Students Led Bucs onto Field for Pregame Ceremonies

Bay Point Middle School students’ “Fuel Up to Play 60” team served as program ambassadors at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home game against the New York Jets on Dec. 13. The team of 11 students led the Bucs onto the field to start the pregame ceremonies and warm up.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a new program created by the Dairy Council of Florida and the National Football League that empowers students to make changes at school that will help them “get active and play” for 60 minutes daily and “fuel up” with critical nutrient-rich foods such as low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  The program is designed to combat childhood obesity and help youth develop life-long healthy eating and daily physical activity habits.

Bay Point Middle School is one of 16 Florida schools chosen to pilot Fuel Up to Play 60.  As a pilot school, it received grant funds and technical assistance to implement the program.  Another 2,500 state schools are participating through on-line support at www.fueluptoplay60.com.

The youth-led program reaches out directly to students for their help in creating and leading the program at the school level.  Ashley Grimes and Ann Marie Clark, team advisors for Bay Point Middle School’s Fuel Up to Play 60 student ambassador team, described their team as proactive and extremely dedicated to the program’s success.  Since the program’s kickoff in October, Bay Point has consistently ranked in the top five for participation among Florida schools.