With the Help of RSG! Olympians, Physical Fitness Test Scores at Participating Schools are up 41% Compared with Three Years Ago

Los Angeles, California – February 3, 2009– Ready, Set, Gold! (RSG!) announces a 41% increase in students scoring in the “healthy fitness zone” of the State of California’s “Fitnessgram” tests, in the schools where the RSG! program takes place. Fitnessgram is a mandated statewide physical education test developed to assist students in establishing a lasting habit of regular physical activity. Scores from the 29 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools that have participated in the RSG! Program for the past three years were examined and compared with scores from before the program was initiated.

RSG! places Southern Californian Olympians and Paralympians in LAUSD schools to encourage young people to adopt healthy lifestyle and fitness habits. This Olympic legacy program developed by the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) aims to reduce childhood obesity and diabetes in the Los Angeles area.

“With childhood obesity on the rise, we are especially pleased to help kids get into shape through the Ready, Set, Gold! program,” said Barry Sanders, SCCOG Chairman. “Seeing the increase in test scores in our participating schools is a testament to the individual Olympians and Paralympians who are making the effort to mentor school age children.”

Partnering with LAUSD, RSG! currently matches Olympians with 50 elementary, middle and high schools. During the course of the school year, each Olympian makes five visits to his or her designated school and provides students with real life examples of how setting goals helped the Olympians to be successful in sport and in life.

Christine Berni-Ramos, Physical Education teacher at Elizabeth Learning Center, has the following to say about Kayaking Olympian Cathy Bradford, “the kids are so enthusiastic about Cathy’s presence and knowing that they have her support for Fitnessgram. Cathy began with encouraging words to let them know the most important factor is that they try to beat their last score and to try their personal best. What made a difference was when Cathy let them know that she believed in them and their eyes lit up.”

Each year, students in grades five, seven and nine take the Fitnessgram test, which measures six areas, including Aerobic Capacity, Body Composition, Abdominal Strength, Trunk Extensor Strength, Upper Body Strength and Flexibility. A passing score is achieved by reaching a “healthy fitness zone” in all six areas.

Before the RSG! program began in 29 LAUSD schools, 2,330 out of the 12,360 students scored in the healthy fitness zone in all six areas of the test. Now in their third year of partnering with RSG!, those schools reported 3,055 students now passing out of the 11,448 that took the test.

“To me, having a Paralympian come to our school is cool because that says a lot about his character; caring for kids, kids’ dreams, and their goals,” says Guillermo, seventh grader at Webster Middle School, about visiting Paralympian Joseph McCarthy.

About the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG)
Formed in 1939, the SCCOG is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the Olympic movement in Southern California. Since its inception, the SCCOG has bid for the Olympic Games on behalf of and in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles, garnering the award of the Games for 1984. Hailed world-wide for their near-flawless organization, the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles generated an operating surplus of $235 million (in 1984 dollars). Further information about the SCCOG can be found on their website at www.sccog.org.