Thousands of elementary students are taking the challenge to be active every day, drink water and eat their fruits and vegetables as part of the University Health System Go!Kids Challenge powered by San Antonio Sports. More than 130,000 elementary school students in 217 San Antonio-area schools will participate in a fun program designed to motivate elementary students to be physically active and make water their primary drink of choice. This is the 16th anniversary of Go!Kids Challenge. The goal of the six-week program, which takes place Jan. 21 through March 1, is to educate children about the importance of routine exercise and proper nutrition, which will help in the fight against childhood obesity.
Participants track their activity and healthy eating on a special log. If they do five fitness activities every week for six weeks and return their logs to their teachers, they will earn a voucher for two complimentary tickets to the San Antonio Zoo. Activities include playing sports, playing outside, running and walking, and push-ups.
“The UHS Go!Kids Challenge encourages kids to be active and eat healthy,” explains Russ Bookbinder, President & CEO of San Antonio Sports. “Our mission is to transform our community through the power of sport. Helping children understand that fitness can be fun is important. If it’s fun, it can become a daily habit, which will help children transform into healthy adults.”
A kickoff press conference was held at Woodlawn Hills Elementary School on Wednesday, Jan. 23, with special guests including San Antonio FC Goalkeeper, Matthew Cardone, the Jefferson High School drum line, cheerleaders, Lasso dance team and student athletes. Woodlawn Hill students performed a special fitness dance routine.
“We encourage parents and guardians to do the University Health System Go!Kids Challenge with their kids to motivate each other,” says Bookbinder. “Kids motivate their parents to get out and play with them, which strengthens family bonds. Parents who encourage their children to be active are great role models and allow them to see that fitness is an important family value.”
“We are happy to support the Go!Kids Challenge because it’s perfectly in line with our own mission to improve the health of our community,” said George B. Hernández Jr., President and CEO of University Health System. “Go!Kids Challenge is all about inspiring young people to become more active and healthier.”
“San Antonio Zoo is pleased to support the Go!Kids Challenge and promote children enjoying an active lifestyle,” said Tim Morrow, CEO and Executive Director of San Antonio Zoo. “Upon completion of the challenge, we’re happy to provide kids with tickets to the zoo so they can come here and connect with nature and wildlife. San Antonio Zoo, much like San Antonio Sports, University Health System, and the zoo’s own nature based pre-school, Will Smith Zoo School strive to instill in children the value of being outside and enjoying a vigorous lifestyle that includes playing, exercising and learning in nature.”
The San Antonio Sports 2019 University Health System Go!Kids Challenge is sponsored by the San Antonio Zoo, Frost, Valero Energy Foundation, Dahill, Ancira, Gold’s Gym and Fox 29, CW 35 and News 4 San Antonio.
For more information about the University Health System Go!Kids Challenge or San Antonio Sports, contact Carolyn Wheat at 210-820-2119 or cwheat@sanantoniosports.org.