All California State University, Los Angeles personnel are cordially invited to participate in the Faculty/Staff/Administration Health- & Skill-Related Fitness Octathlon, Thursday, May 24, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. to celebrate the National Employee Health and Fitness Day. The event will be part of the Health Science Expo week, and is jointly sponsored by the School of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. The Fitness Octathlon's corporate sponsorship includes Kellogg's Nutri Grain and Nike (additional sponsors are welcome; please contact D. Frankl at 323/343-4662).

The purpose of the Fitness Octathlon is to elevate the awareness of the importance of regular physical activity to overall health and well-being. Our goal is to maximize active Cal. State L.A. working community participation, as well as, to foster intra-team cooperation in a pleasant, festive atmosphere. We encourage colleagues of all ability and disability (individuals with special needs are encouraged to contact Octathlon planning committee members, D. Frankl at X-4662 or A. Cornwell at X-4648) levels to join the fun. All full-time and part-time administrators, faculty, and staff (except student workers and graduate assistants) are eligible to take part in this event.

Our hope is that the Administration (University-wide) and each School will submit one team each of no less than eight members (4 males, 4 females); however, the more members per team, the merrier! The Fitness Octathlon is composed of eight separate events that will be staged at eight different stations at the University's Jesse Owens Track Stadium. Each team will perform at a particular station independent of the remaining six teams. At any one time, therefore, seven teams will be performing at seven different stations, with the exception of the eighth station when all the teams will share the track in a grand finale event – the 800m military run. Teams that include more than eight members may use as many substitutes as possible (theoretically, a team may enter 64 participants – 8 events x 8 people per event).

• Agility: Obstacle course with wiffle ball and hockey stick. Each participant will cover the course. Team score is established by adding best individual members' performances.

• Backwards Balance Beam Relay: In this event, the team lines up at one end of the low balance beam. Each participant traverses the length of the beam backwards. At the end of the beam, they must turn around and re-cross the beam, again backwards. As they step off the beam, the next teammate starts. The team with the fastest time wins the balance competition. Penalties are assessed for every time a team member steps off of the beam. Because of the low height of the beam, safety concerns are minimized.

• 40m Relay (Speed): The team will perform a 40m x 8 relay. Team performance is established by measuring the time from the start of the relay's first leg until the eighth member crosses the line with baton in hand.

• Ski Walk (Coordination): The entire team will perform a ski walk on specially designed skis (we have enough sets to accommodate all eight team members at the same time). The cumulative distance covered by all team members in the allocated time will be recorded.

• Sack Hop Relay (Power): Teams are split in half, lining up on opposite sides of the course. The course length is about 20 meters. Three sacks are provided to the team. The first teammate hops across the course and tags the next teammate. This teammate re-crosses the course in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the first teammate gets out of his/her sack and gives it to the next in line who then must quickly put it on. The teams cross the course back and forth a specified number of times. Some team members may have to go twice if team sizes are different. The team with the quickest time is considered the most powerful.

• Modified Sit-and-Reach Test (Flexibility): Each participant will perform a modified sit-and-reach test. From a seated position on the ground, with his/her legs straight out in front and knees locked, the participant will reach as far forward as possible by flexing the trunk. The distance beyond a reference position will be recorded and the cumulative distance for the team will be taken as the team's score.

• Traffic Pylon-Base Toss (Strength): The team lines up in a single file fashion perpendicular to the start line. The first participant throws the pylon-base in the direction of the finish line. Then the participant must run out to the pylon-base and jump on it and run back to the start line. After being tagged by their predecessor, the next participant runs out to the base, picks it up, and again throws it in the direction of the finish line. From the point where the participant threw the base, they must then run to the base's new place, jump on it and run back to the team which remains at the starting line. The next participants repeat the process until all have thrown the pylon-base. The team that moves the base the farthest is considered the strongest. The base must be thrown from a fixed stance, no steps may be taken when throwing the base.

• Military Run: (Endurance) This event will serve as the grand finale for the entire meet and will be the only activity where all competing teams will be participating at the same time. The event will consist of an 800m military-style run. The average time between the first and last male and female runner per team will be computed as the team's score (times by two males and two females per team). Assisting fellow team members to the finish line is an important success strategy in this event and is strongly encouraged.