Apollo still in running to win $100,000 fitness center
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

Apollo High School in Simi Valley is one of 75 California schools still in the running to win a new, $100,000 fitness center. Three such centers are the grand prizes in the Governor's Challenge Competition, a fitness contest that asks students to participate in physical activities outside of PE classes for at least 30 minutes three times a week for four weeks.

The school also stands to win a $5,000 regional prize for new exercise equipment.

The state and regional winners will be announced at a ceremony in Sacramento in September.

"The students are very excited," said office manager Karen Smith.

Apollo, University Preparation School in Camarillo and Balboa Middle School in Ventura were the three finalists in the Gold Coast region, which includes Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Every student at Apollo participated in the Governor's Challenge this year. The school also recorded more active days- 24,794- than any other in the region, even though its student population is smaller than that of most high schools.

Balboa, with a much greater number of students, was a distant second with 24,118 active days.

"That's how desperate our students are for a new gym," Smith said.

Apollo's weight room is a renovated shower room. Many of the weights and machines were donated 20 years ago and some can no longer be used.

"We hope to be able to bring our gym into this century," Smith said, only half-joking.

In February, the school won $1,000 for placing first among regional high schools competing in the challenge.

In addition to encouraging students and staff to be physically active for the required number of days outside the class setting, Apollo submitted three brief essays to the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The topics were: healthy food choices, the effects of physical activity on students in and out of school and the benefits of a fitness center on Apollo.

More than160,000 California students participated in the Governor's Challenge this year, a big leap from the 69,000 students involved in the challenge last year.