Questions
and Answers
What is the
Presidential Sports Award Program?
Who is eligible to
participate in the program?
What does the
recipient receive?
Why is there a
four-month time frame during which the requirements must
be completed?
What if an
individual cannot meet the requirements within a
four-month period?
How can
handicapped individuals or individuals undergoing
rehabilitation or physical therapy participate in the
program?
Do participants
have to begin the program at any particular time?
Can a participant
log more than one activity at a time to meet the 50
hours?
What if a
participant attains over 50 hours of activity within a
4-month period but not in any one sport?
 Sports Award Main Page
 . What is the
Presidential Sports Award Program?
 .
The Presidential Sports Award Program was developed by
the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports
in 1972 as a means to motivate all Americans to be active
in fitness oriented activities. Its purpose is to
encourage individuals to become more physically active
throughout life, and it emphasizes regular exercise
rather than outstanding performance. It is a non-profit
program that runs entirely on participant fees and is
administered by the Amateur Athletic Union.
TOP
Who is eligible to participate in the program?
.
Anyone age 6 or older is eligible to participate in the
program and earn awards. However, the fitness log(s) of
all participants age 13 or younger must be signed and
verified by an adult.
TOP
What does the recipient receive?
.
A certificate of achievement from President Clinton. Each
certificate includes the name of the recipient, the
recipient's sport, and the month the award was earned.
TOP
Why
is there a 4-month time frame during which the
requirements must be completed?
. The
requirement that criteria must be met within a 4-month
time period was set because the program strives to
encourage participation in fitness-oriented activities on
a consistent basis. The President's Council hopes that
being active over time will encourage participants to
adopt a regular long-term exercise program.
TOP
What
if an individual cannot meet the requirements within a
4-month period?
. The PSA
program is set up so that the longer it takes an
individual to meet the requirements past the four-month
period, the less that activity benefits the individual.
Obviously, with anyone age 6 and above eligible to
participate in the program, there must be room for
flexibility. Generally, awards will be awarded to anyone
who meets the criteria in up to five months. However,
exceptions will be made for the following reasons:
1) Injury (or illness) - If a participant has been
injured while working toward an award, he/she may
note the interruption on the fitness log and continue
once the injury has sufficiently healed.
2) Change of season - For example, if the snow
skiing season ends, and participant has 2 months of
activity logged, he/she may finish the final 2 months
when the next season begins.
3) Individual medical history - Individuals who
have an existing medical condition which limits their
physical activity can still participate in the
program if they consult a qualified physician to
determine appropriate criteria to fit their personal
physical status. For example, an individual who has
had bypass surgery may earn an award by having
his/her doctor determine appropriate criteria to fit
the participant's condition.
TOP
How
can handicapped individuals or individuals undergoing
rehabilitation or physical therapy participate in the
program?
. Everyone is
encouraged to participate in the Presidential Sports
Award program. Individuals who are unable to meet the
requirements listed in the program brochure should
consult with their doctor or therapist and make
adjustments so that the requirements are both realistic
and challenging. All adjustments should be noted when
completed fitness logs are forwarded to LIFELINE for
fulfillment.
TOP
Do
participants have to begin the program at any particular
time?
. No,
participants may begin to chart their progress to earn an
award at any time. The only stipulation is that the
criteria for each category should be met within a 4-month
period in order for the participant to get maximum
benefit. Hours of exercise, games played, miles walked,
etc. performed within the last 12 months may be logged
retroactively.
TOP
Fifty
hours in some activities is very difficult to meet within
a 4-month period. Can a participant log more than one
activity at a time to meet the 50 hours?
. Yes, two
categories are set up for this purpose: Cross Training
and Sports/Fitness. Under Cross Training, a participant
is required to meet one half of the requirements of two
different categories within the 4-month period.
Under Sports/Fitness, a participant may credit up to
one hour of an exercise activity or one hour of a sports
activity per day or one hour of a combination of both. No
more than one hour of total activity may be credited in
any one day.
If a participant is logging activity toward earning
the award in two different categories at the same time,
additional time is allowed as long as the participant
averages 3-4 workouts per week.
TOP
What
if a participant attains over 50 hours of activity within
a 4-month period but not in any 1 sport?
. The spirit
of the program is to motivate individuals to exercise on
at least 50 different days within a four month period at
the levels described in the Presidential Sports Award
brochure. Any individual who completes at least five
workouts in a four month period can earn an award.
Some Examples:
- If a person attains 30 allowable workouts of
volleyball (one hour per day), 10 in bicycling (8
or 12 miles per day, depending on how many speeds
the cycle has), and 10 (1 hour per day) in
softball, he/she may receive the Volleyball
award.
- If a bowler attains 123 of the necessary 150
games during a 4-month period but can document at
least nine other days or workouts in other
activities, he/she may receive the Bowling award
(150 divided by 50=3 games per day, 123 divided
by 3 games per day = 41 days of activity.)
Therefore, 9 additional hours are needed.
- A 2 1/2-mile walk at 4 mph pace (at least one
mile per 15 minutes) may be substituted for a
workout in any other activity.
TOP
Sports Award Main Page
|