This month, students, faculty and staff from all campuses across Memorial University are invited to join the second annual Cross Campus Step Challenge.
Employee Wellness, the Department of Human Resources and the Student Wellness and Counselling Centre (SWCC) are challenging the Memorial community to participate in the Cross-campus Step Challenge from Monday, May, 22 to Friday, July 14.
Working with a team of up to six people, the goal is to complete 2,233,333 steps: equivalent to the step distance between the Signal Hill, St. John’s, Marine Institute, Grenfell and Labrador campuses combined.
This works out to an average of 41,358 steps per day, per team.
The winners’ circle
It’s a goal that last year’s winning team, Cirque Du Sore Legs (coming up with a great team name is part of the fun) is eager to not only reach but surpass, once again.
“Cirque Du Sore Legs will be back to defend our title this summer and maybe even break our old record,” said Tracey Wall, team captain. “We loved working together towards a common goal and it was a great excuse to make sure we were moving throughout the day.”
Cirque Du Sore Legs walked an impressive 4,372,414 steps last spring.
The team iPLODS closed in on second place with an impressive 3,828,264 total steps.
Despite some obstacles in 2022, the iPLODS came together as a team and exceeded its goal.
“We had personal challenges such as COVID cases, a bicycle accident, holidays and whatnot,” said Gina Barnes, team captain. “But the team stepped up to the challenge and did extra each day to make up for the team member who was absent.”
Effort pays off
The top three teams and a randomly selected individual will win prizes from the Memorial University Bookstore.
Kelly Neville, wellness lead at the SWCC, says the goal of the challenge is to encourage physical activity and to get our community moving in a fun and enjoyable way.
“In 2022 we had a remarkable total of 64 teams participating with 374 individuals across our campuses,” she said. “This year we hope to engage even more of Team Memorial in our cross-campus initiative for a healthy campus.”
The challenge officially opens on May 22, but teams can enter anytime as long as steps are completed and submitted by July 14.
To register and for additional information and FAQs, please visit the Cross-campus Challenge website.
