Sarnia is joining a national competition aimed at getting people moving.
Sarnia is joining a national competition aimed at getting people moving.
The ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge encourages people to register by postal code and track their physical activity throughout the month of June.
Fifty finalist communities are selected based on things such as most participants by population, logged “move minutes” and the number of organizations per community involved, according to participation.com.
Cash prizes of $7,500 to $15,000 are available to 13 communities – one per province and territory – while one community takes home the $100,000 top prize towards physical activity initiatives.
Rachel Veilleux, the city’s community service’s co-ordinator, said the competition seemed like a “good fit” this year since June also happens to be Recreation and Parks Month, when community members are encouraged to get outdoors and be active.
The city is also partnering with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton and Center Communautaire Francophone de Sarnia-Lambton to get the word out.
Participants register and track their movement data through the ParticipACTION app or via the organization’s website.
People can create teams in Sarnia of their own with friends, family or co-workers as they see fit, and contribute to the community’s score, Veilleux said.
“As soon as you put in your postal code, you’re already associated with that community,” she said.
Free June 1 programming at the city’s Strangway Center and upcoming community events like the June 11 Kids Funfest June 11 and a June 7 to Aug. 25 Sounds of Summer outdoor concert series are a few of the ways the city is encouraging involvement, she said.
“This is our first time really participating in this challenge, so for us the goal is really just to get the word out there, to get the community familiar with the challenge,” Veilleux said. “There are a lot of different communities that participate in this. Just to put our name on the map.”
The program is a good initiative to showcase Sarnia as an active community, Tourism Sarnia-Lambton’s Mark Perrin said.
“Sometimes it takes reminding our own residents to get out there and be active, and then share that … and with that, hopefully it brings more people to come experience everything that Sarnia-Lambton has to offer,” he said.
The latest ParticipACTION report card adult grades in Canada C+ for light physical activity like walking and gardening, and F for sedentary behaviors and active transportation. kids and youth received D+s for sedentary behaviors and overall physical activity.
People are also encouraged to sign up for events alerts in Sarnia at calendar.sarnia.caVeilleux said.
The city recently announced Hobbyfest will not be returning to the city’s annual events lineup this year, but other events will hopefully take its place, Veilleux said.
“Nothing has been set in stone,” she said.