Why get involved?
Kaiako tell us they love it because:
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it's easy to run and makes a real difference to the healthy habits of learners, and by working together as a class helps teamwork and develops relationships between tamariki who may otherwise not interact,
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it is inclusive as there are so many ways to contribute points to the class target - some tamariki move a bit more, some eat more fruit and vege's or drink more water, or reduce their screen time,
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they notice improved mood, focus and tamariki encouraging each other to practice healthy habits,
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it encourages their learners to be more independently active during their breaks and outside of school,
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it fits with play-based or Healthy Active Learning initiatives,
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it increases motivation in fitness and PE,
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it can be used in all other areas of the curriculum such as maths and literacy.
Tamariki tell us;
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they love creating their own avatars and "visiting" places they've never seen, around the world,
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they find different ways to move; walking, dancing, playing, making up games or playing sport,
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they talk to their whanau about what they are doing and get them involved too,
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they swap leisure time on their devices for outside, activity time instead,
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they drink more water and eat more fruit and veges,
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they have loads of fun with their classmates.
The waitlist for the 2025 event in now open!
Register your interest now and if we have places available, you'll receive
a Class Pack before it starts containing simple devices with a step counter
and a time function for all students or you can choose to receive just a few
to share and a wall map.
By participating in the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure, not
only will you experience the positive benefits Teachers tell us the event
has on their students and class environment but you could win a new pair
of ASICS sport shoes for the whole class (several class lots to be won).


Entry is FREE for schools / kura
in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Follow us and never miss a thing!
Using an interactive and engaging technology platform to connect with tamariki regardless of their location, along with motivation and encouragement from some of our most respected sporting figures and an element of fun and teamwork, the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure having a meaningful impact on children's lives throughout Aotearoa.
To personalise their experience, students build their own unique avatars and then embark on a virtual tourism adventure from Madagascar to New York. To contribute to moving their class around the virtual course they;
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can enter their daily steps and / or time spent being physically active
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can eat fruit and veges,
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can choose water as their main drink,
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can aim to sleep well,
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can swap leisure screen time for outdoor play, reading etc.
About the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure
As their class reaches each destination, they view a video featuring their unique avatars exploring the location they are "visiting“ and interacting with our inspiring ASICS Ambassadors; Ardie Savea, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Kane Williamson.
Teachers tell us how much the children enjoy seeing their own avatars, learning about the world and experiencing the feeling of the actions they are taking.

The program is so successful as whilst initially we use extrinsic motivation from gamification features to engage students in healthy behaviours, over the course of the event they experience the positive impact of the healthy choices they make, developing intrinsic motivation to maintain a healthy active lifestyle which can lead to a lifelong health journey.
The pilot program was created in conjunction with the NSW Ministry of Health and evaluated by the University of Sydney and found;
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It had a positive impact on the physical activity of students during the program period,
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Doing more physical activities, becoming fit and feeling healthier were identified by the students themselves as some of the things they liked the best about the program.
Teachers also noted improved attendance and the event facilitated positive social behaviours by promoting teamwork and encouraging student relationships.
Information to provide to Parents
Here is some brief information to send out to parents to notify them about your class participation in the program, along with the website link so they can find out more details and notify you if they have any concerns about their child taking part.
"Our class will be participating in the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure, an interactive and fun way to support student’s wellbeing. It’s an inclusive program that moves our class team 'virtually' around the globe guided by ASICS Ambassadors Ardie Savea, Kane Williamson and Ameliaranne Ekenasio, as they focus on a range of health-related elements in the real one. This includes things like movement, sleep, hydration, swapping screen time for other activities, and healthy eating.
Please note your child may be supplied a basic device to track their steps and / or time spent in moderate to vigorous activity.
It is not a requirement to use the device to participate, so if this is not appropriate for your child, please let me know.
For more about the event and how you can support your child and get involved please go to www.youngandhealthy.org.nz".
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why is it important every student builds their own Avatar and how simple is this?The program is so successful as it uses extrinsic motivation from gamification features to engage students in healthy choices and then over the course of the event, they start to feel the positive impact of their choices - which is the key to developing intrinsic motivation and ensuring those healthy behaviors are maintained after the event finishes. Building their own avatar and seeing 'themselves' visiting and experiencing some amazing destinations is an element tamariki love and motivates them. We have made this simple, we assign a random avatar to every student, then from your Teacher login you can click each Student and then they can customise their avatar. Or they can use their own login you provide to them and do it at any time. They can also update their avatar during the event and see the changes reflected in the photos and videos - we generate over 400,000 unique photos during the event!
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What do we see when we complete each leg of the event?When your class team completes each leg you will see a video of your unique Avatars exploring that destination, guided by one or more of our amazing ambassadors Ardie Savea, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Kane Williamson and our founder Kim Harvey who offer encouragement, information about the destination and some relevant healthy behaviour tips along the way. As we can't display an entire class in each scene, we rotate your avatars through each scene - we know your students really look forward to seeing themselves so we try to have each student feature in at least two scenes. There is some complex technology involved rendering, recording and streaming the HTML5 animations so we hope you enjoy watching them as much as we do making them.
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Does every student need their own basic device to track steps and/or activity time?No, whilst the majority of teachers do request them for all students, you can select to have just a few to share - based on testing the sharing option with students have found the two most effective ways to use them are; 1. Groups of 5 If you have your class broken up into groups of 5 students, one student in each group can have a turn 1 day of each week to be the "pacesetter" for their group. They wear the pedometer for the day and their group uses those steps for their individual entries. 2. Have a dally pacesetter group You select a group of "pacesetter" students who wear pedometers for the day and the average of their steps is the step count that all the children enter for that day. Some teachers liked this for the maths element calculating the average steps each day.
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How does our class team move around the Virtual Adventure course?Because the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure Challenge is all about cultivating healthy habits, the class team moves around the global course by tracking and entering all or some of the following options; - daily steps - time spent doing "huff and puff" activity - eating fruit and vege's - hydrating with water - minimising leisure screen time - getting enough quality sleep time The Virtual Adventure runs for 5 - 6 weeks and your class team should reach a new destination every 4 - 5 days. On the morning the virtual adventure begins, select one student who will be the “Class Data Representative’ for that day, then they and all other students use the tracking sheet we supply to record their data until the following morning. The next morning you can give every student the opportunity to enter their data - either by using their login (or if you have your login open, they can click their avatar then enter their data that way). Alternatively they can enter their data in the morning at home - often Parents use their child’s login on their phone and help. Once everyone has had an opportunity to enter their data, click Enter Class Data’ and enter the data of the Class data representative you selected - this is key to staying on track and unlocking each destination.
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How long do I as a Teacher or my Students need to spend on this each day?Data entry only takes a couple of minutes and when your class "team" reaches the end of a leg, you will trigger an animation to watch together. The animations are about 2-3 minutes in length. So overall this 'positive' device time may only be 5-10 minutes a day, however many teachers utilise the program to help teach the curriculum as it can be incorporated into so many areas to enhance learning so rather than needed 'extra' time it contributes to the lesson plans.
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What technology do we need in order to run the program?You need to have an internet connection to access the Challenge HTML website.
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Is there a maximum number of children we can have in each class team?Approximately 35 is the maximum. If you are in an ILE or MLE please see the next FAQ.
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What if I teach in an integrated class environment where the class size is greater than the maximum?We understand that these types of environments still have a “basecamp” for a subset of the total number of students with a teacher or assistant associated with that group. We recommend that you set up each basecamp as a “team”. We also need a teacher or adult to act as a “team manager” for each team. If you need help with this, please just contact our support crew at support@healthiestschools.co.nz
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My colleagues want to get involved too. How do they do that?Simply send them to our website www.youngandhealthy.org.nz and click the Register (or Waitlist) button.
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How can we get parents involved?When parents are involved with and helping their children, they are more successful, whether it be learning or practising healthy behaviours. So we have a few ways that parents can get involved and will help you to communicate with them once your class is registered.
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What support will we get over the course of the Virtual Adventure?You will receive a weekly email to keep you informed of what is coming up next for you, including the destinations, players and health and wellbeing messages you could use in your class if you wanted to. We'll also send you mini-challenges that you can win prizes for if you want to participate. You are able to contact the support crew by phone or email at any time if you need assistance.
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Is there are daily activity target we need to achieve?Not specifically, but our program is built around the Sport NZ guidelines for children and young people as detailed below. If your class is achieving these guidelines you may complete all the initial legs of the vent and even unlock some bonus destinations! do 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. be active in as many ways as possible. be active with friends and whanau at home, school and in the community. spend less than two hours a day, out of school time, in front of a TV, computer or game console.
Resources
Your Amazing Brain & Body

Movement Check-In Activities
For additional resources, we recommend using the Ministry of Health guidelines
Zespri Interesting Facts



Quick Links