• Participation is free and open to all Erie County residents. Participants must be 18+ to compete for prizes and use the Step It Up Erie County online platform. However, families are still highly encouraged to include children in physical activities and community events!
• Before registering, everyone is encouraged to assess their readiness using the brief Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) on “The First Step” page.
• Learn more at ‘How It Works’.

• No. Though each business/organization is permitted to have multiple teams, each participant is only permitted to be on a single team.

• Any physical activity completed intentionally for the Step It Up challenge counts towards points! Some examples include:
  • Biking or walking to work instead of driving
  • Doing fitness bingo with your family
  • Taking the stairs when you normally take the elevator
  • View the activity conversion chart for other examples and learn more at ‘How It Works’.

What does not count towards points?

We are not counting total daily steps. We recognize that some occupations require more physical activity than others (e.g., construction worker, fitness instructor, mail carrier, etc.). This is a wonderful thing! However, participants in such occupations might be at an unfair advantage for contest prizes if we were to track total daily steps.

We want to be inclusive and fair as possible. Therefore, the goal of this challenge is to increase your daily movement, stepping it up beyond what is considered our norm. If physical activity is normally part of your job, that is great, but we challenge you to get steps by doing a separate activity!

As an exception, if you normally walk or bike to work or other destinations, these activities count towards points. Everyone is encouraged to walk or bike in place of driving whenever possible!

Use your best judgment and trust in your neighbors to be honest about the steps they report. If you have questions about what counts, email getmoving@stepituperiecounty.org.

• Yes! As long as you log your points on the website by 4pm on Wednesday, Oct 28, your points count towards your final score.
• Weekly reporting deadlines are used to generate weekly leaderboards. If you miss a weekly reporting deadline, your points may not appear in leaderboards for that week but will be added to your total score as soon as you log them on the website.
• So, don’t fret if you miss a weekly reporting deadline. Just log your steps on the website as soon as you can!

• Participate in group events!
  • Carpool to any of the events on the ‘Events’ page
  • Go on group walks (lunch time or after work hours work well!)
  • Follow a free fitness video together (chair yoga is crowd favorite!)
• Host mini challenges
  • Fitness Bingo – Use our pre-filled bingo card or use our template to make your own card!
  • Set weekly goals (e.g., complete 150 minutes of intentional physical activity each week or 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week)
  • Recognize weekly top steppers
• Prize incentives
  • For businesses: Talk with your company’s leadership about allocating funds for small prizes (e.g., PTO or gift cards).
  • For all: You could host a small fundraiser or donation drive to collect prize incentives for your teammates!
• Photos
  • Post photos on social media and use the Step It Up hashtags! #StepItUpErieCounty #PublicHealth #EriePA
  • Send challenge photos to getmoving@stepituperiecounty.org to be featured on the website and in challenge updates!

• Email getmoving@stepituperiecounty.org for assistance.