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A striking new addition
By Brett Dalton
Herald-Tribune
Fort Scott, Kan. -- Making exercise fun is one of the best ways to get children to enjoy getting a solid fitness workout.
That's the philosophy behind Sportwall, an interactive fitness program that was recently installed at Winfield Scott Elementary School in Fort Scott, Kan.
The program, aimed at giving students an all-around physical workout, is manufactured by Sportwall International Inc., a fitness company in Carpinteria, Calif.
Winfield Scott officials installed two Sportwalls into its gymnasium. The walls, which are filled with sand, are colorful and light up in various spots. The walls are programmed with various games and activities, which are set up to get students moving around, Sportwall Program Developer Justine Rutt said.
"The main thing is to get kids running and jumping," Rutt said. "They can throw a ball at it, they can kick it, they can run up and hit it."
She added that the walls‚ colors and lights make the activities enjoyable for children.
"They're having so much fun," Rutt said, "they don't even know they're exercising. It works great with hand-eye coordination. You see, there are colors and numbers, so you can bring the classroom in here, so to speak."
Rutt said Winfield Scott is the first school in Kansas to install the Sportwalls.
Winfield Scott physical education instructor Chris Sather said she is excited to offer the program to the students.
"We're very fortunate to have it," Sather said. "I know the kids can benefit from it because it's something they're used to. It deals with computers and video games. Now we're applying it in our classroom. We're putting fitness with it. We call it interactive fitness because we're giving the technology of today and they're getting exercise with it. We're working on hand-eye coordination; we're working on fitness activities."
Sather said getting students to work on the Sportwalls is easier than getting them to run laps.
"We want to make exercise fun," Sather said. "That's the bottom line. They don't know that by the end, they're sweating."
Justine described it as "computer games that make you sweat."
Sather said the programs will be used in her classes as well as during the after-school program.
She added that other teachers may find ways to incorporate Sportwall into their classes.
Karen Cook, the Winfield Scott after-school program director, said she plans to use Sportwall often during her program.
"We definitely will use it," Cook said. "It's good exercise and good aerobic exercise. We'll be inside on rainy days anyway, but even on nice days, we'll have groups come in and work on it."
Rutt said Sportwall has been in existence for about 10 years.
She also said it was created originally as a practicing tool for tennis players.
"Then teachers found out about it and said 'We think we could use this,'" Rutt said.
Sather said the Sportwalls for Winfield Scott school were paid for through school funding, a partial donation from Sportwall Inc. and through grants.