MADISON, WI (BRAIN)—In celebration of National Bike to Work Day, Saris Cycling Group announced that May, a fifth grader from Oklahoma, was selected as the winner of its first national bicycle awareness poster contest, which was held in partnership with bicycle advocacy groups nationwide.
The winner will be flown to Washington D.C. for the 2012 National Bike Summit and recognized for her achievement.
“This contest is particularly important to Oklahoma’s future. Oklahoma currently ranks sixth nationally among the states with the highest obesity rates,” said Oklahoma’s contest coordinator Janette Quarles. “By 2018, Oklahoma is expected to lead the nation in obesity. Nearly one-third of children are overweight and obese. A study that has just been completed at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center demonstrated that 66 percent of obese students that walked or biked to school were no longer obese at the end of the school year.”
More than 5,000 students from 17 different states participated in the contest by submitting posters centered around the theme: “Bicycling is fun…and healthy too!” Winners were also selected at the state level. Each will receive a bike, bike light, and helmet, and their schools will receive a Saris bicycle parking system.
“At Saris Cycling Group, we believe that bicycling can enhance the quality of life throughout the United States,” said SCG president Chris Fortune. “This contest is one way we’re able to engage youth in thinking about the bicycle as a solution to many of our current social and economic issues. We are hopeful this contest will encourage fifth graders to ride their bikes more frequently and we look forward to continuing this contest for years to come.”
