Gilbert Junior Highs Compete in the Inaugural ‘Battle of the Badge’ by Gilbert PD

On Tuesday, December 10, the first 'Battle of the Badge' competition featured Greenfield Junior High School, Mesquite Junior High School, South Valley Junior High School, Cooley Middle School of Higley Unified, and Payne Junior High School of Chandler Unified for a unique fitness challenge. Designed by the Gilbert Police Department (GPD), the event challenged students to a series of rigorous physical tests and aimed to not only promote healthy habits among students but also to strengthen the valuable bond between students and their dedicated Student Resource Officers (SROs).

The inaugural Battle of the Badge, inspired by the physical fitness standards for incoming police recruits at GPD, challenged students in a series of rigorous competitions. These included a one-minute sit-up challenge where students completed as many sit-ups as possible in one minute, a push-up challenge where students performed as many consecutive push-ups as possible, and a timed 1.5-mile run. Beyond promoting physical exercise, this event worked to foster stronger relationships between students and their SROs by creating a positive and welcoming environment where students feel comfortable approaching their SRO for support and guidance.

“Our SROs play an indispensable role in fostering growth, unity, and pride within each student, both inside and outside of the classroom. This event is more than just a competition; it is an opportunity to strengthen the bonds and rapport between SROs and students, highlighting the supportive presence of our officers in students' everyday lives,” said an officer at Gilbert PD.

To determine the winner of the inaugural Battle of the Badge competition, GPD utilized its own physical evaluation requirements as the foundation for a comprehensive point system. GPD requires new recruits to complete 36 push-ups in one minute, perform 20 consecutive push-ups, and finish a 1.5-mile run in 15 minutes and 48 seconds. Based on these standards, a point system was created to score individual student performances. The top 15 scores for both boys and girls from each school were combined to create an overall team score. The school with the highest combined score was named the winner, claiming the Battle of the Badge trophy and receiving custom shirts for the event. The winner of Battle of the Badge will be revealed within the coming days. 

Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) is dedicated to promoting exercise while ensuring all students are safe. Read more to learn about how GPS encourages elementary students to exercise through its district-wide run club or about how security guards work to keep elementary schools safe.