Jun 02, 2008
Governor Charlie Crist news release

Gov. Charlie Crist, today signed Senate Bill 610 expanding physical education at the elementary and middle school grade levels. During the signing ceremony, the Governor also recognized eight elementary schools as winners of the Governor's Fitness Challenge, an eight-week program that provides guidance and incentives to schools in helping boost physical fitness for children.

"This legislation demonstrates Florida's commitment to fostering healthy lifestyles in every young Floridian at an early age," Governor Crist said. "By emphasizing the importance of physical fitness, we can teach these students how to make smart choices about exercise that will improve their health throughout their lives."

Proposed by Senator Lee Constantine and co-sponsored by Representative Chris Dorworth, Senate Bill 610 requires middle schools to offer students in grades 6 through 8 one class period per day of physical education for one semester, beginning in the 2009-10 school year. Additionally, the bill expands current requirements to include physical education for students in grade 6 who are enrolled in a school with one or more elementary grades (K-5). These elementary students must participate in at least 30 consecutive minutes of physical activity per day.

Governor Crist also presented the first round of awards to elementary schools participating in the Governor's Fitness Challenge. Four public or private schools with at least 50 percent of students participating in the challenge were randomly selected to receive $5,000 toward the purchase of sports or fitness equipment for their schools. Four additional public schools that met the 50 percent participation requirement and also demonstrated improvement in students' fitness performance areas were randomly selected to receive $10,000 toward the purchase of sports or fitness equipment. Two additional participating schools were randomly selected to receive a future visit from Florida athletes.

Winners of the 2008 Governor's Fitness Challenge are as follows:

$10,000 School Recipients

Emma Love Hardee Elementary - Fernandina Beach

Garden Grove Elementary - Winter Haven

Byrneville Elementary - Century

Theodore Roosevelt Elementary - Cocoa Beach

$5,000 School Recipients

Hungerford Elementary - Maitland

Sabal Elementary - Melbourne

Athenian Academy of Pinellas - Dunedin

Audubon Park Elementary - Orlando

Visit from Florida Olympian or Professional Athlete

SunCoast Primary School - Vero Beach

Inverness Primary School - Inverness

The Governor's Fitness Challenge has been developed in partnership with the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness. Champion Sponsor SunTrust Banks Inc. is providing funding for the purchase of fitness equipment for winning schools and student incentives. Technology for Fitness Sponsor AT&T is supporting incentives for schools and children and is funding the Fitness Challenge Web site. Activities for the fitness program were developed in conjunction with in-kind sponsor Titus Sports Academy, a sports conditioning and training center.

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