15,000 kids complete AIA Healthy Kids Challenge

AIA New Zealand Media Release: 8 December 2016

15,000 kids complete AIA Healthy Kids Challenge

110 primary schools, totalling 499 classes, 2,500 parents and 15,000 children from across New Zealand, have completed the AIA Healthy Kids Challenge, racking up a massive 130,792,754 steps in the process. The aim of the five-week health and wellbeing programme was to inspire children, and their families, to get active and make healthy eating choices.

The 2016 AIA Healthy Kids Challenge cleverly combined technology and leading New Zealand athletes to inspire, motivate and educate primary school children and their parents to lead healthier lives. The programme was supported by hockey player Gemma Flynn, international rugby winger Cory Jane and basketball player Tom Abercrombie.

AIA New Zealand Head of Marketing and Communications, David Savidan, says: “We wanted to encourage Kiwi primary school kids and their parents to improve their general health and wellness by getting active and eating well as a family, and the Challenge has been a tremendous success.

“We have received amazing feedback from teachers and parents participating in the AIA Healthy Kids Challenge. They’ve really valued the programme’s manageable goals, healthy tips and fun factor. The Challenge also inspired friendly competition amongst both classes and within classes – the effect was to encourage everyone to try even harder,” says Mr Savidan.

Black Sticks player Gemma Flynn says: “It’s fantastic to see so many children and their parents enjoying being active and making good food choices together. Establishing good, healthy habits is easier when the whole family is on board, and it benefits everyone. The AIA Healthy Kids Challenge has put technology to great use to help encourage a healthy lifestyle and I’m delighted to have been able to support this health and wellness initiative.”

As part of the AIA Healthy Kids Challenge, each child received a free pedometer to count the number of steps they took every day of the Challenge and the programme recorded each class’s daily average steps. Each child also created their own unique avatar. For every leg of the journey a class completed, they earned an entry for the draw to win prizes for their school, including 20 $1,000 AIA sports grants and 50 Huawei Tablets.

The children’s journey was captured in a virtual online world showing the progress of their avatars as they worked together to unlock new destinations. As children completed each leg, they were shown an animated video of their avatar exploring each new place with New Zealand sporting stars Gemma and Cory. They learned about the history and culture of the countries they ‘visited’, and got health tips on the way around.

The AIA Healthy Kids Challenge ran from 26 October to 30 November 2016. Visit www.healthykids.kiwi to see a full list of the participating schools and the prize winners.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• 499 classes at 110 primary schools across New Zealand participated in the Challenge

• 2,500 parents signed up to the Challenge

• A combined total of 130,792,754 steps was achieved

• The five-week programme started on 26 October 2016 and finished on 30 November 2016

• Each participating student received a free pedometer and created their own individual avatar

• To register your class’s interest for next year’s AIA Healthy Kids Challenge, visit www.healthykids.kiwi

• 20 $1,000 sporting and equipment grants and 50 Huawei Tablets were won

• List of participating schools and prize winners in your region is available in the Registration section on the website

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