AUSTIN–Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a nationwide fitness challenge to help get children healthy again.
During a Thursday announcement at Westlake High School in Austin, he said the goal behind the Presidential Fitness School Innovation Challenge is to encourage kids to “get active and build healthy habits for life.”
“Getting America healthy starts with getting our children moving again,” said Kennedy in the announcement. “President Trump brought back the Presidential Fitness Test to restore a culture of strength, fitness, and healthy competition for America’s youth. Now we are challenging schools and communities across the country to put that vision into action, reward the best ideas, and spread what works so every child has the opportunity to build healthy habits that last a lifetime.”
According to HHS, the challenge aims to reward schools and youth-serving organizations for implementing the Presidential Fitness Test (PFT). The department has allocated $10 million for innovative cash prizes and voucher awards.
Kennedy was joined by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Director of National Health Communications for the Office of the Surgeon General Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, Chief Content Officer for World Wrestling Entertainment Content Paul Levesque, as well as other WWE stars and leaders from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Kennedy and his guests also cheered on a group of Westlake High School students as they participated in PFT activities at the school’s gym.
According to Kennedy, the U.S. got rid of the test in 2012 under the guise that “competition isn’t good for kids.” This past summer, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reviving it in schools across the country as part of his Make America Healthy Again initiative.
There are two tracks for schools and organizations to receive prizes.
The first track allocates $7 million in cash prizes for organizations “that have implemented innovative PFT approaches with students and can demonstrate results, lessons learned, and a path to sustain or expand their work.”
Awards in that track range from $20,000 to $1 million.
The second track allocates the remaining $3 million in vouchers for equipment and awards for organizations “that create an encouraging PFT experience and have a plan to use fitness and sports equipment to support continued physical activity.”
Vouchers range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Participating organizations must register, either implement or administer the PFT with students, and submit their entries by February 5, 2027, with winners expected to be announced sometime next spring.
To find out more about the challenge, HHS directs Americans to visit the new fitness.gov website, which the agency says is “a central resource for instructional materials related to the PFT.”
