Nike raises awareness about physical education

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :6/8/2007 9:40:19 AM

1,000 local Memphis students teach Memphis basketball star Rudy Gay the advantages of physical education.

As part of a five-city community education and awareness tour in honor of May’s National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, Nike hosted a special NikeGO PE event on May 25, at the University of Memphis Memorial Field.

This field day event featured approximately 1,000 fourth and fifth grade students from 21 area schools as well as Memphis basketball star Rudy Gay and Memphis City School District Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson. Together, they all participated in the NikeGO PE field day and addressed the important topic of rising inactivity in school-age Memphis youth.

This event highlighted NikeGO PE’s custom physical education curriculum that is now available in over 400 schools nationwide and is based on the standards of “new PE,” an approach to physical education that is more inclusive, active and fun than traditional PE classes and aims to deliver 30 minutes of constant physical activity.

“NikeGO PE seeks to instill a lifelong love of physical activity in young people and is designed to address rising inactivity rates in youth, a problem that we need to address in Memphis,” says Dr. Carol Johnson, Memphis City School District superintendent. “NikeGO PE provides elementary schools with tools to build a smart and effective approach to physical education, including a unique curriculum, teacher training and equipment.”

Though every Memphis City School elementary student is required to have a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity each week, statistics regarding childhood obesity and inactivity in Tennessee remain high. The state ranks third in the nation for childhood obesity, and it’s estimated that as many as 46 percent of children in Tennessee are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. Tennessee is also among the top five states for Type 2 diabetes in children and ranks 48th in the nation for its population’s overall health (Sources: American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control).

Working together to create a new, innovative approach to physical education, Nike and SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) teamed up to create the NikeGO PE curriculum, as well as “hands-on” teacher training and matched equipment sets. These tools help PE specialists and regular classroom teachers work together to provide supplemental “new PE” until more full time PE specialists are placed in schools.

Activities in the NikeGO PE “Playbook” are designed to develop students’ fitness, motor, and social skills, while providing strategies that integrate literacy, math science, art, and nutrition into PE lessons.

“It is extremely important for all children to grow up healthy and strong,” says Willie Gregory, director of US Business/Community Relations for Nike. “To reach this goal in Memphis, we are proud to have incorporated NikeGO PE in 26 area schools.”