JMU selected to compete in outdoor campus challenge
News
Students at ten colleges and universities across the US are gearing up for the outdoor challenge of their lives; coming up with innovative strategies to help them win the title of ‘most outdoorsy campus’ in the Outdoor Nation Campus Challenge. The Challenge, fueled by The North Face, was developed to combat some of today’s bleak statistics around young people and outdoor participation. Current research tells us young people spend 50 percent less time outdoors in natural settings than the generation that preceded them.
Outdoor Nation and The North Face selected ten schools who will go head-to-head in the fall, competing to see who can get the most people in their student bodies and surrounding communities outside and active. Think Mother Nature meets March Madness. During the eight-week Outdoor Nation Campus Challenge, participating individuals at each school will self-report on their outdoor activities through an interactive online platform powered by ContestCore. The school that logs the most activities outside at the end of the competition will win a valuable prize package, scholarship for an outdoor program assistant, a custom gear library, an outdoor festival for all students, and valuable bragging rights. An individual achievement award, 'Outsider of the Year', will also be given to the student that inspires the most people to get outdoors.
JMU is in a unique position to win the Campus Challenge with its close proximity and abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities and a highly engaged student body. UREC has planned a series of far-reaching, large-scale events and challenges over the course of eight weeks this Fall. There will also be a "Peakbagger’s Challenge," where students can compete to hike the most surrounding mountains to win a prize.
UREC efforts for the Campus Challenge are led by Guy deBrun, Sasha Griffith, Jenny Merian and Kristin Gibson. Please contact UREC if you or your organization would like to partner in this effort!
Other schools selected to compete in the 2014 Campus Challenge include: Appalachian State University, California State University, Long Beach, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, George Mason University, Michigan Technological University, Spelman University, University of Central Florida, University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
About the Outdoor Foundation & Outdoor Nation
The Outdoor Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and growing future generations of outdoor enthusiasts. Through groundbreaking research, action oriented outreach, and education programs, the Foundation works with partners to mobilize a major cultural shift that leads all Americans to the great outdoors. In 2010, the Foundation launched Outdoor Nation, a pioneering initiative that aims to empower young leaders to champion the outdoors on campuses and in communities across the United States. For more information visit: OutdoorFoundation.org and OutdoorNation.org.
Media Contact
Stasia Raines
The Outdoor Foundation
sraines@outdoorfoundation.org
619.957.9891
UREC Homepage / Facebook / Twitter
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