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Second Annual Summer S.P.I.N. Event cultivates an active lifestyle and makes fitness fun for kids

(PHOENIX, June 29, 2009) – The world famous Harlem Globetrotters held their second annual summer S.P.I.N.™ event on Monday, June 29, urging kids to be active all year long…and have fun doing it. 

Kids at select YMCAs in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, New Orleans and Memphis joined Harlem Globetrotters players to play the popular basketball shooting game Knockout in order to raise awareness about the importance of health and fitness among our country’s youth and to “knockout” child obesity.

"In order to keep your body healthy, you need to be active for at least one hour every day," Globetrotter Buckets Blakes told a group of 110 excited youngsters at the Lincoln Downtown Family YMCA in Phoenix.  "And being active can mean anything from dancing, running, swimming, riding your bike or even walking the dog.  Of course, playing basketball is also a great way to stay active."

S.P.I.N.™ (Some Playtime Is Necessary) is the Harlem Globetrotters’ proprietary program designed to make fitness fun and to help kids lead an active lifestyle, as the Globetrotters visit cities around the world, urging kids to get out and play.

"Overweight children in our society has become a big problem," says Hi Rise Brown, who put more than 100 smiling kids through their paces at the Rauner Family YMCA in Chicago.  "We see it in the cities we visit year-round.  To help combat this trend, the Harlem Globetrotters created S.P.I.N. as a way to make fitness fun and to help kids stay active."

All kids who participated in the S.P.I.N.™ event were rewarded with an opportunity to sign up online – with the help of their parents – to receive a voucher for a complimentary ticket to a game in their area on the Globetrotters’ 2010 World Tour. 

Winners of the Knockout game in each of two age groups at each YMCA also received a one-of-a-kind prize package filled with Globetrotter merchandise.

As an additional reward for staying active and fit with the Harlem Globetrotters’ S.P.I.N.™ program, participants received a complimentary Globetrotters “Action Band.”  Manufactured by Switch2Health™, the “Action Band” is a fun way to measure physical activity and movement.  After completing 60 cumulative minutes of exercise, the “Action Band” displays a special code that the wearer uses on the Globetrotters’ Web site to collect a special reward.

Sponsored by Campbell Soup Company, IHOP, Spalding, and America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses, the Original Harlem Globetrotters are in their 83rd consecutive season of touring the world.  The Globetrotters have played in 120 countries on six continents, entertaining over 130 million fans and crossing barriers between cultures, societies and people from all walks of life.  The Globetrotters are one of only six teams to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Click here to read what some of the other players are saying about their S.P.I.N.™ experience in the Summer Blog section.