9:24 a.m., Jan. 24, 2008--Jordanian students and officials will visit the University of Delaware on Sunday and Monday, Jan. 27-28, as part of the King Abdullah II Awards for Physical Fitness Visitors Program.

The Jordanians will be the guests of representatives of Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences in the College of Health Sciences and UD's Division of Intercollegiate Athletic and Recreation Services.

The visitors program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's International Sports Initiative in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The delegation consists of 10 Jordanian high school students who have excelled in the national physical fitness program and also three professionals. They are participating in a 10-day cultural exchange with American youths and adults in the areas of physical education, recreation and sport while developing a deeper understanding of American culture and a greater appreciation for the important role physical fitness and activity play in the United States.

While at UD, the Jordanian students will be joined by students from Brandywine High School and will scale an indoor climbing wall and participate in yoga and spinning classes, a lacrosse clinic organized by the UD men's and women's lacrosse teams and a skills competition hosted by the UD Physical Education Majors Club.

The Jordanian professionals will meet with UD Director of Athletics Edgar Johnson and members of the UD coaching staff, with Avron Abraham, a member of the Delaware Governor's Council on Lifestyle and Fitness and associate professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, and Barry Miller, assistant director of recreation services. The purpose of the meeting is to learn more about sport in the education environment, management of fitness facilities and strategies to promote physical fitness in Jordan. The group will tour the UD athletic and fitness facilities and the Human Performance Laboratory.

The program is a continuation of a relationship initiated by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2004 with King Abdullah II of Jordan that led American officials to work with the Jordanian Ministry of Education to create a program modeled after the department-sponsored President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program. In 2006, representatives from the department traveled to Jordan and evaluated and advised the newly created Royal Health Awareness Society on the implementation of the King Abdullah II Physical Fitness Awards Program.