Coca-Cola T20 School Cricket Teams compete for an Outdoor Gym

The 2013 Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge has kicked off, and as an added incentive to selected participating schools, Coca-Cola® is running an exercise challenge aimed at promoting a physically active Coca-Cola® 30 Minutes Heroes Challenge.

The competition is not exclusive to cricketers and open to all learners at participating schools as Coca-Cola® would like to get as many teens as possible physically active.

“Coca-Cola® has been involved in cricket development for over 30 years,” explains Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola South Africa Assets Marketing Manager. “Heroes are made at our tournaments, starting with our sponsorship, the Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge where schools participate in competitive cricket to the broader community. The top players in the 16 cricket unions progress to the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket Week, which has produced over 200 Proteas players over the years. Through the Coca-Cola® 30 Minutes of Heroes Challenge we are encouraging all teens to be physically active as part of a daily lifestyle,” says Mbele.

The learners participating in the Coca-Cola® 30 Minutes of Heroes Challenge must try to get as many learners as possible to complete a five drill circuit in a 30 minute period. The scores will not be announced until the very end of the challenge, with the school completing the most circuits in the allotted time standing a chance to win an outdoor gym to the value of two hundred thousand rand, to be installed at the winning school. The gym is similar to those found in Johannesburg Parks and at Sea Point in Cape Town.

The challenge consists of five cricket-related activities, run as a circuit. They are:

1.    Shuttle drill – teens must run from beacon to beacon collecting and moving a mini cricket ball from one to the next

2.    Throwing on target – teens have three chances to hit a set of spring loaded stumps

3.    Skipping – teens must skip for 10 counts

4.    Catching – teens must catch three balls off the rebound board

5.    Slalom poles – teens must weave in and out of 10 slalom poles

“It might seem easy but the challenge is to be able to complete the circuit as many times in the stipulated time period,” said Mbele.

All balls used are mini cricket balls more or less the same density as a tennis ball and a counter will record every teen’s completion of the circuit within the 30 minutes. Once the officially-timed 30 minute period is over, the circuit will be open for anyone else who wants to do the exercises, just for fun.