Individuals

You can participate in this challenge as an individual and/or as part of a team. All individual participants qualify for grand prizes and are categorized by experience level for tiered ranking:

• Beginner: Not currently a walker or physically active
• Intermediate: Walk (or are physically active) 1-2 times per week
• Advanced: Walk (or are physically active) 3 or more times per week

Grand prizes:

Top steppers from each experience category will win a $50 gift card to Monacella Massage & Kinesiology!

Teams

Local businesses, organizations, and individuals are encouraged to form a team with at least five (5) team members. Teams with at least five (5) members qualify as a competitive team competing for a traveling trophy and the 2026 Step It Up Erie County Champions title. Teams with less than five (5) members are still very welcome and encouraged to participate but will not qualify as a competitive team. Each business/organization is permitted to have multiple teams, but each participant is only permitted to be on a single team. Teams are categorized by size for tiered ranking:

• Noncompetitive Team Category: 1-4 participants
• Small Competitive Team Category: 5-20 participants
• Medium Competitive Team Category: 21-35 participants
• Large Competitive Team Category: 36+ participants

Team Captains

Each team must elect a team captain. The team captain is the main point of contact for Step It Up coordinators and will create their team’s online group on the Step It Up website. Other roles of the team captain are optional but encouraged:

• Help recruit your team members
• Keep your teammates engaged through things like group activities, bonus challenges, and prize incentives (you’ll receive a handbook with plenty of ideas!)

Points

Points are recorded as steps or step equivalents (see the Physical Activity Conversion Chart) tracked only for intentional exercise.

1 step or step equivalent = 1 point

Intentional exercise for this challenge includes any physical activity completed intentionally for the Step It Up challenge. Some examples of intentional exercise include:

• Biking or walking to work instead of driving
• Doing fitness bingo with your family (templates will be provided!)
• Taking the stairs when you normally take the elevator

You’ll track steps on the Step It Up website where many resources are available, including challenge instructions, suggestions for public exercise spaces, and event announcements. Many free public fitness activities will be offered to help bump up your score!

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 your norm. If physical activity is normally part of your job, that is great, but we challenge you to get points 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.

Scoring

Your steps contribute to your individual score and your team’s score. Team scores are calculated as a team average (total team steps divided by total team members). Each participant must enter their steps on the Step It Up website.

Winning teams and top steppers are announced at the award ceremony, so mark your calendar!

Registration

You must be at least 18 years of age and have an active email address to register. Once registered, you can access your personalized Step It Up Erie County dashboard where you can either create or join an online group for your team and track your steps!

Note: Registration involves a mandatory signing of the Step It Up Waiver and Photo Release.

How to Register

If you are participating just as an individual (not part of a team), skip the following steps and simply register at https://stepituperiecounty.org/register/.

If you are part of a team:

1. Before registering online, choose a captain for your team.

Team captains must email getmoving@stepituperiecounty.org to get on the team captain contact list for important updates.

2. After choosing a team captain, each team member must register at https://stepituperiecounty.org/register/.

Note for returning participants: The website is reset each year, and old accounts are removed. You will not be able to access your account from previous years. Create a new account by registering online.

3. Next, join your team’s online group on the Step It Up website.

• Make sure your team captain has created your team’s online group.
• Go to https://stepituperiecounty.org/groups/ or click “Find A Group” on your user dashboard to browse for your team’s group. 
• Click “Join Group.” Whoever created your group (i.e., your team captain) will be prompted to approve your request to join. Please only join one group.
• That’s it! Await a warm welcome from the Step It Up coordinators!