UW Summer Wellness Challenge
Each summer, The Whole U invites faculty, staff and students across the University of Washington and UW Medicine to participate in the UW Summer Wellness Challenge. This fun, community-wide experience inspires well-being and connection during the summer months.
Every year, the challenge introduces a new theme that encourages participants to stay active, build healthy habits and celebrate wellness together. Through engaging activities, special events and friendly competitions, Huskies across campuses explore all dimensions of well-being while connecting with one another and with the UW community.
Stay tuned for 2026 event details and registration.
2025 — Passport to Well-Being
In 2025, participants traveled the world of wellness, no passport required. The Passport to Well-Being Challenge encouraged exploration across four “destinations” of wellness: mental health, eating well, physical health and community. Thousands of Huskies completed activities to earn virtual passport stamps and and accumulate miles. Their goal? Reach Husky Gold Mileage status!
Missed the challenge? You can still take the journey at your own pace. Explore the Passport to Well-Being to access the activity guide, digital passport and prompts to recreate the experience anytime.
At the end of the challenge, participants received digital certificates for their achievements!
2024 — UW Summer Olympics
The 2024 UW Summer Olympics invited the UW community to channel their inner athlete and celebrate the spirit of the games. Participants completed daily well-being activities, from mindful stretching and hydration goals to acts of kindness. Participants earned points as part of a friendly competition.
Together, participants logged thousands of minutes of activity while embodying the Olympic values of strength, resilience and teamwork. At the end of the challenge, participants were invited to attend closing ceremonies and pick-up their gold medal!
Earlier Years — Raise the Bar and Beyond
The UW Summer Wellness Challenge is best known for its spirited Raise the Bar series. A friendly, team-based competition that encouraged departments and groups across UW to earn points for healthy activities.
Teams logged workouts, shared recipes, attended events and joined mindfulness practices to collectively Raise the Bar for wellness at work. Each summer, hundreds of teams from all three campuses and UW Medicine participated, celebrating community and consistency through weekly leaderboards and team spotlights.
Over time, the challenge has continued to evolve while keeping the same spirit of camaraderie, motivation and fun. Whether traveling the world, channeling Olympic energy or competing as a team, the heart of the challenge remains the same: to inspire every member of the UW community to move more, connect more and thrive together.