Active 6

Active 6 is about changing lives. It's about staying healthy, staying active and makeing the right choices that will ulitimatly define the type of adults our kids turn into.

Here's how it works: Every 6th grader in Missoula County is eligible for a FREE YMCA membership, a FREE Mountain Line bus pass provided by KPAX, and FREE admission to Griz basketball games. It doesn't get any easier than that.

As part of Active 6 every 6^th Grader in Missoula County is eligible to receive a:

FREE membership to the YMCA - Active 6ers have full access to the Y facilties and activities in addition to structured activities every Tuesday & Thursday. Along with the free membership, 6th graders will be learning nutrition tips, exercise ideas, and meeting new friends while having fun.
Free Mountain Line bus pass
Free Afterschool programming at their school through a partnership with Flagship and Parks and Recreation. Kids will be learning outdoor and recreation activities such as survival skills, teambuilding activities, and map and compass skills.
Free Admission to all Griz and Lady Griz basketball home games if they were their Active 6 shirt.
A6 After School Activities at the Y - In addition to FREE stuff, Active 6 offers after school activities to 6th graders on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Y. Our Active 6 coordinator and University of Montana student volunteers lead fun, healthy activities from 4-6 pm on Tuesdays & 3-5 pm on Thursdays.

Sample schedule of structured activities:

3:00-3:15 p.m. Round-up time and Snacktivity in the Big Gym

3:15-4:00 p.m. Climbing Wall or Basketball

4:00-4:15 p.m. Break/Transition Time

4:15-5:00 p.m. Simming or Hip Hop Dance

HISTORY:

ACTIVE 6 came about based on a 2008 study led by Dr. Steven Gaskill, a professor of Exercise Science at the University of Montana. His findings showed that:

Physical activity dropped from approximately 200 minutes per day in elementary school, to less than 30 minutes per day in high school.
This low level of activity trend begins when students leave elementary school and start 6^th grade. From there it worsens, and by high school some students are not engaging in any physical activity what so ever.
Overall, 47% of Missoula 2^nd – 12^th grade students are not meeting national physical activity standards. While this is a national issue, we would love to see our Missoula kids set an example of how to make daily activity part of their lifestyle.

To combat this problem the Missoula Family YMCA has partnered with