A challenge to find the most active university in the world
LAUSANNE – In the run up to the International Day of University Sport, FISU and NXL present an exciting and fun challenge for universities worldwide. The International University Step Challenge that begins on 1 September 2019 invites universities to get their students moving, win prizes and earn the title of the most active university.
After the inaugural Step Challenge in 2018, the second edition aims to motivate even more students to step out and be healthy. The challenge runs for 20 days, culminating on the International Day of University Sport on 20 September.
“After last year’s success, NXL and FISU decided to launch the second global university step challenge this September,” says Lucian Dietsche, CEO and founder of NXL. “With this step challenge we want to motivate students to move more in their daily lives by having a healthy competition between peers. Great prizes are waiting for both, the winning university and the best performing students.”
All universities need to do to get started is to register on https://universitystepchallenge.com and fill out a form. They will then receive a dynamic link on 20 August to be shared with students, for them to automatically join the group and start counting their steps!
Students need to make sure they have either the Google Fit App or Apple Health App installed as these apps are used to determine the number of steps done or number of stairs climbed. Both students and universities will be rewarded for being the most active during the competition.
More than 50 universities have already signed up for the challenge and the winner will be decided based on points earned from total steps done, total stairs climbed, as well as the percentage of participating students (of total number of students enrolled).
“Last year’s challenge motivated people to move more, walk instead of taking the car for short distances. We had participants write to us saying that they lost weight by walking instead of taking the car,” adds Dietsche with a chuckle. “Since then we’ve made improvements in the app. Steps are now loaded automatically, which makes participation even easier.”
Last year, the Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth from Lebanon was the winner. There is a cash prize for the winning institution, along with the pride of being named the most active. The three most active students will also win sporting equipment.
Students can participate with enthusiasm and share their personal stories on Instagram using #universitystepchallenge2019. Time to step up and get moving!
