聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Starting today (March 1) and for the next nine days, Kamsack residents are 小蓝视频 asked to record their physical activity so that the community may win $10,000 for outdoor activity.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kamsack is participating in the Go Out and Play Challenge, an initiative that is 小蓝视频 promoted and sponsored by Saskatchewan Blue Cross and Saskatchewan in motion.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he idea is to log every minute that you spend in physical activity for these 10 days in March,鈥� said Kev Sumner, Kamsack鈥檚 recreation director. The activity might include the act of getting up off the couch or running 10 miles; it doesn鈥檛 matter, any physical activity can be included in one鈥檚 tally.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Participants are 小蓝视频 asked to go onto the Internet and log on to: challenge.saskatchewaninmotion.ca to register and to record their times, Sumner explained.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Persons who live outside of Kamsack may support Kamsack鈥檚 totals by giving their tallies to the community, he said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At the end of the challenge, the community with the most physical activity recorded wins the money which is to be spent on projects that encourage outdoor activity.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In 2017, Langenburg was the grand winner of the challenge and the prize money went toward kick-starting a fundraising campaign for a new outdoor pool, while at Churchbridge, which was the runner-up, the prize money went toward completing Phase 2 of a community sport park including a professionally-designed skate park, beach volleyball court and horseshoe pits. The Community/Association prize last year went to Saskatoon Lakeridge which spent the prize money on Phase 2 of a playground project that included three unique playground structures so kids of all ages could run, push, pull, climb, do acrobatics, stretch, pump, swing, and play.
In 2016, the prize money went to Churchbridge and Kenaston, while in 2015 winners were the communities of Norquay, where prize money was used to fix up the local skating rink to encourage everyone to skate all winter and play indoor soccer in the spring, and to Saskatoon/Lakeridge.
For this year鈥檚 challenge a total of 25 Saskatchewan communities, including Kamsack, have been registered as participants.
The name of the winning community is to be announced on March 15.
Access to active play in nature and outdoors, even with its risks, is essential for healthy child development, said information on the website. 鈥淲e recommend increasing children鈥檚 opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings, at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.鈥�
When children are outside they move more, sit less and play longer, it said. Behaviours associated with increased activity include improved cholesterol levels, blood pressure, body composition, bone density, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness and aspects of mental, social and environmental health.
