SCOUTStrong

WHAT IS “PALA”?

PALA stands for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, an activity challenge of the President’s Challenge program. The President’s Challenge is a program of the President’s Council on Fitness, Spor
ts and Nutrition (PCFSN).
PALA is designed to motivate participants to be physically active on a regular basis by

allowing them to participate in activities they enjoy. Earning a PALA is definitely doable by ANYONE at ANY fitness level.

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WHAT IS THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE?

In 2011 the BSA aligned with the PCFSN with the shared goal of together promoting good health for America’s youth; the SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge is one of the results of this alliance.

The SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge is a Scout-specific PALA challenge. Each BSA local council will have its own PALA group. Members of these groups will be able to:
Compare their progress relative to the group

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WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE?

The entire BSA organization is being encouraged to earn their SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge award; this includes the following:

❑ Scouts of all ages ❑ Venturers ❑ Parents/Guardians

❑ BSA Volunteers ❑ Local Council Staff ❑ National Council Staff

❑ Friends of Scouting ❑ BSA Alumni ❑ Council Board Members

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HOW DOES THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE WORK?

To earn the SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge award, a participant is required to meet a daily activity goal of 30 minutes a day for adults and 60 minutes a day for kids under 18 for at least five days a week, for a total of six weeks. Participants can take up to eight weeks to complete the program.
The participant picks their activities as they strive to reach their goal, logging their physical activity along the way.
Over 100 indoor and outdoor activities count toward the daily requirement, including walking, runnin
g, aerobics, gardening, and canoeing, as long as major muscle groups are engaged at a moderate to vigorous activity level.
Starting the SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge will help participants:
- Commit to daily physical activity—and stick with it.
- Set realistic goals to encourage fitness for a lifetime.

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HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE?

Participants can enroll and track their progress either online with a free Online Activity Tracker or on a paper Active Lifestyle Activity Log.

ONLINE:

Participant begins by visiting www.scouting.org/SCOUTStrongPALA.
Participant uses the appropriate dropdown menu to pick the state that the council/organization they want to be affiliated with is located in.
Participant use the appropriate dropdown menu to pick the council/organization with which they want to be affiliated with.
Participant clicks [START THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE].

The participant should be at the PALA page of their affiliated council/organization. They should click [CREATE AN ACCOUNT].
The participant should complete the required fields and click [REGISTER].
They’ll arrive on their activity tracker home page, which they will see each time they log into their account. From this screen they can track their activities, join a group, see their award progress, and adjust their account preferences.
Upon completion of the six-week program, the participant will receive a congratulatory email from the President's Challenge. Participants should print and submit this email to their Scout leader.

Participants will need to have an Active Lifestyle Activity Log; these can be downloaded for free at www.presidentschallenge.org/tools-resources/docs/PALA_log.pdf
Participants should track their daily activity using the Active Lifestyle Activity Log.
Upon completion of the six-week program, participants should self-certify the results at the bottom of the Active Lifestyle Activity Log and submit it to their Scout leadeR

WHAT WILL PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETE THE SCOUTStrong PALA CHALLENGE EARN?

After successfully completing the SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge, participants will be eligible to acquire all of the awards listed below:

Participants may purchase a Joint BSA/PALA SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge award patch. These will be available in Scout shops after October 1, 2011.
Participants may download for free a Joint BSA/PALA SCOUTStrong PALA Challenge achievement certificate at: www.scouting.org/SCOUTStrongPALA.
Participants may purchase a President’s Challenge PALA patch, an achievement certificate, and other products by visiting www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/active/ and clicking on [SHOP].

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LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION

About SCOUTStrong: www.scouting.org/SCOUTStrongPALA