Sabin Elementary School Students Teach Olympic Marathoner Alberto Salazar and Mayor Tom Potter About the Advantages of "New PE" to Stay Fit and Healthy

Beaverton, OR (1 May 2007) - As part of a five-city community education and awareness tour in honor of National Physical Education and Sports Month and National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1-7), Nike will host a special NikeGO PE event today at Sabin Elementary School, in Portland, Ore. The NikeGO PE event will feature former Olympic marathoner and famed running coach Alberto Salazar and Mayor Tom Potter in a special Sabin Elementary School PE class designed to explain the value of physical education for a more fit and healthy student body.

NikeGO PE seeks to instill a lifelong love of physical activity in young people, and it addresses rising inactivity rates in youth, a major national health problem. To accomplish these objectives, NikeGO PE modifies games, dances and sport skill to create a movement environment in which every child, regardless of ability, is provided with many opportunities to participate and feel successful in PE class.

Nike and SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) teamed up to create NikeGO PE's high activity curriculum, "hands-on" teacher training and matched equipment sets. These tools help PE specialists and classroom teachers work together to provide "new PE," which is more inclusive, active, and fun than traditional PE classes. Activities in the NikeGO PE "Playbook" are designed to develop students' fitness, motor, and social skills, while providing strategies that integrate literacy, math science, art, and nutrition into PE lessons.

The Sabin Elementary School NikeGO PE class will take place today beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the school's PE facilities. Up to 100 second- and third-grade fitness-minded students and teachers are scheduled to participate.

"It is a startling trend that our school age students are becoming less and less fit than previous generations and, according to the CDC, are not predicted to live as long as their parents," said Lynette Zuercher, PE teacher for Portland Public Schools. "Oregon is no exception to this trend and reports show that rates for children being overweight and obese in our state are rising quickly."

Zuercher added, "This is something we should all be concerned about and, fortunately, there are many people who are taking steps to discuss and address this issue. National Physical Education and Sport Week is a great way to continue the discussion about the importance of PE and increase community awareness and education surrounding solutions for this national issue. The NikeGO PE program has added a tremendous amount to that discussion by helping to deliver physical activity to elementary students in schools where inadequate levels of physical education are occurring."

NikeGO PE was created with help from SPARK, a research-based organization dedicated to creating, implementing and evaluating programs that promote lifelong wellness. The program is designed to bridge the gap until more full-time PE specialists are place in schools nationwide.

"Nike believes that it is important for all children to grow up healthy and strong," said Danielle Killpack, senior manager of corporate responsibility for Nike. "To reach this goal, we recently expanded NikeGO in classrooms nationwide, including Portland. Our goal is to help elementary schools obtain resources and training to ensure they can sustain an effective approach to physical education. And, we want kids to enjoy being active."

About NikeGO PE:
NikeGO PE is an innovative physical education program designed to increase the quality and quantity of physical activity in America's schools with an end goal of improving children's activity levels fitness. NikeGO PE accomplishes this task by providing "the essential components": curriculum, teacher training, equipment, and follow up support to elementary PE specialists and classroom teachers. NikeGO PE is part of Nike's signature U.S. community affairs initiative - NikeGO. Since its inception in 2003, the program has been implemented in more than 400 public schools, reaching more than 75,000 students. For more information, visit www.nikego.com.

About SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids):
SPARK is a research-based organization (of San Diego State University and Sportime, LLC, a member of the School Specialty Family of companies), dedicated to creating, implementing, and evaluating programs that promote lifelong wellness. SPARK strives to improve the health of children and adolescents by disseminating evidence-based physical activity and nutrition programs that provide curriculum, staff development, follow-up support, and equipment to teachers of Pre-K through 12th grade students. For more information, visit www.sparkpe.org.