Team ESPN Launches Program, Website Devoted to Encouraging Youth to Get Fit;ESPN Play Your Way(tm) Features Fun Ideas, Materials, Tips 5/26/2004
From: Alison Lazar of ESPN Inc., 212-456-0226 or alison.lazar@espn.com, or Bob Gold, 310-320-2010 or bob@bobgoldpr.com NEW YORK, May 26 -- Team ESPN, the corporate outreach program of ESPN Inc., launched today its new program and website ( http://www.espnplayyourway.com ) to highlight the company's signature youth fitness initiative, ESPN Play Your Way. The site encourages creative recreational play by providing kids "games to play, places to play and stuff to play with." The program was developed through research and pilot programs in conjunction with DisneyHand, worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company and Fleishman-Hillard Inc., a leading global communications consultancy. Team ESPN has developed several activities under ESPN Play Your Way that provide kids with fun, exciting materials that encourage their participation in physical activity. Among the programs highlighted on the website are: -- Physically Active Games (PAGs). The PAG program encourages kids to use their imagination to create new physically active games that can be played individually and/or within a group. -- PAG Start-Up Guides, which can be easily downloaded, are written to help parents, teachers and supervisors get started in ESPN Play Your Way by suggesting activities for how kids can create PAG Clubs and how to incorporate PAG Clubs into community and after-school programs. -- PAG Playbooks for kids that are fun and easily outline the program. Kids will also be able to post their PAGs on the site and vote with fellow users. -- ESPN Play Your Way Posters, PAG Club Sign-up Sheets, PAG Club Trackers and PAG Lab Signs are available to download. George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports, said, "ESPN is committed and well positioned in sports to lead the corporate charge to encourage kids to get fit and remain physically active. We are particularly pleased that our league partners and many non-profit organizations are joining us to encourage youth fitness activity." Already, ESPN Play Your Way enjoys the support of many non- profit organizations and league partners. These various organizations plan to collaborate with ESPN through their sports programs, resources and/or participation in events. Some of the non-profit organizations that support ESPN Play Your Way include: -- American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance -- Boarding for Breast Cancer -- Girls Inc. -- Institute for International Sport -- Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society -- PE4Life -- Project Fit America -- ShiNE -- Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association -- Take The Field Inc. -- The V Foundation for Cancer Research -- Women's Sports Foundation Leagues that support ESPN Play Your Way include: -- MLB -- MLS -- NBA -- NHL -- NFL -- PGA Tour -- WNBA Shanna Vaughan, director of Operations, Boys & Girls Club of Burbank, who conducted a pilot program said: "When we decided to trial the ESPN Play Your Way program, we thought it might be fun and something different. But we quickly discovered that making a PAG is so much more. Our kids are being challenged and developing better writing, communication and leadership skills. They have fully embraced the program as fun and something they can call their own, which directly affects their sense of self- esteem. They love being able to make up their own rules, which is very empowering. Now we have 'Play Your Way Fridays' and the kids are creating and playing new PAGs each week. ESPN Play Your Way has become a part of our on-going program in six schools and our main campus." Announced in August 2003, ESPN Play Your Way was developed over the past year to find ways to promote physical activity among youth, ages 9-14. The three-tier initiative is designed to encourage physical fitness among youth by removing some of the barriers that prevent kids from participating in physical activities, such as lack of motivation, accessible places to play and equipment. ESPN Play Your Way captures the real sense of empowerment and fun that kids feel when they are free to be their imaginative selves and when they can find their own ways to be physically active. -- About Team ESPN: Team ESPN, the power of sports active in your community, serves as the overarching brand for ESPN's community relations initiatives. Team ESPN encompasses employee volunteerism and utilizes ESPN's multimedia assets to support the company's sports-themed, charitable and cause-marketing programs that inspire fans to: Embrace Winning Lifestyles through health and fitness; Rise to the Challenge by increasing awareness of the role of sports in personal and physical challenges; and Build Community Champions through local community outreach initiatives. Team ESPN's community programs offer value and benefits to the company's league rights holders, affiliates, advertisers, community organizations and fans. |