The historic AAU has forged a partnership with GoTrybe.com, a Web-based interactive fitness and wellness site that delivers exercises online, focusing on changing sedentary screen time into Active Screen Time™. Now all new and existing AAU members, with a valid membership code, are able to receive free access to the interactive GoTrybe fitness site through the end of the 2009 calendar year.

“Part of AAU’s mission is not only to offer opportunities for athletes to compete, but also to facilitate their personal fitness,” AAU President Bobby Dodd said. “Partnering with GoTrybe to allow AAU members to access GoTrybe’s online interactive workouts and healthy living and eating tips, in-season and during their off-season, fits perfectly with AAU’s goals for serving its athletes year-round.”

Although GoTrybe was designed for children and teens that are not typical athletes, the partnership with AAU seems like a natural outgrowth for both GoTrybe and the 120-year-old AAU.

“We are looking to help AAU members enhance their sense of community,” GoTrybe Co-Founder Bill Joyner said. “In addition to seeing each other and making new friends at events, now AAU/GoTrybe members will be able to chat online with each other and keep track of their friends’ performance on the GoTrybe leader board all year round.”

GoTrybe.com updates content daily and invites young people through high school age to join a Trybe based on age and grade. Creating avatars, messaging classmates and earning points to be redeemed for online prizes provides youth with an online community where they can get and stay active while being reinforced through points and rewards, said GoTrybe Vice President of Creative Development Robert Baggett.

Not only are GoTrybe’s services active, interactive and fun, but in light of the reduction of physical education instruction in U.S. elementary and secondary education, the fitness component has also become integral to GoTrybe’s value to AAU, one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer sports organizations in the United States.

AAU now will be able to offer a service to its amateur athletes that can fill a void in their daily lives and keep them in shape in the off-season, as well.

“AAU has been serving young people and amateur athletes for more than a century, and over the years we have tried to stay current with trends in sport and education,” Dodd said. “Since so few schools include physical education in their curriculum nowadays, we are always looking for new ways to stand in that gap. AAU’s new partnership with GoTrybe.com will help us do that in a high-tech, interactive way that should appeal to today’s young people.”

At present, GoTrybe.com delivers fitness videos, led by certified fitness instructors and based on a framework created by Olympic athlete trainers. The daily workouts include warm up, cardio, strength and flexibility segments that last about 25 minutes. “Trybers” using the Web site, may work out and/or access nutrition content developed by registered dietitians and wellness information about good, general health.

AAU members, with a valid membership code, have access to the GoTrybe program until the end of 2009.

“To be a part of an organization that has so much history and more than 500,000 members,” Baggett said, “is an incredible opportunity for us.”

For GoTrybe membership information, please visit the Web site at Gotrybe.com. To find out more about AAU, go to its site at www.aausports.org.