The staff at Clyde-Savannah Central School District is serious when it comes to walking.

Sixty-four people laced up their walking shoes for the May Walking Challenge, according to district Wellness Coordinator and Clyde-Savannah Elementary School Assistant Principal Erin Wood.

The goal was to get people walking. And it worked.

“During May, we did weekly competitions to see which team could accumulate the most steps,” Wood says. “It was treated like a [NCAA Tournament] basketball bracket.”

The challenge split the participants into 16 teams of four. Teams were matched against each other, resulting in eight pairings every week.

“If a team ended up having the most steps we partnered them with another winning team, and it continued that way for four weeks,” Wood explains.

Unlike during March Madness, the losing team was not eliminated.

“We didn’t eliminate anyone because the goal is to get people moving and to enjoy moving,” she adds.

Teams won gift cards for Amazon and local businesses such as the Wegmans.

Wood was impressed by the turnout.

“We had a total of 64 participants, which is pretty high,” she says. “We’re a small, rural district.”

“We had a lot of faculty and staff participate,” she says. “And anyone who participated was put into a drawing for one of two Fitbits.”

Worn on a wrist, a Fitbit produces wireless-enabled wearable technology. It monitors physical fitness such as heart rate and the number of steps taken each day. For exercise fans, it’s a valuable device.

At the end of the challenge, no champ was crowned. Eight winning teams were celebrated each week.

“We didn’t want to discourage anyone,” she says.

Those who took the challenge may have worn out some shoe leather in the process. The goal was 10,000 steps per day.

“We had some teams that brought in close to 20,000 in a day,” she says. “It gets pretty competitive. We challenged people to do their own personal goal and to get a little better each week.”

Wood logged close to 5 miles a day, and says she takes about 10,000 steps a day at work.

The warmer spring weather seemed to encouraged people to walk more than in the chill of March or April. Wood expects many of the people who participated will have a new hobby.

“A lot of positive things were said,” she says. “They liked the friendly competition. They liked the weekly incentives. I anticipate this will continue.”