Frenetic techno music pulses through the Capitol rotunda.
Students sit in folding chairs, waiting for their turn to compete in West
Virginia’s Dance, Dance Revolution competition
finals.
Dance, Dance Revolution—or DDR—is a video game, that seems
an unlikely fit for a physical activity symposium. But active, it is. Players
stand on plastic mats in front of television sets. As music plays, they try to
stomp their feet in time with flashing arrows. The faster the music, the better
the workout.
The program is now in schools throughout West
Virginia, and has been incorporated into physical
education programs. Marisa Wimer is a student at Charleston’s
Capital High School,
waiting to compete.
“I started doing it in gym class in middle school, then I
started doing it to exercise and I’ve been doing it every day,” she said.
Laura Kulick is the tournament’s program manager. She says
DDR appeals to everyone, kids and teachers alike.
“The kids love it because as far as they’re concerned
they’re playing a video game,” she said. “It’s a great tie-in for physical
education. The teachers like it because the kids want to do it. It’s not
something that they have to go, ‘okay, we’re going to play this game,’ and they
all go ‘ohhh.’ They’re excited to play it because they want to do it.”
It’s also a game that everyone can play, Kulick emphasized.
You don’t have to be particularly athletic to dance on a mat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia ranks among the worst in the nation in obesity for both adults and children. The tournament is co-sponsored by the West Virginia Children’s Health
Insurance
Program. Executive Director Sharon Carte says her program sees it as a way to
get kids healthier, and prevent future health problems.
“When we heard that we would have an opportunity to sponsor
this tournament, it just seemed like a great fit,” Carte said. “We know our
kids have an obesity problem, we just want kids to find out that fitness can be
fun, it’s something they can do at home, it’s something they can do at school.
It just worked from so many angles. We’re really glad to see this comp today,
and these guys are really going at it.”
Kris Dixon of Fairmont
can attest to the efficacy of a DDR workout. She says her 14-year-old daughter
lost 71 pounds, in part through the video game.
“Her reasoning was she did it as part of her exercise,
weight loss,” she said. “For her, that’s why she does it, but she enjoys doing
it.”
The tournament’s winners—there is one for each of the three
age groups—get a $2500 gift card.