Former tennis star in town to promote fitness among kids

Anna Kournikova has a message for today’s children, “Get active, go outside, get off the couch.”  

Kournikova, a former tennis pro and a part of the Cartoon Networks “GET ANIMATED” campaign, is attending the 103rd annual Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Conference in downtown Atlanta (May 13-16) to help promote physical fitness in today’s youth.  

Kournikova believes there is nothing more important than getting a generation of children under the age of 11, 17 percent of whom are already considered to be obese, to rediscover the great outdoors and the games that can be played out there. Playing sports and games promotes more than physical fitness it promotes “discipline, courage, leadership and teamwork,” Anna said.  

After delivering her message to the media, the real fun began. Anna squared off with eight Boys and Girls Club members ranging from ages 6 to 11 years old in a competitive game of four square. Kournikova’s athleticism allowed her to hang with the children, but there were no weak links in this matchup. After a healthy 15 minutes of competition Anna and the children called it a game and took the opportunity to take some pictures and meet some of the attendees of the conference.  

“GET ANIMATED” is the Cartoon Network’s health and wellness campaign promoting healthy, active lifestyles for children nationwide. The campaign, launched this year, includes National Recess Week (March 2-6), “GET ANIMATED” with Anna Kournikova, exclusive fitness programs at all Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the “GET ANIMATED” summer tour. The tour is challenging kids to create their own games and show up at the tour stops to introduce their games to the world. The Atlanta leg of the tour will be June 19-21. For more information be sure to check out www.getanimated.com.