Nike Calls for Daily P.E. Classes in U.S. Schools

Nike Calls for Daily P.E. Classes in U.S. Schools
To Highlight the Need for Physical Education in Schools, Nike and the SPARK
Programs Introduce the New P.E. at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival on the
National Mall 


WASHINGTON, June 16  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a speech at the HealthierUS
Fitness Festival today, Nike called for companies, athletes, coaches and
educators to work together to bring P.E. classes taught by P.E. specialists for
at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, to American schools. Nike said an
innovative, new type of P.E. program, like that developed by SPARK (Sports,
Play and Active Recreation for Kids), which is fun, interactive and constantly
moving, should replace the out-moded P.E. classes that were taught through most
of the late-20th Century.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO )

Nike and SPARK were among the more than 50 organizations to participate in the
HealthierUS Fitness Festival on the National Mall. The President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports joined with Congressmen Zach Wamp and Mark Udall,
Co-Chairs of the Congressional Fitness Caucus, to organize and showcase
activities and resources available to get Americans moving for health.

"For the first time in 100 years, kids today have a shorter life expectancy
than their parents," said Gary DeStefano, President, Nike USA Operations. "Our
national epidemic of youth inactivity and unhealthy weight has worsened with
the decline of school-based P.E. programs. Studies show these programs are some
of the most effective ways to increase activity among youth. We believe one way
to reverse this trend is for companies, organizations and the government to
work together to help bring daily P.E. classes taught by P.E. specialists back
to schools."

During the HealthierUS Fitness Festival, Nike, SPARK, University of Maryland
Men's Basketball Coach Gary Williams and Houston Comet's Cynthia Cooper hosted
an interactive PE2GO demonstration of the "New P.E.," a combination of constant
movement, fun and skills development for kids. PE2GO is a national,
standards-based program designed by Nike and SPARK to help increase the quality
and quantity of physical education in schools where P.E. classes have been
drastically reduced or eliminated. Nike and SPARK deliver the curriculum,
training and equipment to classroom teachers to prepare them to teach P.E. to
fourth and fifth grade kids. In the fall of 2003, PE2GO launched in six U.S.
cities, reaching over 6,400 fourth and fifth graders in 43 elementary schools.

"PE2GO is the 'New P.E.,' where students no longer stand on the sidelines or in
line waiting for a turn to play. All kids get simultaneous opportunities to
participate, develop their own individual skills and learn to enjoy physical
activity," said Paul Rosengard, Executive Director for SPARK. "We provide
schools with a self-contained physical education program that gives P.E.
specialists and classroom teachers the tools to instill in children a lifelong
love of physical activity."

Only one in four U.S. public school students attends regular P.E. classes, and
fewer than one in four children get 20 minutes of vigorous activity every day.
Health professionals agree kids should take part in a minimum of 60 minutes of
physical activity every day of the week. Preliminary results from the first
year PE2GO evaluation by Dr. Sarah Levin Martin, of the Physical Activity and
Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), demonstrate more than
just physical benefits from the program:

  -- Nine out of ten kids are more active, and enjoy it;
  -- Three out of four kids learned physical activities that can be enjoyed
     for a lifetime;
  -- Three out of four kids learned to cooperate with others and improve
     social skills; and
  -- P.E. teaching skills improved.



In her remarks at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival, Nike's Director of U.S.
Community Affairs explained that Nike's ultimate goal is to initiate lifestyle
changes in students so they will lead more physically active lives. "Initial
results from our first year of PE2GO have been overwhelmingly positive and
demonstrate the majority of kids' fitness levels and sports and movement skills
improved markedly," said Molly White. "Even more exciting, we received love
letters from teachers and kids who were so enthused with the program that they
asked for daily P.E. classes in their schools. In year two, we plan to reach
more schools in current cities and school districts as well as explore other
cities in order to bring the 'New P.E.' to more kids throughout the country."

In addition to PE2GO, Nike is involved in several initiatives designed to
increase the participation of young people in physical activity as a means to
improve their lives. These range from after-school programs at Boys & Girls
Clubs to collaboration with Indian Health Services to fight diabetes among
Native American youth to national and regional advocacy. Nike has made a
long-term commitment to help kids get physically active, through its signature
affairs program, NikeGO.

About SPARK

SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) is a research-based
organization dedicated to creating, implementing, and evaluating programs that
promote lifelong wellness.  Visit http://www.sparkpe.org/ or call 1-800SPARKPE
or e-mail:  for more information.

About NikeGO

NikeGO is Nike's signature U.S. community affairs initiative and the company's
long-term commitment to getting kids more physically active.  The program's
mission is to increase physical activity in youth ages 8-15, offering them the
support and motivation to become physically active, stay healthy and have fun. 
Nike committed more than $10 million last year in cash and products to get kids
moving.  Visit http://www.nikego.com/ for additional information.

Satellite Coordinates

VNR footage will be available via satellite on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 from
4:00 p.m. through 4:30 p.m. [ET] to include footage from the HealthierUS
Fitness Festival. Repeat at 5:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. [ET].

   C-band AM-9 Transponder 22
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DATASOURCE: Nike



CONTACT:  Lee Weinstein of Nike, [phone], or





Web site:  http://www.nikebiz.com/ 

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