WIREDGOV

A new, free website that gets workplaces active and competing against each other has launched last week, helping people kicking off their 2014 sporting resolutions.

The new Workplace Challenge website enables people to log all of their physical activity, whether it’s walking or cycling to work through to taking part in sport. The new website will run in parallel with activities happening on the ground, including challenges, programmes and competitions, designed to motivate and inspire workplaces across the country.

The activity logged will be converted to points to enable workplaces to track their progress against national and local leader boards. People will also be able to see a variety of stats including distance travelled, calories burned and CO2 saved.

The new website has received £500,000 of funding from Sport England’s Get Health Get into Sport programme and is supported by the British Heart Foundation’s Health at Work programme. Local Country Sports Partnerships will manage the platform and will ensure there are challenges, activities and competitions available offline to encourage people to stay active.

Mike Diaper, Director of Community Sport at Sport England said: “I am delighted to be working with the County Sports Partnership Network and the British Heart Foundation’s Health at Work Programme on this fantastic new tool. Influencing work places and getting employees to get active together is key in helping change peoples’ attitudes towards sport and will help them develop a lasting sporting habit.  I would encourage everybody to sign up to this challenge and get active in 2014!”

Lee Mason from the County Sports Partnership Network (CSP Network) said: “The CSP Network is proud to be supporting the delivery of the Workplace Challenge across England.  It is critical that we understand how to capture the benefits of the digital environment, driving people to do more activity in the offline environments, whether encouraging more people to walk to work, visit their local leisure centre or take some exercise in their local parks. 

Lisa Purcell Project Manager for the British Heart Foundation’s Health at Work Programme said: “Research highlights the health crisis that we face across workplaces, with obesity at an all-time high. We believe that the Workplace Challenge will inspire employers to champion the wellbeing of their workforce and we will be providing a comprehensive and engaging support package both on and offline, to support individual employees and businesses alike. The bottom line is that the health of the workforce has a direct influence on the UK economy - boosting morale and productivity.”

To get involved, visit www.workplacechallenge.org.uk