Miles for Wellness Challenge 30
Miles for Wellness Challenge 30
Miles for Wellness Challenge 30 begins Monday, September 23 and ends Sunday, November 17. This fun initiative will make state employees wild about incorporating movement into their daily lives! Challenge participants will begin a virtual journey at the North Carolina Zoo and continue their digital trek across the country to explore 11 zoological parks nationwide.
FAQs, Rules and Information for Captains
My agency/department doesn’t have a team. Can I still participate?
Yes. A list of teams seeking additional members will be available Monday, September 9. Return to this page to access the list and email a captain to request to join their team.
My team doesn’t have 10 members. Can we still participate?
Yes, you may compete with less than 10 members. Team captains also have the option to recruit other state employees/retirees to fill out their 10-person roster. Just check "yes” on your team registration form and your team will be added to the list of available teams interested in taking additional participants.
Can a team have more than 10 members?
No. If you have more than 10 participants you must start another team with a different team name, or additional members may join another team. If you create a second team, it will need to be registered separately. During registration for the second team, you can check the box that allows you to accept participants from other locations, if additional team members are needed or desired.
Can two or more teams have the same name?
No. If teams register under the same name, the captain's last name will be added to the team name.
Can I be a team captain but not a participant on that team?
Yes. Although most team captains are participants, it is not a requirement. This would allow a person to captain more than one team if desired.
Can team members work in different agencies/departments?
Yes. Miles for Wellness is a statewide program. Employees of different agencies or different locations/cities are eligible and welcome to be on a team together.
When are walking divisions determined?
Walking divisions are determined throughout the challenge. This allows teams to compete only against like-performing teams throughout the challenge. This means a team's division may change throughout the challenge based upon their weekly step averages.
How are the divisions determined?
Walking divisions are determined by the number of steps (and other physical activity) per team throughout the challenge. This allows teams to compete only against like-performing teams throughout the challenge. A team's division may change based upon their weekly step averages.
- Tortoise – Average of up to 56,000 steps per week, per member
- Hare – Average of between 56,001 – 70,000 steps per week, per member
- Super Hare - Average of between 70,001 – 105,000 steps per week, per member
- Bionic Hare – Average of 105,001 and up steps per week, per member
If my team is smaller, how are divisions calculated in order to keep it fair?
The average number of steps per team member per week is used in that determination. That way teams of the same level are matched together to enhance fairness.
What do teams get for winning their divisions?
Teams are awarded a trophy, while participants earn a certificate of accomplishment. Teams are also recognized on the OSHR Miles for Wellness website with the team name, ranking and a summary of the team's steps. The high stepper on each team also receives a special certificate.
Can retirees participate?
Yes, retirees can be on a team of current state employees.
Can temporary/contract employees participate?
Yes, they are allowed to participate.
Can family members participate?
Family members cannot be on a team unless they are employees, retirees or temporary/contract employees of state government.
How do I enter information in the Captain's Spreadsheet?
Go to the Team Roster tab on the Captain's Spreadsheet to enter your team information. The information will autofill onto the Captain's Tracking tab. Captains should enter only the step totals of their team members directly on the Captain's Tracking tab.
Can I make changes to my team roster?
Yes. You can make changes to your roster through week 2 of the Challenge. Changes only need to be made on the Team Roster tab on your Captain's Spreadsheet. After week 2, substitutions and additions should not be made.
Will I get an email response when I register my team?
As long as you check the box asking to receive a confirmation email and enter a valid email address, you will receive a response.
Are team members required to wear fitness trackers?
No. Fitness trackers are not required, but they are helpful in tracking daily activity step totals. If you walk/run a known distance, those steps will not require a tracker (i.e., 2,000 steps = 1 mile). If you want to purchase a fitness tracker, there are many options available for most budgets, such as phone apps and pedometers. Using the conversion function on the Activity Log for walking is an option also.
What if I forget my fitness tracker or the battery runs down?
It's OK to use the step count of one of your other days that had a similar level of activity.
What types of activities are allowable for conversion?
The conversion function on the Activity Log includes a wide scope of physical activities. Find yours in the drop-down menu or choose an option that is similar.
How do I access the Activity Log to enter my steps or conversions?
Click the appropriate weekly heading on the Participants Weekly Log. Next, click in the yellow box to add steps, or in the first space under Daily Steps to find the drop-down list of activities for conversions. Enter the minutes of the activity and the form will convert that time to steps.
I don’t see my activity listed under the Activity Log drop-down.
Use the activity that is most similar to the activity you performed.
How do I determine if an activity is high, medium, or low impact/intensity?
Please refer to the Physical Activity Guidelines for additional information.
Who can I contact for more information?
If you have questions, please email us at milesforwellness@nc.gov.
- Register your team(s) between Tuesday, September 3 and Sunday, September 22. After registration, captains will receive an electronic reporting link.
- Captains may only use the Miles for Wellness Challenge 30 Captain's Spreadsheet for registration and reporting of steps for this competition.
- The Captain's Spreadsheet contains two tabs listed at the bottom left of the sheet. The first is the team roster page for entering your team data and members' contact information. The second is the captain's tracking page for reporting team step totals.
- The only way to add team member names to the Captain's Spreadsheet is through the Team Roster (red tab). Only the weekly step totals of your team members should be entered onto the Captain's Tracking page (gray tab).
- Captains may add or substitute team members on the Team Roster through week 2 reporting. After the first reporting deadline on Wednesday, October 9, all teams should remain the same for the duration of the competition.
- Captains are responsible for collecting and keeping the signed Liability Waiver forms from all team members. At the end of the challenge, captains must gather and keep all Participant Spreadsheets at the time of submission of final step totals. The participant spreadsheets should be kept until the official announcement of winners.
- Consistently encourage your team members throughout the challenge to participate and record their weekly data.
- Captains will receive the link to report step totals via an email from milesforwellness@nc.gov.
- Team Total Steps must be recorded on or before the dates below (also listed at the bottom of the Captain's Tracking Spreadsheet):
- Week 1 - Week 2 are due by Wednesday, October 9
- Week 1 - Week 4 are due by Wednesday, October 23
- Week 1 - Week 6 are due by Wednesday, November 6
- Week 1 - Week 8 are due by Wednesday, November 20
- FINAL STEPS MUST BE REPORTED BY Wednesday, November 20. Final team step submissions received after the deadline will not be eligible to win.
- Winners will be announced the week following the final submission deadline after all results have been verified.