Dixie State University holds a month-long step challenge for faculty and staff each September and March. There are usually 25-30 teams who compete against each other to reach 5,000 or 10,000 steps each day. Photo by Kaitlynn Latham.
Step challenges are becoming widely popular, with competitions being conducted in different areas.
Dixie State University holds a step challenge twice a year that staff and faculty can participate in.
Ali Threet, director of career services, said, “On our campus it is sponsored by the Staff Association and Health and Wellness Committee.”
Threet said there is a month-long step challenge in September and March. She said there is usually 25-30 teams for competition with five to 10 members per team, but people can sign up as individuals if they prefer.
The teams sign up for the 5,000 steps a day challenge or the 10,000 steps a day and at the end there are two winners, one for each challenge, Threet said.
Threet said: “Team members encourage each other, take the stairs together and really get excited for each other. You hear people talking how they went out jogging or walking last night at 11:00 because they wanted to hit their goal for the day.”
Jessica White, a business academic adviser, is a staff member who is participating in the step challenge this month. She said it is a good idea to have this active for staff.
“I like how fun and competitive it can be, but I think most of all it’s nice to be motivated to stay active because a lot of us have stationary jobs where we are sitting all day,” White said.
The challenge helps the staff to get out of their offices and classes and there are many different awards handed out each week, White said.
Threet said:“Throughout the month we send weekly updates that let teams know who is currently in the lead. We also track and recognize those teams where every member is consistently hitting their goals for daily steps, even if they are not winning in overall steps.”
Sidney Springer, a junior general education major from Delta, said: “I started tracking my steps for two reasons: one I could get daily points that built up to a discount at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Second, because of the step challenge.”
Springer said she participates in the step challenges because it is fun and helps her keep her motivation up.
“These challenges make it fun to stay active,” Springer said. “Anything that promotes an active life style is worth it, to me at least.”
Springer said she and her friends did the step challenge together and took their competitiveness to a whole new level. She would participate in a step challenge the school puts on if there are prizes for the winners, Springer said.
Threet said: “I think it would be so fun to have a step challenge that included students. However, they take a lot of coordinating so we would need to have additional help facilitating.”