Workplace Walk-Off Challenge
Walk Off Guidelines
***PLEASE NOTE: due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus, the challenge has been canceled this year.***
The goal of this challenge is to keep you moving. We want to help you improve your health by increasing daily physical activity, while participating in the Challenge and thereafter. There are many proven health benefits to physical activity as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the American Heart Association.
What is the first step to the Challenge? Form teams composed of two to four Faculty and/or Staff members from each department and/or division or school. Team members must be from the same division, and you can only participate on one team. Next, register your team with the Workplace Walk-Off Challenge. You may find the registration form at the Workplace Walk-Off Challenge Website. A captain and a co-captain for each team must be selected. Teams will participate by collectively monitoring their steps for a period of four weeks. Please note: You must use the Chrome browser to access all forms for the Workplace Walk-Off Challenge.
Walk-off Rules
- Steps taken while walking are counted everyday (seven days) for four weeks. Each competition week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday.
- Steps should be counted daily using a step tracking device (commonly called a pedometer). There are several types of pedometers available on the market and they can be purchased at stores like Target or Walmart or at online stores such as PedometersUSA.
- There will be NO conversion of other activities to step equivalents from estimation tables or equations. While we do not discourage engaging in other activities, this is a walking challenge.
- Each team will designate a captain and a co-captain who will be in charge of teams affairs (e.g., remind members to log steps each week and/or encourage participation in group walks). The team captain or co-captain will collect the daily total of steps from walkers on the team and will tally the totals at the end of each week into the Google form that will be sent to captains each Monday. Teams should be reporting time only for walkers on the team or the team will be disqualified.
- Every team captain will record and submit the total steps for the team in the Google form each Monday by 5:00 p.m. for steps walked in the previous week. (A Google form will be emailed to team captains each week.) Please note: Teams that do not submit the totals by the weekly deadline will be disqualified. A co-captain may be selected to assist the team captain.
- The Challenge is open to Faculty and Staff members only.
- Participation in the Challenge must not interfere with participants' work hours or responsibilities.
Each team member will be on the honor system when tracking his or her steps. The Challenge is a team challenge as well as a personal challenge to do your best.
Goals
Each Workplace Walk-Off Challenge week starts on a Monday and ends on the following Sunday night. Each team captain has until 5:00 p.m. every Monday to enter his/her team's total steps from the previous week. Late submission will result in disqualification. Team members will record their steps on the Weekly Steps Log. Entry of steps walked on the Weekly Steps Log must be done on a desktop device. Mobile devices were not successfully logging the information.
The weekly goals are as follows:
- Week 1: 30,000 steps
- Week 2: 40,000 steps
- Week 3: 60,000 steps
- Week 4: 70,000 steps*
*Fun fact: 70,000 steps a week meets the recommendation of at least 10,000 steps per day!
Determining the Winner
The team with the highest total steps at the end of the competition is the winner! Make sure to enter the steps taken by all team members each week!
Prizes:
- The Winning Team will receive the Shoe Trophy (along with bragging rights) which will be displayed in the winning team's department until the following year's competition.
- The Winning Team members will each receive gift certificates with a value of $50 to Whole Foods.
- Second Place Team members will each receive gift certificates with a value of $25 to Whole Foods.
However, the ultimate gift will be the gift you give yourself of better health!