Promoting A Healthy Lifestyle Through Sports

Meet Dave Mlnarik, executive director of the Nebraska Sports Council in Lincoln, NE.

By Alison Mitchell

Growing up in a small town of only 400 gave Dave Mlnarik plenty of chances to participate in local sports. Now, as executive director of the Nebraska Sports Council in Lincoln, Mlnarik helps thousands of others enjoy sports and creates sports opportunities that encourage an overall healthy lifestyle as well.

The Nebraska Sports Council organizes a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including the Cornhusker State Games, N-Lighten Nebraska, N-Lighten Kids, NSC Racing and the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame.

SportsEvents recently talked with Mlnarik about the role of the Nebraska Sports Council and why he believes amateur sports and an active, healthy lifestyle are so important.

Please tell me about the Nebraska Sports Council and your role as executive director.

I report to a 22-member board of directors and oversee a full-time staff of seven. My primary responsibilities are fundraising and media relations.

Our mission is to provide quality competitions for athletes of all ages and abilities and to promote healthy and active lifestyle choices. Our events provide fun and motivation for living healthier, as well as valuable exposure for corporate sponsors and millions of dollars to the (state’s) economy. The programs of the Nebraska Sports Council are made possible because of the financial support of more than 60 corporate sponsors, as well as in-kind and cash donations from local businesses and organizations.

How do you go about recruiting events to come to Nebraska and bidding on them?

Describe some of the events and programs the sports council organizes during the year.

Our largest event is the annual Cornhusker State Games, an amateur sports festival for Nebraska athletes of all ages and abilities that is held over two weekends in July. About 12,000 participate in 60 sports at more than 50 venues in and around the city of Lincoln. In addition to a wide range of traditional competitions, such as Olympic-style sports like track and field, gymnastics and swimming, the Cornhusker State Games also includes less traditional events like horseshoe pitching, volkswalk and chess.

We also have an adventure race series, called NSC Racing, with eight events at different locations across Nebraska. Teams can compete in a racing series that lasts throughout the year in which they accumulate points, or they can take part in non-series racing events. These races are from four to 12 hours long and include from 30 to 60 teams of three in mountain biking, running/hiking, canoeing/kayaking and traversing mystery obstacles (repels, zip lines, etc.). It’s not for the faint of heart.

Also, in 2003, the Nebraska Sports Council began a team wellness program called N-Lighten Nebraska, which began as a solution to the rising obesity rates across the country and in support of our mission to promote healthy lifestyle choices. The goals of the program are healthy weight loss and increased physical activity for participants. During a three-month period, teams of up to 10 people are given fitness tips and are encouraged to develop sustainable healthy physical activities and eating habits. The team format is designed so that teammates can work together and can encourage one another toward the common goal of living healthier lives. In the program’s first year, more than 1,200 participants lost 7,000 pounds. In 2004, we added an accumulated activity division in which teams track miles based on a variety of activities. More than 6,000 Nebraskans registered for the program and logged more than 1.77 million activity miles for a combined weight loss of about 16,500 pounds.

Similarly, N-Lighten Kids is a three-month competition designed to encourage young Nebraskans to increase their physical activity levels and make better food choices. This is a positive way to teach kids about the importance of being physically active to make fitness fun. To get involved in N-Lighten Kids, school children form teams and register online, with an adult captain to guide them. Team captains receive activity and nutritional tips to share with their members, and they can also find additional activity and nutrition resources on the council’s interactive website, where they also report and view teams’ progress.

Each team tracks its miles of activity on a large, colorful wall chart. At the end of the three months, teams can qualify to be entered in a drawing for five cash prizes awarded to the school or club they represent.

How has the planning of the Cornhusker State Games changed as it has grown?

The games started in 1985 with 3,900 athletes in 19 sports. Since then, we’ve expanded to two weekends and 53 sports and have added venues as our financial and volunteer resources have allowed. More than 2,500 volunteers are involved in the games. The 20th anniversary games attracted more than 11,700 entrants—from infants to seniors and from more than 80 countries.

Besides the community support, the event itself is most responsible for its growth over the years. It is a winning formula: affordable healthy family fun with a competitive spirit.

What’s your overall strategy for planning and organizing events, including housing, marketing, logistics, etc.?

The overall strategy is to build events that fit our mission from the inside out. In other words, each event starts with a business plan, including the highest-quality venues, officials, lodging, marketing and aesthetics. Using this plan, if we see a market for an event and have the financial backing to bring it to life, we put the wheels in motion and don’t touch the brakes.

Why do you think amateur sports are so important, and what benefits do they offer participants?

They build character and motivate amateurs to stay fit. I can’t think of a better reason to get involved in or promote any endeavor.