Fitness awards: do they accomplish their intended objectives?

Abstract Considerable attention has recently been focused on awards as a means of motivating children and youth to take fitness tests and to become physically active. This research was conducted to determine the number of youth who actually achieve standards for earning the various fitness awards, the extent to which award earners are successful in achieving other recognition for physical performance, and the relative contribution of various fitness components to earning fitness awards. A total of 1, 774 youths (1,227 males and 547 females) ranging in age from 14 to 17 served as subjects in the study. Subjects completed items commonly included in national fitness test batteries, as well as a questionnaire indicating the extent of their athletic accomplishments. Results indicate that very few subjects met criteria for earning fitness awards, and those who did meet these criteria also received recognition for success in athletics. Further, those subjects who met award criteria had discriminant function profiles characterized by power, agility, and speed. These profiles were effective in classifying, and thus predicting, which subjects would be successful in earning awards. Questions should be raised about the motivational effectiveness of awards based on exclusive normative standards since these awards go primarily to those with athletic prowess and motor fitness.