Athletes and Unified partners have wrapped up the 2021 Winter Fitness Challenge! From January-March, nearly 400 participants and their coaches engaged in virtual competition that tracked weekly scores in 7 unique fitness activities like push-ups, wall sits, curl-ups, agility and more. Scores were tracked and submitted to the State Office, and medals were given based off improvement over the course of the 8 weeks.
Medal categories were awarded based off the athlete or Unified partner's improvement percentage.
49% of participants received a gold medal (8-week improvement of at least 30%).
12% of participants received a silver medal (8-week improvement of between 20-29%).
22% of participants received a bronze medal (8-week improvement of between 10-19%).
Athletes were able to participate in weekly Zoom workouts, and coaches and volunteers did a great job of checking in with athletes and partners, keeping them motivated and trying their best.
I'm very appreciative of the state office and their staff for coming up with a way to keep our athletes and Unified partners active with a purpose during this pandemic. Although we are anxiously awaiting the return of team sports, the Winter Fitness Challenge allowed us to stay in shape, challenged us mentally and physically, and motivated us to collectively anticipate the return of in-person events. Being a National Banner School, this challenge helped us keep Special Olympics relevant in our school and community. This was a bright spot in such a difficult year.
Thanks Coach Hayes and all the coaches across the state who made this challenge possible for their athletes and partners!
Certificates will be sent to all participants through their Area Director. We're so proud of every athlete, Unified partner, and coach who embraced this new format of competition and gave it their all.