Government of Yukon encourages participation in national physical activity challenge

The Government of Yukon and the Recreation and Parks Association of the Yukon are encouraging all Yukoners to participate in ParticipACTION’s inaugural Community Better Challenge. This national event is designed to get Canadians moving and will take place across the country from May 31 to June 16, 2019.

The Community Better Challenge works by having individuals, families, groups, schools and organizations sign-up and track their physical activity minutes. Individuals can do this by downloading the new ParticipACTION app or tracking manually on the Community Better Challenge website. Families, groups, schools, and organizations can also participate by registering and manually tracking their physical activity minutes on the Community Better Challenge website. All minutes are then counted towards a community’s total active minutes, with registrants’ postal codes identifying which competing community they belong to.

The challenge includes one grand prize of $150,000 that will be awarded to Canada’s Most Active Community and $20,000 prizes for the most active community by region, to support local physical activity initiatives. Individuals can also win prizes.

The challenge is a key initiative under ParticipACTION’s “Everything gets better when you get active” movement. This movement came out of the 2018 Common Vision for Increasing Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Living in Canada: Let’s Get Moving policy. The Common Vision was created by federal, provincial and territorial governments in close consultation with key partners such as ParticipACTION and the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association.

Better breathing, better energy, better focus, better mental health. Everything gets better when you get active. This challenge is a fun way for Yukoners to celebrate our active lifestyle. We are thrilled to see this inaugural event launch and I encourage all Yukoners to participate.

Minister of Community Services, John Streicker

Physical activity and sport participation can help build strong social connections, increasing people’s confidence and happiness. We invite all Yukon residents, organizations and schools to participate in the inaugural ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge – it’s a great way to get physically active, connect with your fellow Yukoners, and potentially be crowned Canada’s Most Active Community.

ParticipACTION President and CEO Elio Antunes

RPAY believes participating in recreation provides many benefits that positively impact the health of individuals and our communities. This challenge is a great opportunity for individual Yukoners as well as families, schools and other organizations to get involved and reap the benefits of an active lifestyle. Yukon will be competing with NWT and Nunavut so choose an activity you enjoy and take up the Challenge!

Recreation and Parks Association of the Yukon, executive director Anne Morgan

Quick Facts

For this inaugural year ParticipACTION distributed grants to six different groups in Yukon to help them organize events for the Community Better Challenge. These groups are: Tagish Community Association, U Kon Echelon Bike Club, Flatwater North, Freedom Trails Therapeutic Riding Association, Kluane First Nation and Carcross/Tagish First Nation. The grants totalled $4,200 (ranging from $300 to $1000 each). Grants are no longer available for this year, but individuals, families, schools and organizations can still register to participate up to June 16, 2019.
The Common Vision is Canada’s first-ever unified policy on physical activity. The policy recognizes that supporting physical activity and reducing sedentary lifestyles is a shared responsibility between governments and that government support for key organizations is integral to the success of the initiative.
For the challenge, Yukon is part of the Northern region – along with Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Individuals who download the ParticipACTION app can sync it with any one of the following: Apple Health, Google Fit, Garmin or Fitbit.

Contact

Lisa Bucher
Cabinet Communications
867-332-0480
lisa.bucher@gov.yk.ca

Odile Nelson
Communications, Community Services
867-332-0886
Odile.nelson@gov.yk.ca.

Anne Morgan
Executive Director
Recreation and Parks Association of the Yukon
867-668-2389
anne@rpay.ca
News release #:
19-102

NT5