As the coronavirus lockdown continues into the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, Fit For Sport is offering families fresh inspiration and motivation by inviting them to take its free Easter Activity Challenge. Its aim is to engage at least 10,000 families for 10 minutes at 10am on Bank Holiday Monday, April 13th in a bid to raise heart rates and smiles across the nation.
Getting right behind this initiative is Jo Pavey MBE, five-time Olympian British long-distance runner and mum of two. “Exercise is so beneficial for physical and mental wellbeing during the lockdown and I love the energy and fun of the Fit For Sport Easter Activity Challenge,” she says. “The kids and I have given it a little go already and we’re all set to join in the fun on Easter Monday at 10am,” says Jo who has filmed the exercises with her children at home for others to follow on the day. Like so many families, Jo has been looking for ways to keep the family active while on lockdown. “I love the idea of families up and down the county being active at the same time and whether you choose to do it indoors like us or outside I highly recommend this 10 minute challenge which will raise your family’s spirits as well as your heart rates.”
Easy to take part
It couldn’t be easier to take part in the Fit For Sport Easter Activity Challenge. You simply register at http://www.activitychallenge.co.uk/, take the challenge and log your family’s results. Depending how you perform, you will be awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold grading. No TV screens, Apps or downloads necessary! The Activity Challenge can be done indoors or outside and consists of three age-graded activities: Throw & Catch, Running and Jumping. The idea is that having done it once, your personal target is set – ready to try and improve on it the following day which is highly motivating! Once you’ve recorded your results, please tag #ActivityChallenge when posting your family videos and photos on social media.
“Our Activity Challenge is a fun and easy way to get families moving together,” says Fit For Sport CEO Renee Bowman. “Here at Fit For Sport we share a passion for keeping families moving and it’s vitally important we do this during these uncertain times. Designed to measure agility, stamina, and hand-eye coordination, our Activity Challenge provides a baseline score for everyone taking part which they can aim to improve upon. It’s highly motivating and children love to see their scores go up.”
Serious Health Concerns
Behind the fun of the challenge are some serious health concerns around children’s inactivity which is known to rise significantly when not in school and, therefore, when on lockdown
- Inactivity during school holidays will reverse major fitness gains: ukactive research has highlighted the stark disparities in cardiovascular fitness levels between children growing up in different socio-economic backgrounds, with the poorest children losing up to 80% of their fitness levels over the six-week school summer holidays. At the same time, BMI levels in the poorest children are on the rise, contributing to a health crisis of the highest order.[i]
- Active children are happier than their inactive peers: there’s a positive association between levels of engagement in sport and physical activity and levels of mental wellbeing with the most active children expressing most happiness (Source: Sport England’s Active Lives Children & Young People Survey, December 2019)
“We absolutely welcome the Fit For Sport Easter Activity Challenge and think it could be just the tonic families need as the lockdown continues,” says Jack Shakespeare, ukactive Director of Children, Young People and Families. “We know that even in normal circumstances many children don’t meet their physical activity targets and levels drop even further when they’re not at school. The Easter holiday combined with the lockdown will impact children’s activity levels but the Fit For Sport Easter Activity Challenge is the perfect way to kickstart family fitness and fun.”
Seeking Britain’s most active region
As well as wanting to get at least 10,000 families active on Bank Holiday Monday, Fit For Sport wants to find Britain’s most active town and region. So, make sure you log your activity and see if you can put your hometown on the UK’s Activity Map!
The Fit For Sport Activity Challenge
- The Fit For Sport Activity Challenge has three age-graded options for children aged 5-7; 8-9 and 10-11 respectively. They are tasked to Throw & Catch, Jump and Run as much as they can within 60 seconds, 90 seconds and 120 seconds depending on their age. They are awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold grading depending on their results.
About Fit For Sport
- With 29 years’ experience, Fit For Sport is the UK’s leading expert in educating and engaging children and young people through physical activity.fitforsport.co.uk
- Fit For Sport operates over 60 holiday camps and over 100 school services nationwide.
- Fit For Sport also Trains, Supports and Delivers in over 350 schools each week, keeping over 250,000 children active every year.
