CLIF Kid® Launches 3rd Annual Backyard Game Contest With New Group Category

Contest Aims to Inspire Kids to Balance Technology and Screen Time with Imaginative, Outdoor Play

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CLIF Kid®, maker of organic snacks for active kids, announced today the return of the CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year contest. With a new group category to promote teamwork, CLIF Kid encourages kids ages 6-12 to explore outdoor play by inventing their very own backyard game for a chance to win fun prizes. Individual category entrants could win a $10,000 scholarship, a bike from Specialized Bicycles and a Bell helmet. The group category entrants have the opportunity to win a $15,000 donation to the non-profit of their choice. In addition, select finalists will win a trip to San Diego to showcase their games at the 2013 CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year Playoffs.

“With Backyard Game of the Year, we’re providing a spotlight for kids to share their creativity and build the confidence that starts from playing outside.”

“Kids exercise their creativity using tablets and mobile phones every day. Wouldn’t it also be great if we helped them explore their imaginations in nature?” asked Stacy Tornio, co-author of the book “The Kids’ Outdoor Adventure Book: 448 Great Things to Do in Nature Before You Grow Up.” “Encouraging kids to play outside is a fun and healthy way for them to build valuable skills that they will use into adulthood.”

Co-authors and outdoor play advocates, Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer, will share fun outdoor activity tips for families on the CLIF Kid Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CLIFKid) during the contest phase and will also serve as judges at the CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year Playoffs. Tornio and Keffer’s book, “The Kids’ Outdoor Adventure Book,” launches on April 2 and is a year-round how-to activity guidebook for outdoor exploration.

“All of us here at CLIF Kid remember what a blast it was being kids, exploring the outdoors and creating wacky games to amuse ourselves and friends,” said Jennifer Yun, brand director for CLIF Kid. “With Backyard Game of the Year, we’re providing a spotlight for kids to share their creativity and build the confidence that starts from playing outside.”

About the Contest

Backyard game ideas can be submitted today through June 17, 2013 at www.CLIFKidBackyardGame.com.

This year, CLIF Kid has opened a group category in addition to the individual category. For all contest submissions, kids ages 6-12 are asked to invent original backyard games that bring kids together to play outside. The games can utilize common household items such as balls, hula hoops, beanbags and, most importantly, kids’ imaginations for hours of fun.

Individual Category Details

Each kid with a new backyard game idea is invited to enter the individual category. Designed to ignite their creativity, the individual category will award kids with scholarships to promote their continued exploration and growth.

Five finalists will be chosen to present their games in San Diego at the 2013 CLIF Kid Backyard Game of the Year Playoffs in July. The individual finalists will present their games to the public and a winner will be selected by Playoffs Judges Tornio, Keffer and a special guest celebrity.

Prizes: The individual grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship and the four runners-up will each win a $1,000 scholarship. All five kids will also receive a bike from Specialized Bicycles and a Bell helmet.

Group Category Details

The group category encourages any U.S.-based group that works with kids to submit a new backyard game idea. Groups can include school classrooms, sports teams, clubs, organizations, non-profits and others. With this new category created to promote teamwork and community, groups will compete for donation money to the non-profit of their choice that supports kids’ health and well-being.

Three group finalists will be announced on the CLIF Kid Facebook page in late June, where the public will have a chance to vote with “Likes” for their favorite game idea. CLIF Kid will send group grand prize winner representatives to San Diego in July to present their game at the Playoffs.

Prizes: CLIF Kid will donate $15,000 to a non-profit of the group grand prize winner’s choice, which focuses on kids’ health and well-being. In addition, CLIF Kid will donate $2,000 to a like non-profit chosen by each of the two runners-up.

Following the Playoffs, CLIF Kid will post the rules from all finalist games online. And in recognition of their efforts to reconnect kids with nature, Children & Nature Network will receive a donation for the third year in a row, to support their continued work with a national network of educators, researchers and community leaders. Please visit www.childrenandnature.org for more information about the organization.

About Clif Bar & Company

Clif Bar & Company is a leading maker of nutritious, organic foods and drinks, including CLIF® BAR energy bar, LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women®; and CLIF Kid®, Nourishing Kids in Motion®. Focused on sports nutrition and healthy snacks, the employee and family-owned company is committed to sustaining its business, brands, people, community and the planet. For more information on Clif Bar & Company, please visit www.clifbar.com, check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/clifbar and follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/clifbar.