The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not playing when it comes to health and fitness!
The aim of the recent Sports for All Challenge was to generate new ideas from university students to promote healthier lifestyles and motivate society to get active and take up a sport. The SFA wanted to harness the talents and creativity of young people in order to create a new and dynamic approach.
“The Sports for All Challenge seeks to generate new ideas from the young generation of Saudis to motivate and encourage society to get active and take up any type of fitness activity. We know how talented and creative our young people are, and we want them to be leading the way in promoting healthier lifestyles,” said SFA President HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud.
Let’s hear it for uni students driving change!
The winning teams, tasked with developing models that would increase community engagement in physical activities, competed for a top prize of SAR37,500 for the winning team, and SAR18,750 and SAR11,250 for the second- and third-place teams, respectively.
The Sports for All Challenge saw 18 teams of university students from both Saudi Arabia and the United States develop creative campaigns to encourage local communities to get active and participate in sports, and to contribute effectively towards improving the quality of life and wellness for participants.
Held across nine cities, the Challenge saw teams from 12 universities take part – 10 Saudi universities and two US universities, and is unique in that it is an example of how anyone, anywhere can participate in sports of all kinds.
Winners were selected and placed after two rounds of judging. The judging panel included Prince Khaled, Aljohara Fallatah, founder of Al-Azem Academy, and Suleiman Alkadi, Chief Operations Officer of Armah.
First place went to team ‘Endorphin’ of Umm Al-Qura University. They developed a campaign to support and prepare leaders to form their own Community Sports Groups (CSGs) and proposed hosting a two-day camp for future sports leaders and encourage them to share their favorite sport with their community.
The second-place winning team was ‘150 Minutes’ of Southern Illinois University, who want to target Saudi Arabian university students who are between the ages of 18 and 35 and help them to develop a regular exercise routine, which includes 150 minutes of exercise per week for optimum health. The team created a weekly exercise group on the Southern Illinois University campus that meets three times per week and applies the physical activity guidelines they have promoted. They are also planning a marathon on the SIU campus as well as in Saudi. 
Finally, third-placed team ‘Your Health in Your Steps’ from University of Ha’il aim to collaborate with local authorities to connect 35- to 50-year-old women and men with existing sports services and create new opportunities.
CSGs will be organised in each of the nine neighborhoods of Ha’il and host competitive sports tournaments among the groups. The team will create a neighbourhood hiking challenge, encouraging audience participation and to provide information and experiences that will help prevent chronic health issues, such as diabetes and obesity.
The Sports for All Challenge commenced under HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud’s tenure of the SFA and awarded the winning teams under HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud’s tenure of the SFA.