Media statement | 19 May 2008

Kiwi kids rise to the Walking Wednesdays Challenge

A record number of Kiwi kids stayed on their feet during the first school term, responding to Land Transport New Zealand’s ‘Walking Wednesdays Class Challenge’.

Final results from the five week challenge have now been tabulated, with over 36,000 children from 1,459 classes in 200 schools returning results.

On average, seventy-five percent of all students participating in the class challenge walked to school every Wednesday, and 143 classes achieved a 95 percent participation rate for every Wednesday during the challenge. Twenty-six classes reached 100 percent participation, with every student walking every Wednesday.

Walking to school increases fitness, health, social interaction with for children, while reducing the amount of money spent on petrol, relieving congestion at the school gate, and helping to cut energy use and vehicle emissions.

The Walking Wednesdays Class Challenge is part of the Feet First Walk to School programme, which aims to boost the number of Kiwi kids getting to school under their own steam.

Participating classes were vying for a series of class prizes awarded to those with the most students walking on all five Wednesdays, including ten Walking Wednesday Class Prize Packs sponsored by AMI Insurance. Each prize pack contains movie passes and pedometers for every child in the class, as well as a plaque and a set of Mission-On prizes (including balloons, action cards, hacky sacks, yo-yos and collector cards).

Additional prizes were also on offer from Nike Footwear, Crocs Shoes and Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World. Due to the large number of classes achieving 100 percent participation, a draw was held to determine the prize winners. 

Land Transport NZ congratulates the following winning classes, and all of the schools and children who responded so strongly to the Walking Wednesdays Challenge.

Walking Wednesdays Class Challenge prize winners

The Nike Footwear class prize (a pair of Nike shoes for every child in the class and one pair for the teacher, as well as a Walking Wednesday Class Prize Pack) was won by Room 4 from Riverhead School in Auckland. This prize has been sponsored by AMI Insurance.

The Crocs Shoes class prize (a pair of Crocs shoes for every child in the class and one pair for the teacher, as well as a Walking Wednesday Class Prize Pack) was won by Room 14 from Churchill Park School in Auckland. This prize has been sponsored by Crocs.

The Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World class prize (35 child passes to Kelly Tarlton’s) was won by Room 7 from Churchill Park School in Auckland. This prize has been sponsored by Kelly Tarlton’s.

The eight remaining Walking Wednesday Class Prize Packs were won by:

• Room 14 from New River Primary in Southland
• Waipunarangi from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Rotoiti in Rotorua
• Room 8 from Paraparaumu Beach School in Kapiti
• Room 18 from Cashmere Primary in Christchurch
• Room M1 from Whangaparoa Primary in Auckland
• Room 17 from Waimairi School in Christchurch
• Room 19 from Henley School in Tasman
• Room 5 from Riverhead School in Auckland.

Children are being encouraged to build on the momentum of Feet First and the Walking Wednesdays Challenge by continuing walking to school with friends or caregivers, or as part of a walking school bus throughout the year.

Visit www.landtransport.govt.nz/feet-first/results/walking-wednesdays.html for a full list of results from the Walking Wednesdays Class Challenge.  

For more information
Andy Knackstedt
Media Manager
Land Transport New Zealand
Ph: 04 931 8829  or  0212 763 222