Yarmouth Central Elementary School earns new gym equipment

Students at a local elementary school have successfully completed the Go Active! Fitness Challenge, earning the school $500 in Wintergreen phys-ed credits to use towards new gym equipment. Sixty-two students at Yarmouth Central Elementary School completed the challenge, which involved training and testing for a series of six exercises: crunches, push-ups, 50-metre dash, shuttle run, standing long jump and an endurance run. Teachers tested the students on the same six exercises once in the fall and again in the spring, aiming for individual improvement rather than focusing on a national standard of excellence.



By participating in the Go Active! Fitness Challenge and exercising regularly, the students at Yarmouth Central were able to improve on the test exercises by an average of 6.64 per cent, exactly matching the national average improvement rate for all participating schools across the country.



Students at Yarmouth Central saw the biggest improvement over the course of the challenge in the average number of push-ups they could do in a minute, going from 23 in their first test in the fall up to 28 in the spring – an improvement of more than 18 per cent. The students also improved by 8.93 per cent in crunches per minute, and by 6.44 per cent in their endurance run.



The challenge is an annual teacher-run program promoting physical activity amongst students. Schools that participate can earn credits for new gym equipment: $200 in Wintergreen phys-ed credits is awarded to each eligible class that completes the challenge and submits their results on the Fitness Challenge website, up to a maximum of $500 in credits per school.



The Go Active! Fitness Challenge is presented by McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited with support from the Canadian Olympic Committee. “McDonald's is extremely proud of the accomplishments of our local students in improving their physical fitness levels,” said Rod Rose, owner-operator, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited in Yarmouth. “The Go Active! Fitness Challenge is one way we are demonstrating our commitment to encouraging a balanced, active lifestyle among young Canadians. I’m thrilled that these local students have risen to the challenge of improving personal fitness levels and that they have done so well in achieving their goals.”



Registration for the 2008-2009 Go Active! Fitness Challenge will open in August at www.fitnesschallenge.ca