Nike Calls for Daily P.E. Classes in U.S. Schools
June 16 2004 - 1:40PM
PR Newswire (US)
Nike Calls for Daily P.E. Classes in U.S. Schools To Highlight the
Need for Physical Education in Schools, Nike and the SPARK Programs
Introduce the New P.E. at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival on the
National Mall WASHINGTON, June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a
speech at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival today, Nike called for
companies, athletes, coaches and educators to work together to
bring P.E. classes taught by P.E. specialists for at least 30
minutes a day, five days a week, to American schools. Nike said an
innovative, new type of P.E. program, like that developed by SPARK
(Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids), which is fun,
interactive and constantly moving, should replace the out-moded
P.E. classes that were taught through most of the late-20th
Century. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO ) Nike and
SPARK were among the more than 50 organizations to participate in
the HealthierUS Fitness Festival on the National Mall. The
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports joined with
Congressmen Zach Wamp and Mark Udall, Co-Chairs of the
Congressional Fitness Caucus, to organize and showcase activities
and resources available to get Americans moving for health. "For
the first time in 100 years, kids today have a shorter life
expectancy than their parents," said Gary DeStefano, President,
Nike USA Operations. "Our national epidemic of youth inactivity and
unhealthy weight has worsened with the decline of school-based P.E.
programs. Studies show these programs are some of the most
effective ways to increase activity among youth. We believe one way
to reverse this trend is for companies, organizations and the
government to work together to help bring daily P.E. classes taught
by P.E. specialists back to schools." During the HealthierUS
Fitness Festival, Nike, SPARK, University of Maryland Men's
Basketball Coach Gary Williams and Houston Comet's Cynthia Cooper
hosted an interactive PE2GO demonstration of the "New P.E.," a
combination of constant movement, fun and skills development for
kids. PE2GO is a national, standards-based program designed by Nike
and SPARK to help increase the quality and quantity of physical
education in schools where P.E. classes have been drastically
reduced or eliminated. Nike and SPARK deliver the curriculum,
training and equipment to classroom teachers to prepare them to
teach P.E. to fourth and fifth grade kids. In the fall of 2003,
PE2GO launched in six U.S. cities, reaching over 6,400 fourth and
fifth graders in 43 elementary schools. "PE2GO is the 'New P.E.,'
where students no longer stand on the sidelines or in line waiting
for a turn to play. All kids get simultaneous opportunities to
participate, develop their own individual skills and learn to enjoy
physical activity," said Paul Rosengard, Executive Director for
SPARK. "We provide schools with a self-contained physical education
program that gives P.E. specialists and classroom teachers the
tools to instill in children a lifelong love of physical activity."
Only one in four U.S. public school students attends regular P.E.
classes, and fewer than one in four children get 20 minutes of
vigorous activity every day. Health professionals agree kids should
take part in a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day
of the week. Preliminary results from the first year PE2GO
evaluation by Dr. Sarah Levin Martin, of the Physical Activity and
Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), demonstrate
more than just physical benefits from the program: -- Nine out of
ten kids are more active, and enjoy it; -- Three out of four kids
learned physical activities that can be enjoyed for a lifetime; --
Three out of four kids learned to cooperate with others and improve
social skills; and -- P.E. teaching skills improved. In her remarks
at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival, Nike's Director of U.S.
Community Affairs explained that Nike's ultimate goal is to
initiate lifestyle changes in students so they will lead more
physically active lives. "Initial results from our first year of
PE2GO have been overwhelmingly positive and demonstrate the
majority of kids' fitness levels and sports and movement skills
improved markedly," said Molly White. "Even more exciting, we
received love letters from teachers and kids who were so enthused
with the program that they asked for daily P.E. classes in their
schools. In year two, we plan to reach more schools in current
cities and school districts as well as explore other cities in
order to bring the 'New P.E.' to more kids throughout the country."
In addition to PE2GO, Nike is involved in several initiatives
designed to increase the participation of young people in physical
activity as a means to improve their lives. These range from
after-school programs at Boys & Girls Clubs to collaboration
with Indian Health Services to fight diabetes among Native American
youth to national and regional advocacy. Nike has made a long-term
commitment to help kids get physically active, through its
signature affairs program, NikeGO. About SPARK SPARK (Sports, Play
and Active Recreation for Kids) is a research-based organization
dedicated to creating, implementing, and evaluating programs that
promote lifelong wellness. Visit http://www.sparkpe.org/ or call
1-800SPARKPE or e-mail: for more information. About NikeGO NikeGO
is Nike's signature U.S. community affairs initiative and the
company's long-term commitment to getting kids more physically
active. The program's mission is to increase physical activity in
youth ages 8-15, offering them the support and motivation to become
physically active, stay healthy and have fun. Nike committed more
than $10 million last year in cash and products to get kids moving.
Visit http://www.nikego.com/ for additional information. Satellite
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http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Nike CONTACT: Lee Weinstein
of Nike, +1-503-708-0402, or Web site: http://www.nikebiz.com/
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