Hershey's Track & Field Partners
Letter from NRPA
Dear Colleague,
Thank you for your interest in hosting the Hershey's Track & Field Games in your community. Among the longest operating grassroots program coordinated by the recreation and parks profession, this program is focused on expanding opportunities for young boys and girls to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle. Fostering active recreation and sport participation for youth is among the best ways to enhance the quality of life in your community.
We are excited about partnering with you and your community and know that Hershey's Track & Field Games will be a great addition to your program offerings to youth. I encourage you to register your event date and location within the Hershey’s Track & Field Games event manager program at www.hersheystrackandfield.com. There, you also can take advantage of the professionally developed tools and templates made available for meet coordinators.
I also encourage you to visit www.nrpa.org/trackandfield so we can share additional information with you about the program and show our support. We are working with Hershey’s Track & Field Games to help grow the program at the local level. Please consider hosting an event and working towards that goal.
While Park and Recreation Agencies are the hub of promoting healthy communities, this is a further opportunity to create lasting experiences for youth across generations; we are excited to have your leadership commitment. Together, we ensure that young people continue to have the opportunity to enjoy active recreational pursuits and positively benefit from healthy competitive experiences.
Best wishes for success in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Sieglinde Friedman,
Chief, Business Development
National Recreation and Park Association
Greetings from NASPE!
Since its inception in 1978, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has been proud to support Hershey's Track & Field Games, the largest youth sports program of its kind! This outstanding program promotes active lifestyles and fun with family and friends among boys and girls ages 9-14.
With alarming rates of physical inactivity and increases of type II diabetes among our nation's children, this is a pivotal time in our nation's history to work together - schools, communities and corporations - to develop quality physical activity programs for every child. Hershey's Track & Field Games is one such outstanding example.
By working together we are able to provide the best opportunities for children to learn and practice skills that will contribute to their becoming and staying active and fit throughout their lifetimes. We know that quality physical education and physical activity can help reduce the epidemic of childhood obesity. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence that shows academic achievement and graduation rates improve with increased physical activity in the school program.
Creating a culture of physical activity is one of the most important things a parent can do to help prevent an overweight, sedentary child. That is why NASPE believes it is so important to get children physically active at a young age. Encourage your schools and communities to host a Hershey's Track & Field event. Visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com and register to organize, participate or volunteer in the Hershey's Track & Field Games.
Help children learn such skills as setting goals, developing a plan to achieve them, and encouraging sportsmanship while being physically active and having fun.
Best wishes for success in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Charlene R. Burgeson
Executive Director
Letter from Athletics Canada
Greetings from Athletics Canada,
Our organization is a proud partner of Hershey's and of the Hershey's Track and Field Games. The program has been providing youth with an opportunity to participate, have fun, and establish friendships since 1978. Very similarly to Run, Jump, Throw - Athletics Canada's grassroots program - the purpose of the Hershey's Track and Field Games is to promote physical fitness and participation in a fun environment for all youth.
The Track and Field Games have become a key cog in achieving our overriding mission, and aligns well with our belief that track and field is a sport for people of all ages and abilities, providing the framework for a lifetime of physical health and fitness, and individual development beyond sport. The program is also a useful tool in battling child inactivity and obesity.
I strongly encourage you visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com and register to organize, participate or volunteer in the Hershey's Track and Field Games. What a thrilling way to promote an active lifestyle, promote sportsmanship, while providing an opportunity for kids to be the best they can be!
Yours in athletics,
Joanne Mortimore,
Chief Executive Officer