Even a Global Pandemic Didn't Stop Warsaw Students from Winning GCC's 2020 Play to Get Fit Challenge!

Batavia, NY (01/13/2021) — The Warsaw Central School has won the 2020 Play to Get Fit Challenge hosted by the Health and Physical Education department at Genesee Community College!

The Get Fit Challenge has been motivating third, fourth and fifth graders in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties to get more active for nearly a decade. The five-week Challenge is designed to draw students' attention to just how many minutes they spend engaged in physical activity outside of school. Throughout the program, participating students record their active minutes - time spent walking, biking, running, skating, swimming, playing a sport, playing tag, playing on a swing set and other active, creative games. (Video games designed for fitness utilizing Wii, Xbox Kinect or other similar gaming systems are not considered eligible.) Recorded minutes are then totaled and an average active minute count is calculated based on the number of students enrolled in third, fourth and fifth grades in each school.

The winning school in the 2020 Challenge, the Warsaw Central was awarded the 2020 winning plaque and each student received a certificate recognizing their participation and effort.

The three most active participants (based on total minutes recorded) in the entire GLOW region this year were:

"The Play to Get Fit Challenge encourages kids to lead an active lifestyle in a way they can see and understand," said Becky Dziekan, GCC's director of Health and Physical Education. "Each year, the participating school districts see proof that the program works! Even though the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic can be seen in the Challenge's overall minute totals, these kids persevered and we are so proud of them! Congratulations to Warsaw and all of the students who worked hard to be active and enjoy the program."

The Health and Physical Education program at Genesee Community College offers several areas of study related to health, fitness and coaching. Most recently, the College began offering a NYS Coaching Certification which bundles four courses (12 credit hours) into a unique Micro-Credential that satisfies the Commissioner of Education's requirements for coaching in NYS and delivers the necessary DASA (Dignity for All) training, SAVE and Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Certifications required by law in New York State to work with children. In addition, the Sports Management Studies transfer degree programs or Associate of Science (A.S.) includes foundations in sports facility management, accounting, marketing and more. The Fitness and Recreation Management Applied Associate of Science degree (A.A.S.) offers a Personal Trainer concentration and the opportunity to earn the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) credential through the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) as a certified personal trainer. In addition, GCC offers an A.A.S in Physical Education Studies in which students have the opportunity to earn a coaching certificate for NYS non-Certified Physical Education Teachers.

The spring semester starts January 25, 2021, so there is still time to register! GCC has more than 80 introductory courses available, including Beginning Personal Fitness (PED259) which teaches basic fitness training and conditioning techniques to help anyone make active choices. The full spring semester course schedule is available at https://www.genesee.edu/courses/schedule/.

For more information or photographs contact Vice President, Development and External Affairs Justin Johnston at 585-345-6809, or via email: jmjohnston@genesee.edu.

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Editor's Note:

A photograph of the winning, Warsaw Central School District's awards presentation is available at:

https://marketing.genesee.edu/images/WarsawGetFit20.JPG

Caption: (L to R): Caren Plesums, PE teacher, Aiden Sonricker, Katelyn Sonricker, Alexis Sonricker and Jeff Mitchell, PE teacher.

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Caption: (L to R): Caren Plesums, PE teacher, Aiden Sonricker, Katelyn Sonricker, Alexis Sonricker and Jeff Mitchell, PE teacher