials considered for a second year (i.e., once nominated, an individual is considered for two years)

For the Honor Award Nomination Form, Click Here!

New President’s Challenge Apparel has arrived!
New apparel and merchandise for the President’s Challenge has just arrived! New accessories include red, blue, and white award lanyards for those earning the National, Presidential and Participant Physical Fitness Awards. Another item is the President’s Challenge sports bag, a navy nylon mesh sport bag w/drawstring closure. New clothing includes youth and adult performance short sleeve and long sleeve t-shirts along with white mesh knit sport polo shirts. To view the new items visit the order center.

ASCD Announces Application for Grant Award Program to Promote Healthy School Communities
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) will award 10 grants of $10,000 each to help schools and communities work together to create a healthy school environment. The selected schools will demonstrate the capacity for best practice in leadership and instruction, support comprehensive health programs, and create strong collaborations with other community institutions.

The grant program is part of ASCD's worldwide effort to promote the integration of health and learning and the benefits of school-community partnerships. Grantees will assess the health-related aspects of the learning environment and use the results for school improvement and community engagement. They will participate in a study to identify the key indicators of success. School communities will receive technical assistance and become part of a Healthy School Communities network.

Healthy School Communities sites will be selected in November 2006. The pilot grant is open to K-12 public and independent school communities in the United States and its territories, including Department of Defense Schools; Canada; the Caribbean; and the Asia Pacific region.

Grant applications are available online at www.ascd.org/healthyschoolcommunities and are due November 15, 2006. For more information about the application process, contact Theresa Lewallen, director, at 1-703-575-5622 or healthyschoolcommunities@ascd.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The President’s Council meeting is on November 15th, 2006 in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building Washington D.C.

President’s Challenge is Exhibiting at the following Conferences:

~Indiana Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
November 2 and November 3
Indianapolis, IN

~Michigan Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
November 9 and November 10
Kalamazoo, MI

~Illinois Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
November 16 and November 17
St. Charles, IL

~Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
November 28- December 1
Ft. Worth, TX

International Walk to School Month. October 2006

International Walk to School Month gives children, parents, school teachers and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event as they celebrate the many benefits of walking. Last year, more than 3 million walkers from around the world walked to school together for various reasons – all hoping to create communities that are safe places to walk. For more information visit http://www.iwalktoschool.org/.

NEWS AND RESEARCH

KaBOOM! Helps Build Playground and Healthy Communities
KaBOOM! Is a national non-profit organization with the goal of creating safe places to play within walking distance of every child in America. KaBOOM! has already constructed nearly 1,000 new playgrounds, skate parks, sports fields and ice rinks across the country, and has renovated 1,300 more by bringing neighbors, kids, and volunteers to improve their communities. The play spaces are designed by children and built by the communities who will use them. In the same way that playgrounds promote exercise and social development among children, a community build promotes positive collaboration among private citizens and business leaders. For information go to http://www.kaboom.org/.

Dog Walking is a Fun Alternative for Going to the Gym
Next time you can’t find a walking partner consider bringing along mans’ best friend. A person needs at least 30 minutes of some kind of cardiovascular exercise a day to stay healthy. A study from University of Victoria, British Columbia, showed that dog owners walk an average of 300 minutes a week, versus 160 minutes a week for those who have no dogs. Exercising with a dog is not just beneficial for your health, but for your dogs’ as well. Dogs enjoy stimulating sights, sounds and scents that only the outdoors can provide. The variety of stimuli outdoors can help dogs maintain mental sharpness, while the exercise helps maintain physical strength. You might notice you and your dog aren’t as different as you thought. Once you are both outside you and your dog will go from sleepy couch potatoes to energized and healthy. For more information visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15105215/.

Find the Healthiest Dishes at Your Local Restaurants
The National Restaurant Association is helping it become easier to eat out healthy. They are building a website that will provide a list of healthy meals and restaurants across the country where they will be found. The site is collecting nutritional information of the healthiest dishes at restaurants in a community. Users can type in their city or ZIP code and search for restaurants by cuisine type or price range. It is already available for preview, but a formal launch with more than 10,000 restaurant listings is scheduled for January. To find the healthiest places to eat out in your area visit http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/site/.

Fitness Question of the Month for September

What ideas do you have to stay motivated as the winter season approaches?

I just switch sports and go enjoy the snow. I switch from cycling to running and cross-country skiing. That way I still get outside to enjoy all the new season offers.

Exercising is not just about the weather. One needs to make use of the weather and take advantage of the benefits that mother nature provides. Snow Boarding, skiing are two good exercises for the winter. Doesn't stop there, migrate your way to the racquetball court. My group plays a ladder for racquet ball, wallyball, squash and do indoor boot camps to stay in shape. They are lots of fun that we have other organizations asking to join us in the fun. Not to mention the aerobics, tae-bo and kick-boxing classes we sponsor.

~Allen B.

Winter can be particularly hard to stay motivated to exercise even with that commitment, though. I use different exercise videos, go to the nature center to walk where it is pretty (it is a time to walk and pray) and not near as boring as walking around the track. Tracking my activity on-line has been a motivator.

~Jan

Growing up in NH, I learned how to stay motivated to exercise outside in the cold weather....it's all about layers- and the right kind of layers! Yes, it may take a little more time to get ready to walk or run, but that's a small inconvenience. Polypropylene, or similar fabrics that wick away moisture, are great for winter outdoor activities. Cotton is a big no no, because as you sweat, the cotton fabric becomes wet, which makes you feel cold. Nylon, fleece and wool are great layering options too.

~Kristina

Fitness Question of the Month for October:

What information would be helpful in future Fitness is Fun newsletters?
Please respond via E-mail to The President's Challenge at preschal@indiana.edu We'll include the most insightful responses in the November issue of Fitness is Fun.

REMINDERS:

Remember to fill out State Champion, Model School, and Demonstration Center applications to ensure that your students are rewarded for their hard work! For more information, including application deadlines and guidelines, please visit http://www.presidentschallenge.org/educators/school_recognition.aspx.

FEATURED ADVOCATE:

Each month we will be featuring one of our President’s Challenge Advocates. All of our advocates have shown a commitment to making Americans more active and healthy on a regular basis. This month’s featured advocate is: The American Red Cross: The American Red Cross will be utilizing the President’s Challenge as part of the fitness requirement for their GuardStart program, an activity-based program designed to build a foundation of knowledge, attitudes and skills for future lifeguards or for those who enjoy spending time around the water. For more information about this program or the American Red Cross visit http://www.redcross.org/.

SPECIAL THANKS

We would like to extend a special thanks to all of the President's Challenge Advocates. Please visit the Advocates area on the http://www.presidentschallenge.org/ web site to see how companies, organizations and groups are making a difference with the President's Challenge.

FEEDBACK

We would like to hear from you. If you have any topics that you would like to see addressed in Fitness is Fun or any comments regarding this list, please let us know. You can provide them by emailing us at preschal@indiana.edu.

To view past issues of Fitness is Fun visit our website: http://www.presidentschallenge.org/. Enter the site by choosing the appropriate category, then click on "news/research".

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Fitness is Fun! October 2006

Fitness is Fun!
October 2006