Active Lunch Challenge: The Results

The Active Lunch Challenge helped to encapsulate people across Britain but as with all good things, it had to come to an end at some point.

With 388 new sign-ups taking part in the Active Lunch Challenge, the sporty and not so sporty in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland did their bit to ensure the area continues to show how physically active it is.

The Active Lunch Challenge might have been to get more people physically active, but there was a competitive side to it as well. And all competitions need prizes – so here is the full list of winners!

Top workplace (total activity points): Voluntary Action Leicestershire - Physical Activity Package

Battle of the Schools (school with the highest total activity points): Bosworth Academy - £250 of sports equipment

Top individual male (total activity points): Paul Slater (Rutland County Council) - £50 sports voucher
Runner up: Ricky Shah (Voluntary Action Leicestershire) - Workplace Challenge goody bag

Top individual female (total activity points): Hilary Springthorpe (Blaby District Council) - £50 sports voucher
Runner up: Michelle Tomlinson (FPCR Environment and Design) - Workplace Challenge goody bag

More than 620 people took part from across the area, representing 40 different workplaces throughout the eight week challenge. The stand out statistics are:

• 19,317 activities were logged
• People took part in 17,981 hours of sport and physical activity
• 49,438 miles were covered
• £1,473 was saved in fuel costs.

Those figures helped Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport finish third, ahead of powerhouse areas like London and Manchester. LRS have long championed the Workplace Challenge and with more and more people now taking part, there has never been a better time to get involved if you haven't yet.

Bryany Cornish, Assistant Sports Development Officer, helped to organise the Active Lunch Challenge locally. She said: "The Active Lunch Challenge motto of '10 minutes is all you need to a healthier, happier you' reinforced the message that you don't need to spend 3 hours at the gym each evening to see health benefits. Taking 10 minutes out of your lunch break is enough to increase productivity and improve your mood for the rest of the day. It has been great to see so many users from workplaces across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland getting involved, logging their activity and livening up their lunch!"

The Active Lunch Challenge also coincided with the Battle of the Schools, which urged teachers and school staff to log their activities with the chance of securing sports equipment. Bosworth Academy came out on top after submitting 332,186 points across the campaign. They are to be rewarded with £250 worth of equipment to use in PE lessons and extra-curricular activities.

Though the Active Lunch Challenge might be over, that doesn't mean it is too late to sign up. For full information on the Workplace Challenge and how you can give it a go, visit https://www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/lrsport/