Three eighth-graders from Cedar Riverside Community School in Minneapolis who won a top national prize for their idea to provide kids access to sports and safety equipment have a School of Kinesiology connection.

Students Charly Tiempos, 13, Sayed Adan, 14, and Hamsa Osman Abdalah, 14, won the SAP Social Innovation Series Teen Innovator top prize with their winning idea, “Sports–Check It Out,” a system that allows kids to check out needed sports equipment, safety gear and winter clothing so they can be outside and active all year round. Their prize is $10,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to the Super Bowl next month in Houston.

The competition involved teams of 300 mostly high school students from 69  schools across the nation. Students were asked to develop a health and wellness program in their school or community and present it  to a panel of judges. Finalists then competed for the grand prize via a national online vote, which required public presentations in their communities. The Cedar Riverside Community School team presented their idea  December 8 in the sport ethics section of KIN 1871 Survey of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport taught by Chelsey Thul, Ph.D., Kinesiology lecturer.

Read the full story in the StarTribune.