Schools across the Isle of Wight are being invited to register now for the 2008 ‘Schools Walk the Wight Team Challenge’ before it’s too late.
The scheme raises money for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice while also engaging the school community and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. By walking to and from school, many car journeys will also be avoided on the school run.
There are individual events for primary, middle and high schools. For the high schools, students form teams of ten who compete in the 26.5 mile Walk the Wight event on 18 May. There will be prizes on offer to the fastest teams. For primaries, each school enters one team with no limit on the number of students. They’re challenge is to walk the equivalent of the width of the Isle of Wight (26.5 miles) BEFORE Walk the Wight in May. This can be done over a number of days, so for example, teams could walk just a mile a day until they reach their target. Each team are responsible for raising sponsorship.
Middle schools are being invited to take part in the 72 mile challenge. This is similar to the primary school 26.5 mile challenge, except students will be walking the equivalent of the Island’s circumference. Again, they do this prior to Walk the Wight in May. For every mile a student completes, they get a sticker. Once they collect all 72 stickers, they receive a medal, certificate and T-shirt.
Schools wishing to take part in any of the respective events are asked to appoint a Coordinator. They must contact Karen Eeles at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice on (01983) 528989 who will send a registration pack. These must be returned by December 7. Schools can start clocking up the miles from January. Any sponsorship money raised will be collected after 18 May when Walk the Wight takes place.
Primary and middle schools students who take part do not have to participate in the Walk the Wight event itself, although they can complete a 4.5 mile walk from Freshwater to Alum Bay as an optional extra on the day. Several thousand pounds was raised during this year’s Schools Walk the Wight challenge, with many Mainland schools also taking part.
Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet Member for Children & Young People Alan Wells said “By encouraging students to take part in this scheme, not only is it helping improve their health, it shows how important it is to work as a team and it raises money for charity. It’s a great event and one all schools should look to get involved in”.
