Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008

Fitness Benefits

County program rewards students for staying active

When Jeanine Boggeri's name was called as winner of the Wii Fit console, the 12-year-old was so shocked, she almost didn't claim her prize.

The Hickman Middle School seventh-grader was one of hundreds of students at three Stanislaus County schools Friday hoping to get a prize for the miles and minutes of physical activity they log each week.

Almost half of the county's schools have joined the county Office of Education's yearlong campaign to be "Fit for the Future."

As each prize increased in cost and coolness, the crowd of Hickman sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders screamed and clapped louder as names were randomly drawn. Prizes ranged from T-shirts and Frisbees to skateboards to the Wii Fit console. Funworks' Freddy Foreman and the Modesto Nuts' Wally the Walnut mascots were on hand with county Office of Education officials to hand out the prizes.

"I've always been involved with sports. The prizes are a good idea because they motivate people more -- it gives them a reason why to work out," Jeanine said.

Other prizes included gift cards, iPod Shuffles, Dance Revolution games, a flag-football set and a basketball- football set. Funding for the incentives comes from sponsors Kaiser Permanente, AT&T and Roberts Auto Sales.

"Fit for the Future" is aligned with the Governor's Challenge, part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's push for fitness. Eighty-one schools in the county have signed on in the Governor's Challenge, which requires students to be active 30 to 60 minutes a day, three days a week over a 28-day period. Physical education classes are not counted.

Friday, "prize troopers" visited Hickman Middle, Modesto's Chrysler Elementary School and Turlock's Walter Brown Elementary School. Patterson High will receive a visit in January.

The county Office of Education kicked off the fitness campaign this year in an effort to reduce childhood obesity and increase the fitness of area youth.

Stanislaus County has been recognized several times this year as the most active county in the Governor's Challenge, including in State Superintendent Jack O'Connell's news conference announcing the 2007-08 Physical Fitness Test results last month.

The prize troopers plan two more giveaways this school year.

One of Friday's winners didn't let his broken leg slow him down. When Brandon Gerdes' name was called, he jumped up to claim his RipStik and helmet.

"It's really amazing. I didn't think I'd win anything," said Brandon, 13, who broke his left leg a few weeks ago while playing football during lunch. He might have to wait until his cast comes off to ride the tricky skateboard.

When he isn't hobbling on crutches, Brandon said he plays football and jogs.

"I like running with my little sister. We do the hard work, then it pays off," he said about the prizes. "Exercise is a good thing to do to stay in shape. I enjoy it."

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.