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Press
Release In Recognition of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month Boy Scouts of America Helps Youth Lead Physically Active Lifestyles Tuesday
May 3, 9:00 am ET For nearly a century, the BSA has been known for fostering an environment of physical fitness for the youth of America. Boy Scouts take an oath that "On my honor I will do my best ... to keep myself physically strong." As part of its ongoing Good Turn for America program, the BSA is urging American youth to look to physical fitness and participation in sports for entertainment, rather than more sedentary choices like television, computers, and video games. Since its inception BSA has awarded nearly 17 million physically fit related badges. "It
was not so long ago when young people spent hours playing outside and were
involved in a host of physical fitness and sports activities, and young people
were much healthier than today," said Roy Williams, Chief Scout Executive
of the BSA. "For 95 years the BSA has encouraged youth to get more involved
in physical activity, and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month gives us an
excellent chance to revisit that commitment." Among the BSA's multiple health-, nutrition- and fitness-related merit badges is the BSA Physical Fitness Award, which is based on seven components of fitness. The BSA encourages Americans of all ages to focus more attention on their physical health and well-being, and offers the following insights on conducting a physical fitness test based on its seven components of fitness (more information is available at http://www.scouting.org ): 1.
Posture Posture can be evaluated with a posture-rating chart. Compare a photo of your
starting posture, noting the different body segments. 2.
Accuracy Measure your accuracy with the target throw. Make 20 throws with a softball at a circular target; score is based on the number of times the target is hit.
3. Strength Get a fair assessment of your strength using the sit-up. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor; cross your arms on your chest with hands on the opposite shoulders. Have a partner hold your feet to keep them on the floor. Curl to the sitting position until the elbows touch the thighs. Arms must remain on the chest and chin tucked on the chest. Return to the starting position, shoulder blades touching the floor. Your score is the number of sit-ups made in a given time.
4. Agility Measure agility using the side step. Starting from a center line, sidestep alternately left and right between two lines eight feet apart. Your score is based on the number of lines crossed in 10 seconds.
5. Speed The dash is used to measure speed. The score is the amount of time to the nearest half-second running a set distance that can be increased each year.
6. Balance The squat stand is used to measure balance. Squat with hands on the floor and elbows against your inner knee. Lean forward until your feet are raised off the floor. The score is the number of seconds held in that position.
7. Endurance The squat thrust is used to measure endurance. Start from the standing position to perform the four-position exercise. Score is based on the number of completed squat thrusts made in a given time
Serving nearly 4.1 million young people between 7 and 20 years of age with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based.
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