THOUSAND OAKS, CA (September 24, 2007) - Blue Cross of California, collaborating with the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, is launching a 14-week statewide mobile outreach campaign designed to get children moving and empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices now and in the future.

The “Blue Cross Live Like a Champion Tour,” featuring a customized SUV, includes interactive games and challenging sports themed activities to help children bring out their “inner champion.” The tour is traveling to local community and special events, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs and other after-school program locations in 10 cities throughout California. Special effort is focused on reaching out to the state’s underserved communities.

According to the California Health & Human Services Agency, approximately one in three children in California are obese or overweight. In addition, almost 40 percent of school-aged children are physically unfit. Healthy eating and physical activity are great strategies to help children stay healthy.

Event activities include:

• Olympic Style Opening Ceremony: Children pledge to put down the remote and get active.
• Jerry Rice’s Catch Like A Champion: Inspired by Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice, children dive onto an inflatable mat and make the winning catch in the end zone, while seeing messages encouraging 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day.
• Lisa Leslie’s Hoop Like A Champion: Inspired by Olympic basketball champion Lisa Leslie, children take different basketball shots with various colored balls representing different healthy foods.
• Julie Foudy’s Kick Like A Champion: Inspired by World Cup champion Julie Foudy, children shoot multicolored soccer balls representing fruits and vegetables into a goal to emphasize the importance of a balanced diet.
• Misty May-Treanor’s Spike Like A Champion: Inspired by Olympic volleyball champion Misty May-Treanor, children step up to the net and learn how to spike a volleyball as another way to be active and have fun.
• Toss Like A Champion: Children take shots at various foods in the refrigerator and knock down the healthy snack choices, reinforcing balanced nutrition.
• Eat Like A Champion: Children catch “healthy” vs. “non-healthy” food while balancing on a beam, emphasizing the importance of portion size.
• Live Like A Champion Water Relay: Children learn about proper hydration by using bottles to fill a bucket with the suggested daily water intake.
• Board Like A Champion: Children find out the proper way to get up on a surf/snow board and maintain balance, with the safety of an inflatable mat beneath them.
• Closing Ceremony: Children engage in post-activity stretch exercises and join in an award ceremony, declaring all who participated champions.