Thousands of people across Sheffield achieved more than six million active minutes during a month-long campaign to make the city more active.
As part of the city’s third annual Move More Month, a total of 6,117,513 active minutes were registered by businesses, schools and individuals across the city, who got to their feet to take part in activities and initiatives in a bid to make Sheffield the UK’s most active city.
More than 600 teams from 140 firms – an unprecedented amount – signed up to the Move More Workplace Challenge, which pitted employees and businesses against each other to become Sheffield’s most active individual and organisation respectively.
The Workplace Challenge also saw an unprecedented number of participants take part, with around 3,200 participants recording more than five million active minutes, as fitness and physical activity moved to the top of the agenda for city firms in an effort to engineer exercise back into the work environment.
Professor Robert Copeland, Director of the NCSEM and Move More, said: “We’re extremely pleased to see the success that Move More enjoyed in 2018, having built on the work of the previous three years.
“We’re particularly delighted to see the impact the Workplace Challenge has had on Sheffield businesses, with a record number of firms taking part in 2018.
“Our aim, through Move More Month, is to make Sheffield the most active city in the UK by 2020. We know that if physical activity isn’t fun, people won’t engage – which is what Move More is all about.
“It’s also about making physical activity a part of everyday life – whether that’s getting off the bus a stop earlier, walking your children to school, taking the stairs instead of getting the lift – it all counts towards improving an individual’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“We have worked hard to deliver activities for everyone to enable those who are least active to take part, and while we’re not quite there yet we’ve come a long way since Move More’s inaugural outing in 2016.”
Using a specially-developed website, activity and steps were entered manually or recorded using the Move More Sheffield app, downloadable on smartphones.
Live Workplace Challenge league tables, positions and a plethora of social media activity helped people keep engaged and monitor their progress.
A contemporary take on a nostalgic playground game also enabled local people to hop, skip and jump into the initiative – with 15 hopscotch courts installed at locations across the city.
Move More is part of a five-year plan to make it easier for everyone living in Sheffield to be physically active as part of everyday life.
Tom Hughes, project lead for Move More Month at Sheffield City Council, who are one of the key partners of the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), said: “We want to encourage healthier lifestyles and trends – and though the healthy competition of Move More’s Workplace Challenge has now finished, we would always urge anyone and everyone who has been more physically active this month to continue the good work and keep up their activity levels.
“We’re extremely proud to be pioneers here in Sheffield and to set an example to other cities to follow suit – but with one of our primary aims being to make this fantastic city the UK’s most active.”
In 2018, highlights included the Move More Schools Challenge, which saw thousands of pupils from schools across Sheffield take to the playground during their lunch break to take part in short physical activity challenges.
The world’s strongest junior, Paul Smith, also got involved, flexing his biceps to pull a double-decker bus along the running track at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) in a celebration of all things Move More.
Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday supporters were the most active football fans in the city, recording 308,733 minutes to Sheffield United’s 189,471 to triumph in Move More’s Steel City Derby for the third year in a row.
The winners of the Move More Workplace Challenge – most active workplace, most improved individual, most active team, most engaged workforce (by number of people) and most active sole trader – will be revealed at a special Move More celebration event on 19 July at Glide House, Attercliffe.
