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The History of the Bell & Schlau Track & Field Seminar

Thaddeus Bell, M.D. and Bob Schlau, world-class athletes in master’s track and field and road running, respectively, founded the Bell & Schlau Track and Field Seminar in 1993, under the leadership of Dr. Bell. These two outstanding athletes founded the seminar to encourage young people, particularly African American youth, to participate in life long physical activity that leads to a better quality of life and serves as a preventive measure to decrease risk factors for health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and mental health problems.

The recent surgeon general’s executive summary revealed that physical activity among the nations’ youth is declining. Nearly half of America’s youth, ages 12-21, are not vigorously active on a regular basis. Moreover, physical activity declines dramatically during adolescence. More specifically, African Americans are inclined to lead a sedentary lifestyle with females being more vulnerable than their male counterparts to medical problems directly related to a lack of physical activity. The report also clearly documents that daily enrollment in physical education classes has declined among high school students. The seminar’s primary focus is to promote fitness from the cradle to the grave.

The members of the Bell & Schlau Committee are outstanding community workers who enjoy sports and community service. Several newspaper articles have been written about the seminar as it is a unique activity designed specifically for kids.