Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County answer fitness challenge

The Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County is one of 15 clubs in the state participating in a new fitness challenge funded by a $22,500 grant from Amerigroup Washington.

The event was kicked off earlier this month in Spokane. Kids at the clubs will be competing in daily activities like sports, running or jumping rope daily through the end of March.

“The clubs are actually competing against each other,” said Matt Watrous, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs Washington State Association. “We’re really hoping to introduce some competitiveness to the work that we do.”

Children from low-income households are three times more likely to suffer from obesity, Watrous said. “The deck is stacked against them,” he said. “We want to make sure that every kid who walks through the door at one of our clubs has the opportunity to be active. We see access to sports and access to fitness as one of the critical aspects of our mission.”

The clubs will be judged on how many children participate, which club has the highest number of regular participants and how well the children do on their challenges. Winning clubs will earn prizes in addition to a celebration party for their kids.

The challenge fits in with efforts by the club to focus on healthy lifestyles by promoting activities like gardening and healthy eating, Watrous said.

Boys and Girls Club programs run at 150 locations in Washington state, serving more than 79,000 kids. Watrous said he’s hopeful that the fitness challenge can expand to other locations.

“It’s through Amerigroup’s support that we are able to launch it here in Washington,” he said.