Morey Courts' Slim to Win contest offers cash prize as incentive to get fit
Morey Courts is giving motivation to those who are serious about a New Year's resolution of weight loss by offering a grand prize of $10,000.
The Slim to Win weight loss competition at Morey Courts Recreation Center, 5175 E. Remus Road, has 888 participants.
The event began Jan. 11 and will be ongoing until April.
Program Coordinator Andrew O’Brien said the participants must be at least 25 years old and a full-time Isabella County resident.
Bariatric surgery and such things are prohibited, he said.
“It’s a healthy community issue,” O’Brien said. "We’re hoping to see people commit to losing weight, and more important than losing weight is living a healthy lifestyle.”
Personal Trainer David Coles is assisting four participants in the competition. He does different circuit interval workouts, making sure participants are keeping their heart rates up throughout the entire workout.
"It's a great incentive," Cole said. "Just to get people coming into the fitness facilities and getting us more numbers."
Cole said the $10,000 is a good motivation for the people that wouldn't typically come in to work out.
O’Brien said many of the participants did not expect to win the $10,000, but it's nice to have the incentive to push people to become healthier.
“Hopefully that’s what we’re going to be able to see,” O’Brien said. “It’ll be interesting to see the result.”
Mount Pleasant resident Gene Haymaker said the money was not a bad incentive, but he is doing the contest to lose weight for his wife.
“Our kids are at an age where they’ll be leaving the nest not too long in the future, and she wants me to be active enough to be able to do things with them,” Haymaker said.
Haymaker said his main goal is to lose the weight he needs to and said he wants to change his lifestyle.
“I think it’s excellent to focus on the aspect of health,” Haymaker said. "This window of people who have kids, with poor health only limits what we can do with our families and what we can achieve in our careers.”
Participants will have the second weigh-in Feb. 18, which will narrow it down to the top 10. A month following the weigh-in will narrow it down to the top four, O’Brien said.
April will be the final weigh-in and the announcement of the grand prize of $10,000.
O’Brien said there will be a second chance prize in August of $3,000. That will be awarded to the overall winner who has lost the highest percentage of body weight at that time.
“It only improves the life of the community all the way around,” Haymaker said.
