Hooping It Up for Super Bowl XLVIII

One Triad woman puts a new spin on Super Bowl fun.

Sunday, February 2, thousands of people around the country will be glued to their televisions for Super Bowl 48. In New Jersey, the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos will face off in MetLife Stadium for the ultimate NFL championship. Before people plop on the couch, Monica Casey wants people to “hoop it up” for two good causes.

Casey is a Winston-Salem exercise enthusiast. She's hosting a community-wide Hooper Bowl. “The idea of the Hooper Bowl is to get people out to have fun, exercise and to help out the Maple Springs Food Pantry," says Casey. The Maple Springs Food Pantry is at Maple Springs United Methodist Church at 2569 Reynolda Road. Volunteers here have helped hundreds of families in the Winston-Salem area since 2000.

This is the second year Casey has hosted the Hooper Bowl. She also owns Monkey Hooper. She creates custom made hula hoops and uses them for parties and exercise classes. "Hooping is great for people who have limitations in their knees and hips because all of the action is in your waist, in your abs," explains Casey. "So you don't have to put any kind of high impact action on your feet or knees. It really is a core workout.”  According to Casey, a person will burn 7 calories per minute of hula hooping.

The Hooper Bowl kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. at Maple Springs United Methodist Church. There will be games, contests and prizes donated by several area businesses. People are also asked to bring non-perishable food donations for the Maple Springs Food Pantry.