Skye the P.E. Guy , the Skye-Walkers, and You!

What Are They Doing?

Skye The P.E. Guy and his crew will be promoting physical activity and quality physical education by walking, skating, biking, canoeing, kayaking, dancing, dribbling, etc. from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the American Discovery Trail. Students and teachers at schools across the world may sign up to be Skye-Walkers and participate in a Skye-Walkers Challenge to get kids moving and make them aware of Skye the P.E. Guy, his journey and his mission to promote physical activity and quality P.E. Businesses and individuals may adopt classes or schools and provide them with pedometers to use for this challenge, -and to keep forever. Skye and his crew will stop at schools and community centers along the route to get communities involved in the Skye-Walkers Challenge.

We are expecting local and national media attention.

When Is It Taking Place?

Skye The P.E. Guy and his team will be leaving Chico on June 1st, 2007 to go to San Francisco to start the trek from coast-to-coast. The trek will take approximately nine months. With sufficient funding, the Skye-Walkers Challenge will continue even after the trek is complete with new adventures.

Why Is It Important?

Quality Physical Education should be the foundation for a lifetime of physical activity for all children. Too many children and adults do not get enough activity in their day, and many physical education teachers are not aware of how much (or little) their students really move. Lack of activity is a leading cause of our rising obesity epidemic. Obesity and inactivity contribute to many of our most deadly diseases, such as heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. There are numerous common ailments, such as back pain, arthritis and depression that can be eased or cured with regular physical activity. This problem costs society hundreds of billions of dollars per year in lost work hours, health care costs and workers' compensation. Quality physical education provides more opportunities for physical activity in class, but more importantly it helps students develop the skills, knowledge and desire they need to be active now and for the rest of their lives. Pedometers are inexpensive tools teachers can use to assess student activity levels in their classes. Pedometers can also motivate people to get the recommended amount of steps in a day, which is essential for good health. While most teachers would love to have this technology available for their students, most do not have the funds to buy a class set of high quality pedometers.

How You Can Help

A business or individual may become an active partner in fighting the obesity epidemic by:

• adopting one or more Physical Education teachers/schools, which provides them with class sets of pedometers and lesson ideas.
• adopting a school library which provides take-home pedometers that will be available for students to check out. This type of program encourages physical activity after school. It allows children to teach their parents how to use a pedometer, and about the importance of being physically active.
• Once the schools receive the pedometers, they will be able to participate in the Skye-Walkers Challenge by virtually joining Skye the P.E. Guy on his trek across the U.S. A map will be updated regularly on the Skye The PE Guy/CASPER site (www.skyethepeguy.org) so that Skye-Walkers can track their steps and follow Skye, virtually, on his route.

Adopt a class/school donations, which are tax deductible, will also allow CASPER to help Skye The PE Guy in his efforts to spread the word across the nation about the role of quality physical education in fighting the obesity epidemic, and the importance of physical activity.