WASHINGTON, DC - In a speech at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival today, Nike called for companies, athletes, coaches and educators to work together to bring P.E. classes taught by P.E. specialists for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, to American schools. Nike said an innovative, new type of P.E. program, like that developed by SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids), which is fun, interactive and constantly moving, should replace the out-moded P.E. classes that were taught through most of the late-20th Century.

Nike and SPARK were among the more than 50 organizations to participate in the HealthierUS Fitness Festival on the National Mall. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports joined with Congressmen Zach Wamp and Mark Udall, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Fitness Caucus, to organize and showcase activities and resources available to get Americans moving for health.

"For the first time in 100 years, kids today have a shorter life expectancy than their parents," said Gary DeStefano, President, Nike USA Operations. "Our national epidemic of youth inactivity and unhealthy weight has worsened with the decline of school-based P.E. programs. Studies show these programs are some of the most effective ways to increase activity among youth. We believe one way to reverse this trend is for companies, organizations and the government to work together to help bring daily P.E. classes taught by P.E. specialists back to schools."

During the HealthierUS Fitness Festival, Nike, SPARK, University of Maryland Men's Basketball Coach Gary Williams and Houston Comet's Cynthia Cooper hosted an interactive PE2GO demonstration of the "new P.E.," a combination of constant movement, fun and skills development for kids. PE2GO is a national, standards-based program designed by Nike and SPARK to help increase the quality and quantity of physical education in schools where P.E. classes have been drastically reduced or eliminated. Nike and SPARK deliver the curriculum, training and equipment to classroom teachers to prepare them to teach P.E. to fourth and fifth grade kids. In the fall of 2003, PE2GO launched in six U.S. cities, reaching over 6,400 fourth and fifth graders in 43 elementary schools.

"PE2GO is the 'New P.E.,' where students no longer stand on the sidelines or in line waiting for a turn to play. All kids get simultaneous opportunities to participate, develop their own individual skills and learn to enjoy physical activity," said Paul Rosengard, Executive Director for SPARK. "We provide schools with a self-contained physical education program that gives P.E. specialists and classroom teachers the tools to instill in children a lifelong love of physical activity."

Only one in four U.S. public school students attends regular P.E. classes, and fewer than one in four children get 20 minutes of vigorous activity every day. Health professionals agree kids should take part in a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week. Preliminary results from the first year PE2GO evaluation by Dr. Sarah Levin Martin, of the Physical Activity and Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), demonstrate more than just physical benefits from the program:

Nike Inc.

Nike Inc.

NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned NIKE subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikeinc.com.

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