The number of participants and steps taken in the 3rd Annual Pedometer Challenge hit record-breaking totals and shattered previous year’s results, organisers announced on Friday, 10 February 2017.

In just 21 days 1,209 steppers in 60 teams competed in the ‘Every Step Counts’ Pedometer Challenge, and exercised their way to a collective 179 million steps. Of those, 920 civil servants participated and stepped their way to an impressive 141,315,713 steps. The remaining 289 persons were drawn from statutory authorities and government companies.

Last year’s challenge saw 505 steppers and a total of 36 teams. The women took the lead this year with 856 participants, followed by the 353 men took part.

Coordinated by the Pedometer Challenge Committee (PCC), a sub-committee of the Wellness Committee, the wellness challenge kicked off on 16 January.

Team members wore pedometers for three weeks to record each step they took and logged their activity on a daily basis on the web-portal Cayman Active.

An award ceremony on Friday, 10 February capped the almost month-long push for Civil Service employees to lead healthier lives.

The top three winners in the ‘Every Step Counts’ challenge, whose steps were verified directly by PCC, exercised their way to their titles as follows:

Women:
1. Nicole Emmanuel Jones – 1,563,713 steps

2. Marion Webster – 1,508,984 steps

3. Patrice Hanson – 1,241,959 steps

Men:
1. Paul Puckerin – 1,096,024 steps

2. Simon Spiers – 905,545 steps

3. Reinaldo Fletcher – 881,096 steps

Team winners for the challenge were:

Small Team Winners:

1. Internal Audit Walkaholics
2. Too Inspired to be Tired
3. CI National Weather Service

Medium Team Winners:

1. OAG Watch Dogs
2. Statistics Steppers
3. Department of Education Services

Large Team Winners:

1. #iamjohngray
2. Ministry of FSCE
3. Legal Eagles

During the prize-giving ceremony Deputy Governor, Franz Manderson, expressed his sincere gratitude to all of the participants and applauded their outstanding efforts.
“I would like to congratulate everyone on a successful Pedometer Challenge,” he said. “The fact that some 920 Civil Servants walked 141,315,713 steps is truly amazing and inspiring, and I am very proud of your dedication and commitment to living a healthier lifestyle.”
Mr. Winston Sobers, PCC chairman and founder of the pedometer challenge, thanked the PCC team, Wellness Committee and participants for their efforts.

“The objective of this challenge was to get people moving, get them out of their comfort zone and raise awareness about healthy lifestyle choices,” he explains. “So many participants now know the health benefits one can experience through more consistent exercise.”

In addition to the top awards a number of raffle prizes, donated by local businesses, were won by participants.

The PCC expressed gratitude to those sponsors who contributed to the closing ceremony, including: Cayman Islands Civil Service Association, CINICO, FLOW, Kings Gym, Foster’s Food Fair IGA, Dolphin Discovery, Cayman National Bank, Smoothie Factory, Himalaya Wellness (Cayman) Ltd., Winner Circle, Universal Fitness, GNC, Subway, Smoothie King, Market Street Group, Performance Lab by FN Sports, Red Sails, Cayman Airways Ltd. and Edoardo’s Restaurant.