New York Sports Clubs (NYSC) announced on January 19, 2008 that their 24-hour fundraiser raised $250,000 in the fight against teen obesity. The money was raised during Saints and Spinners, a 24-hour history making cycling event that took place at Grand Central Terminal from 7 a.m. Friday, January 18, through 7 a.m. Saturday, January 19. The funds will be used to establish HealthCorps' educational and mentoring programs in additional New York City schools.
New York Sports Clubs organized the Spin®-a-Thon in Vanderbilt Hall, where more than 2,000 people gathered over the course of the 24 hours, led by New York Sports Clubs instructors and celebrity coaches to raise awareness and money to help HealthCorps in their mission to fight child and teen obesity.
"The people who rode today led by example to promote healthy, active lifestyles for thousands of New York City kids," said Merrill Richmond, Vice President of Marketing for New York Sports Clubs. "We were fortunate to be joined by some great New York companies - Snapple, JetBlue Airways and by celebrities such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, celebrity chef Rocco Dispirito, actor Matthew Modine, Rapper Grandmaster Melle Mel, author and entrepreneur Kwame Jackson, CBS Correspndent Bianca Solorzano, Fox 5's Good Day New York's Anne Craig, Fox Business News Anchor Eric Bolling, ESPN's Jesse Palmer, NFL Legend Joe Morris and others."
HealthCorps was founded by cardiac surgeon, bestselling author and health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was propelled to action after treating younger and younger adult patients requiring extensive surgery on blocked arteries. HealthCorps' mission is to empower young Americans to become educated consumers and develop positive behavioral shifts.
According to Dr. Oz, "I'm grateful to the New York Sports Clubs and the many individuals and sponsors who made Saints and Spinners such an enormous success. Their support helps HealthCorps teach students to develop healthier habits today that will lead to a healthier America tomorrow."
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The New York Sports Clubs/Cadence Cycling Team established a new Guinness World RecordTM for most miles traveled on a single stationary bike in 24 hours. The team cycled a total of 829.84 miles, at an average pace of 34.58 miles per hour.
"Our members set personal records every day, but today's achievement is truly historic," says Merrill Richmond, Vice President of Marketing for New York Sports Clubs. The previous record was held by a UK team of riders who rode for 595.17 miles at approximately 25 miles per hour in 2006. Holden Comeau, one of the New York Sports Clubs/Cadence Cycling Team riders also established a new world record for greatest distance traveled by an individual rider in one hour - 40.668 miles. "Many teams were eyeing this challenge and we are really thrilled we were able to set a new record," says Comeau.
The record was broken during New York Sports Clubs' Saints and Spinners event, a 24-hour Spin®-a-Thon benefit in New York's iconic Grand Central Terminal. The event, which took place from 7 a.m. Friday, January 18, through 7 a.m. Saturday, January 19, raised over $250,000 for HealthCorps, a non-profit organization founded by Oprah Winfrey Show health expert Dr. Mehmet Oz devoted to fighting teen obesity.
The New York Sports Clubs/Cadence Cycling Team was comprised of Chad Butts, Mikael Hanson, Tucker Brown, Holden Comeau, Thomas Wood and Stefan Kusurelis. The records were set using a Star Trac NXT spin bike.
In addition to New York Sports Clubs, other sponsors for Saints & Spinners included Snapple Antioxidant Water, JetBlue Airways, the New York Post, Star Trac, Gristedes and City Sports.
HealthCorps, founded by cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz, is a national, school-based mentorship program that educates American youth about preventive health and the workings of their bodies. Through the creation of educated consumers and the nurturing of student health activism, HealthCorps is at the forefront of the fight against children's obesity and diabetes mostly affecting communities of color.
The program, currently in 28 NYC high schools, is projected to expand to 80-90 schools in Fall 2008 and include programs in NY, NJ, PA, FL, AZ, OH, TX and CA. It is a non-profit program under Foundation for the Advancement of Cardiac Therapies "FACT," headquartered in NYC.
New York Sports Clubs (NYSC) is the largest operator of fitness clubs in the New York area. Their full service clubs, located where members work and where they live, offer state of the art equipment, motivating group exercise classes, personal training and more. NYSC is owned and operated by New York-based Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (TSI) (NASDAQ: CLUB). In addition to New York Sports Clubs, TSI operates under the brand names of Boston Sports Clubs, Washington Sports Clubs and Philadelphia Sports Clubs, with 158 clubs and approximately 490,000 members in the U.S. as of December 31, 2007. For more information, visit, www.nysc.com.
During the Saints & Spinners reffle, Patty Zarriello won a 45-minute workout at New York Sports Clubs with Dr. Oz and trainer Amie Hoff. A free fifteen-minute consultation with Dr. Oz followed the workout.
A message from Dr. Oz:
Participants: HealthCorps and Town Sports International have created Flickr pages with pictures from Saints & Spinners. With so many photographs between the two Flickr pages, you should be able to find a picture of yourself. HealthCorps Flickr page Town Sports International Flickr page
