Saturday 5th October 2013 saw the return of the highly anticipated North VS. South Health Challenge and Expo, held simultaneously at Majestic Five Hotel in Palapye and at Boipuso Hall in Gaborone. Now in its third year, the initiative was developed by Botswana Public Officers Medical Aid Scheme (BPOMAS) in 2010 and held in collaboration, this year, with local fitness franchise, Jack’s Gym.
Over 1000 people from across the country participated in the friendly competitive Health Challenge in which participants from the North, gathered in Palapye, were pitted against those in the South, hosted in Gaborone. Amongst the exhibitors on the day were MedRescue, Diabetes Association of Botswana, and Herbal Life, all in an effort to show the availability of resources and support that make an easy transition to a living a healthy life possible.
The Challenge and Expo saw an aerobathon held simultaneously in the North and in the South, encouraging Batswana to practice more health conscious lifestyles. In addition to the traditional aerobathon established in the past, this year also saw the introduction of a number of individual challenges that ranged from spinning to squats, mountain climbers, burpees, skipping, planking, and push ups, in a bid to enhance the atmosphere of healthy competition.
“We wanted this year’s Challenge to really leverage more off the idea of a “challenge” between the North and the South, more so than has been done in the past. Everyone loves some good, clean competition, and it certainly worked this time around as it added a sense of greater excitement and motivation to the events,” said BPOMAS Sales and Marketing Manager Mr. Scelo Hlope. “We wanted people to see that a healthy lifestyle is not only possible and manageable, but enjoyable. The energy and excitement of all our participants was incredible!”
The special “Challenge” saw teams of ten people from each city (5 men and 5 women each) randomly selected by instructors on the day. The team which completed the Challenge the fastest, comprising of participants representing the South, proved the ultimate victors, earning themselves P30,000 prize money to go towards a local charity which will be announced at a later date. The North came out as the runners up, receiving P20,000 in prize money to go towards a charitable cause to be announced.
Said Terry Baker, General Manager of Jack’s Gym, “We are very pleased to have been able to come on board for this year’s North VS. South Health Challenge. Our own drive to transform the Nation’s perception of exercise for a healthier, happier, and active country is very much in line with what this Challenge aims to achieve. The ease with which one can transition into a healthier life could not be simpler. Playing up the competitive element and the CSI angle only makes this more rewarding.”
Concluded Mr. Hlope, “We are grateful to all who were a part of this event, from our technical partner Jack’s Gym to the many exhibitors and volunteers, and of course, the many people who turned out as active participants. Our next step is now to give back to our rich community in the form of the prize money raised by both teams respectively with the Challenge, and we will have more to share on that soon.”
