The President's Challenge is the cornerstone program of the President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports. Beginning with the Presidential Physical
Fitness Award (PPFA) in 1966, the President's Challenge program has served as a
fitness recognition program whose goal is to motivate all children, ages 6-17,
to begin and continue an active lifestyle leading to enhanced physical fitness.
Through participation in schools, clubs, community/recreation groups and on an
individual basis, over 70 million youth have received Presidential recognition
for their accomplishments in the program's three areas: active lifestyle,
physical fitness, and health fitness.
Today, the President's Challenge program has evolved into a tool to help
Americans of all ages become active now and stay active for a lifetime. Award
categories include:
Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards
By engaging in regular physical activity for 6 weeks on five days a week,
participants of all ages can now earn a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award
(PALA) patch. There are no fitness requirements or tests. Children and youth
must commit to at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity five days a week
and participate in lifestyle activities such as active play and games involving
the large muscles of the body as well as walking to school and doing chores
around the home. A young person may choose to count minutes of daily activity
and/or count steps on a pedometer with a goal of 11,000 steps a day for girls
and 13,000 steps a day for boys. Pedometers are available through the
President's Challenge program.
For the first time, adult Americans now have a chance to join kids in
participating in the President's Challenge to earn a Presidential Active
Lifestyle Award. This new element of the PALA recognizes adults,
including seniors, who adopt a physically active lifestyle by committing to do
at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity five days a week for 6 weeks.
Lifestyle activities may include walking, sweeping the floor, and taking the
stairs instead of elevators. Adults may also choose to count minutes or count
steps per day using a pedometer with a goal of 10,000 steps a day. Adults are
encouraged to earn the award with their children and teens to encourage family
fitness. Participants can log their steps or minutes of activity toward the
Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards via the new www.presidentschallenge.org Web
site or on paper.
Presidential Champions
For participants, ages 6 and up, who are already active, the new Presidential
Champions awards provide a new challenge to achieving and maintaining an
individual's highest possible activity level. Choose from a wide variety of
activities and sign up individually or together with friends, family and/or
co-workers via www.presidentschallenge.org. Points are earned by logging in for
every activity and participants can earn a Bronze Award for reaching 20,000, a
Silver Award for 45,000 points and a Gold award for 80,000 points.
Physical Fitness Awards
This program recognizes children and youth on their level of physical fitness
by testing the student on a battery of tests measuring physical fitness
components. The events include: curl-ups or partial curl-ups, shuttle run,
endurance run/walk, pull-ups or right angle push-ups, and V-sit or sit and
reach. Three awards are available for children and youth depending on their
level of physical fitness:
-
Presidential Physical Fitness Award
for a score above the 85th percentile on all five events;
-
National Physical Fitness Award
for a score above the 50th percentile on all five events; and
-
Participant Physical Fitness Award for a score that falls below the 50th
percentile on one or more events.
The Health Fitness Award
Now in its sixth year, this award recognizes students who achieve a healthy
level of fitness. The Health Fitness Award is given based on the results of a
five item assessment: (partial curl-ups, on mile run/walk: 1/4 mile 6-7 year
old, 1/2 mile 8-9 year old, V-sit: sit and reach, right angle push-ups or
pull-ups and a measurement of body mass index). Body Mass Index is an easy way,
based on height and weight, to estimate body composition without actually
measuring body fat.
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