The Biggest Loser Competition is a healthy competition between staff members that runs from March 11 until May 17. The teachers are in teams of four and compete for the greatest percentage of weight loss.
The competition was inspired by the hit television show, “The Biggest Loser” and has taken place in previous years. Originally, instructional coach Michael Baker held the event district wide, then special education teachers Brock Seese and Kayla Musselman took it over last year. This year, Deidra Dumm is directing the event.
“This is not a new competition,” Dumm said. “We originally wanted to run it this year as a fundraiser for the Class of 2025, but it didn’t work out. Now we are just doing it for fun.”
An initial email was sent out to the faculty which was followed up with more details and a form to sign up.
“It is 18 teams of teachers, faculty and staff including secretaries, cafeteria workers and aides,” Dumm said. “Each team has four members. I am participating and on a team.”
There will be a winning team and the top man and woman who lost the most weight will win cash prizes.
Baker is participating in the competition this year as well.
“I’m always battling my weight,” Baker said. “I was pretty skinny in high school and then continued to gain weight through college. Being on a team, working together and having a chance to win something is motivating. My hope is to drop 20 pounds.”
Their initial and final weights are reported at the nurse’s office, but weekly teachers fill out a Google Form regarding their weight for the time being. The team’s percentage of weight loss is then calculated as a whole. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss wins the cash prize.
“We will each indicate our team and then our current weight goes into a spreadsheet,” Baker said “They then use it to calculate the percent. This provides the teams with updates. It will say, ‘Here’s your first place team. Here’s your second.’ That’s a motivator too.”
The way the competition is structured plays a role in motivating teams.
History teacher Joy Carini is also a competitor this year.
“It was a lot of fun because we made it fun,” Carini said. “Everybody does their own thing. I like to cook, so we all shared recipes.”
Competitors compete against their coworkers.
“I think it’s a great event,” Baker said “It’s something that we’ve talked about expanding and doing the full school district next year. It’d be nice to bring a charity element or give back to the students somehow.”
