Kids get fit

Gov. Charlie Crist announced that nearly 130,000 elementary students at 294 schools had signed up for his new Governor's Fitness Challenge.
That means nearly 90 percent of the public elementary school kids, and some 75 percent of Florida's elementary schools, did not. They basically told the governor, No thanks.

Maybe it was bad timing. Schools had to sign up by Friday, on the eve of FCAT, and the program runs during the two-week FCAT testing window. Maybe it's a sign that not everyone shares the governor's passion for fitness. Or maybe it is simply a sign that schools have a lot on their plates and keeping track of scores on 40-yard dashes, agility runs and broad jumps was more than they wanted to take on.

The governor, who has made more P.E. classes a priority of his administration, seemed unconcerned by the relatively small sign up. In his press release he said he was "proud of the enthusiasm schools across Florida have shown."

The fitness challenge, announced in late February, is an 8-week program that aims to get kids exercising more while their schools compete for sports a equipment, visits from star athletes and the title of Governor's Fitness Champion School.