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Do you have a program that increases sports & fitness participation in your community and helps Get America Moving? Submit your program for consideration and enter the new SGI Get America Moving Challenge contest.

To show support for the work of PHIT America, SGI Weekly Intelligence is launching the inaugural Get America Moving Challenge. For more information on this program and how to enter, please contact SGI at 610-459-4040 or [email protected]. Entries must be submitted by January 10, 2014. Visit sgiweekly.com/getamericamoving.pdf for the entry form.

“Our goal is to identify the top sports & fitness programs produced by retailers, manufacturers, professional sports teams, coaches, community service organizations, and entrepreneurs in local communities across the U.S.,” said SGI Weekly Intelligence publisher John Horan. “Our goal with the Get America Moving Challenge is to recognize the local programs, supported by businesses in the sports products industry, which are encouraging Americans of all ages to be active, fit & healthy.”

The winners of the Get America Moving Challenge will be featured in the SGI Get America Moving series of articles to be published in April of next year, honored by PHIT America in a series of special news articles, and promoted on PHIT America’s website — PHITAmerica.org.

“PHIT America sincerely appreciates the leadership being displayed by SGI Weekly Intelligence to help bring the inactivity issue to the attention of leaders in the sports and fitness industry,” said PHIT America Founder Jim Baugh. “This program will honor and recognize retailers, manufacturers or anyone who is the pioneer of a program which plays a role in aggressively combating inactivity and creates a platform for Americans to be active.”

Recently the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and PHIT America released research which revealed the growing issue of the inactivity pandemic. One of the conclusions of this research is that more and more Americans are becoming totally sedentary.

“With increasing trends of inactivity, the sports and fitness industry will see a decrease of $28 billion in retail sales if this trend is left unchecked. The entire industry needs to find ways to ‘Get America Moving’ again, to keep fit and healthy,” said Jim Baugh, founder of PHIT America. “This will impact the bottom lines of sporting goods retailers and manufacturers. And, most importantly, improve the lives of Americans.”

About PHIT America

PHIT America (PHITAmerica.org), an educational, advocacy and social media marketing campaign, is designed to reach millions of Americans and create a Movement for a Fit and Healthy America. PHIT America will combat the obesity and sedentary activity crisis — which is having an adverse effect on health care costs in the U.S. — by promoting new legislation and grassroots programs that will help get Americans more active, playing more sports, getting fit and becoming healthier.

Founded in January 2013, PHIT America (PHITAmerica.org) is a non-profit educational, social media, and advocacy campaign focused on overcoming the inactivity and obesity crisis in America by creating a Movement for a Fit & Healthy America. More than 130 companies, along with sports ambassadors and celebrities, are helping PHIT America to get Americans more active, fit and healthier. Some of the major PHIT America initiatives include passing key legislation such as the Personal Health Investment Today Act (PHIT) which will allow Americans to use pre-tax medical accounts to pay for physical activity expenses. And, the Physical Education Program (PEP) is a 12-year program supporting increased activity in local physical education programs throughout America. PHIT America has also launched the Mayors Fitness Challenge, a new, fun 10-week, fitness program helping cities overcome the obesity and inactivity crisis.