Alameda County Students Walk, Bike, Roll and Carpool to School for the Golden Sneaker Contest March 2-13 2015

Students in more than 100 Alameda County schools will walk, bike, carpool or take transit to school, competing for the coveted Golden and Platinum Sneaker Awards and learning healthy and green transportation habits.

Students throughout Alameda County are getting active and engaging in some friendly competition by participating in the fourth annual “Pollution Solution Golden Sneaker Contest.” Approximately 70,000 students from 107 schools are walking, biking, carpooling, and taking transit to school from March 2 – 13. This includes students from 18 schools in Hayward, Newark, Union City, and Fremont.

Sponsored by Alameda County’s Safe Routes to Schools Program and funded by the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the annual contest shows students and parents how easy it is to use green modes of transportation, while promoting healthy activities and teamwork.

“The Golden Sneaker Contest provides a great opportunity to support new healthy habits for Alameda County students,” says Alameda CTC Chair Supervisor Richard Valle. “It is a great way to help students learn that exercise and safety go hand in hand.”

The participating classes are striving to have the highest number of students that use active or shared transportation to commute to and from school, in order to receive the coveted “Golden Sneaker” trophy. The school with the greatest increase in student participation will get the ultimate prize, the “Platinum Sneaker,” and will be honored by the Alameda CTC meeting on March 26.

“I am proud to serve on a Commission that promotes and encourages our younger generation to safely walk, bike, or carpool to school,” says Valle.