Congratulations to our 1st Quarter winner of 2008, Susan Bomba!
Susan is the District PE Liaison and PE Specialist at Walnut Heights Elementary, Walnut Creek, CA! Walnut Creek School District has 5 Elementary Schools that will share the Skillastics games. Susan is thrilled to win and firmly believes the Skillastics games will be instrumental in getting her students moving!

She likes the fact that the games can be used indoors or outdoors, which makes it an extremely flexible program for her school. She LOVES that Skillastics gets the whole class moving at once, and that each student has clear goals and objectives. Additionally, she understands how students love to do more than grueling calisthenics. They want to play games and compete in relays, but many of these activities require students to stand in line and wait their turn. With limited class time (once a week for 45 minutes), her goal is to get EVERY student moving for the majority of class time. What she loves about Skillastics is that the students are able to participate in team competition (which always gets them fired-up), while they develop skills and fitness goals. She is impressed with how Skillastics is able to accomplish these critical PE objectives all under the umbrella of pure fun for the students! She also goes on to explain that many of the teachers and PE Specialists in her district have varying degrees of skills and talents and trying to achieve consistency in the school districts PE program is a challenge. She firmly believes Skillastics will enable them to quickly implement a consistent program at each school and every teacher can implement it with ease.

Sandy Spin Slade, Inc. Hires Mike Gullickson as Vice President of Sales and Marketing

March 8, 2008 – Sandy Spin Slade, Inc., creator of Skillastics™ is pleased to announce that Mike Gullickson has joined the company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Mike, formerly with EKHO and Gopher Sports, has more than 20 years of experience in selling, marketing and management of direct school sales. His responsibilities with Sandy Spin Slade, Inc. include supervising all aspects of sales and further developing the marketing strategy for the company. Sandy Slade, President of Sandy Spin Slade, Inc. states; “I am thrilled to introduce Mike as the newest addition to our team, and I am confident that he will assist the company in promoting the value and positive impact of Skillastics™. Skillastics™ series of fitness products has seen incredible growth in the last couple of years and Mike will play a significant role in the continued expansion of the brand.”

Skillastics™ included in Kate B. Reynolds $1 million trust to North Carolina Schools!

On January 10, 2008, Thirty-two North Carolina public schools received grants from Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust totaling $1 million to improve physical education programs. Skillastics was one of ten preferred vendors selected through a formal proposal process that these schools could purchase products from. More than half of the schools selected Skillastics fitness products in their proposals. “North Carolina is proactive in addressing the inactivity and obesity rate of children,” states Sandy Slade, President of Skillastics. “We are excited that so many schools who were selected found value in adding Skillastics products to their curriculum, and we are thrilled to be helping North Carolina become a national leader in cultivating a positive mind set about physical activity that will last a lifetime”.

Skillastics Now Available in Canada!

We at Skillastics are very excited to announce that we have partnered with GT Educational to sell our products in Canada. GT Educational is a company that shares our core beliefs in making fitness fun and getting everyone involved. Over the past four years we have worked hard to build a strong reputation for quality youth fitness games here in the United States by attending conferences and workshops across the country. Now, with the help of GT Educational, we will be able to expand that reach to our northern neighbors. Welcome aboard! If you are interested in purchasing a Skillastics product and live in Canada, please go to www.gteducational.com.

Alabama loves Skillastics!

Skillastics Summary of Alabama Results
Physical education teachers in Alabama using the Skillastics Program expressed strong support. Here are some of the positive results from teachers teaching the Skillastics: In Alabama, 82% believe Skillastics can be used as a tool to develop sportsmanship and, to promote students working collaboratively in groups. Fairness and courtesy are important for students in any setting and are skills that will serve students in their future endeavors in the 21st century. The business community has requested that the educational process prepare students to work in groups.

What a way to get kids actively involved! As physical educators we want our students actively engaged. In teaching Skillastics 92% of Alabama teachers believed that students were active seventy-percent of the class time. Students participating actively in Skillastics are willing to concentrate through variations and transitions, with less active students assuming active participation. The less active students were motivated by the Skillastics program to participate.

Lack of concentration and follow through with difficult assignments is a major block to fully developing as a student. Students experience the rewards of maintaining focus and exerting effort to reach goals. Physical activity has a significant impact on mental and emotional health and is integral to student’s success in school. Teachers using the Skillastics Program believed students learned to enjoy physical activity. 93% percent of the teachers either strongly agreed or agreed students looked forward to participating.

Overall, teachers in Alabama strongly agree that Skillastics is efficient and user friendly. The ease and setup maximizes the time that teachers can actually spend with students in participating in the Skillastics Program!