Sports + Aerobics = Exciting, New Workout that Could Become an Olympic Sport

Looking for something that can jolt your fitness routine to the next level - say onto the world stage or maybe even the Olympics? You may want to look into sportaerobics, a new and exciting high intensity sport that is gaining the interest of fitness buffs throughout the world, and is fast becoming poised as a sport destined for the Olympics.

The Olympics have been around for at least 4,000 years and it's hard to imagine life without these exciting games. Every four years we stay glued to our television sets to watch competitions ranging from gymnastics and swimming to luge and figure skating. We cheer for our favorite athletes as if they were our close friends, and grow to know them by their perseverance and their wins and losses.

And every four years, the International Olympic Committee adds a new sport that has come into practice, keeping up with new trends. To be included in the program of the Olympic Games, an Olympic sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents. Winter sports widely practiced in at least 25 countries and on three continents may be included in the program of the Olympic Winter Games. Sports are admitted to the program of the Olympic Games at least seven years prior to the Games.

And sportaerobics is moving in the right direction. This year, more than 400 athletes from more than 30 nations competed for the world title and a $25,000 prize package at the 12th Annual World Sportaerobic Championship and World Youth Aerobic Championship in San Francisco.

Established in 1983 by Howard Schwartz, co-founder and president of the Association of National Aerobic Championships Worldwide (ANAC), sportaerobics is in its 12th year of competition. Schwartz predicts that by 2008 sportaerobics will be in the Olympics and as popular as figure skating and gymnastics. At the present time, sportaerobics championship events are broadcast on cable television channels ESPN and Eurosport.

Sportaerobics originated from the 1980s dance and music scene, when the hit TV show "Dance Fever" was popular among young adults and teenagers. As aerobics became increasingly popular in the 80s, Schwartz began to notice a trend of dancers becoming aerobics instructors and saw this as a real channel of excitement and opportunity to take aerobics to a new level.

Today, men and women from around the world compete in sportaerobics, culminating each year in a Worldwide Sportaerobic Championship. Participating countries include: Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United States, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.

In competition, the athletes are given 1 minute and 45 seconds to impress judges with fast-paced, nonstop, choreographed routine set to music, similar to what skaters do in figure skating. Competitions are grouped in singles, mixed pairs and trios categories. Practice sessions are intense: to prepare for upcoming contests, participants usually train at least two hours every day.

Gold's Gym International, famous for its worldwide presence, teamed up with ANAC to provide a home for sportaerobics instruction, competition and training. "Since we are an international company, it was a perfect fit to align Gold's with this sport because of the thousands of athletes around the world that participate," says Derek Barton, vice president of Public Relations and Communications, Gold's Gym International. "It's a great venue for men and women of all ages to compete."

"Sportaerobics will eventually be the only Olympic sport to directly emerge from the fitness industry. No other sport can claim that," says Lori Lowell, owner of a Gold's Gym in Woodbridge, Va.

Sportaerobics will appeal to both the novice and the extreme sport enthusiast with dance movements choreographed to music. And if you're looking to just get in shape, there's nothing better than sportaerobics to help tone, define and lose weight.

For more information on sportaerobics and regional, national and international events throughout the year, call (323) 850-3777.

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com, e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: Gold's Gym International is the presenting sponsor for sportaerobics and its championship events. Gold's Gym International is composed of more than 580 gyms in 46 states and 34 countries and includes more than two million members. For interviews with sportaerobic athletes, please contact The St. John Group at (415) 454-2243.