British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association

May 28, 2007 13:42 ET

British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association: Move for Health Day Beats its BC Track Record

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - May 28, 2007) - A record-breaking number of Move for Health Day participants have shown the province that men, women and children in communities throughout BC are getting more physically active.

More than 56,000 participants in 73 communities exceeded this year's target of 50,000 people getting moving on May 10. Participation numbers in BC went up by more than 60 per cent from last year's 35,000 participants, which had gone up by 300 per cent from 2005. The BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) and its partners have taken the lead in BC to advance the World Health Organization's Move for Health Day, held annually on May 10 to promote physical activity globally.

"BCRPA is thrilled to see the increasing participation of individuals and communities in Move for Health Day events," said BCRPA Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Strutt. "We will continue to collaborate with our partners and ActNow BC to reach the provincial goal of increasing physical activity rates by 20 per cent by the year 2010."

Highlighting the nearly 200 registered events were five First Nations Chiefs' community walks, 19 local government workplace challenges and Mayors' walks, 14 community challenges, five aquafit challenges and almost 50 school challenges. Minister of State for ActNow BC Gordon Hogg joined Grade 4 students in a hip hop class at Maywood Elementary School in Burnaby, along with BC Lions' Lui Passaglia, ActionSchools! BC program manager Bryna Kopelow, school Principal Susan Montabello and BCRPA CEO Suzanne Strutt.

Communities large and small came up with creative event ideas for all ages, from community and workplace walks to Nordic walking, hiking, carpet bowling, yoga, walk to school challenges, an ice skate-a-thon and a hula hoop competition. Salmon Arm hosted a 69-person aquafit class for the Super Splash challenge. In Fort St. John schools, 2,097 students got active. Some communities, who registered for community challenges, reported high participation numbers as a result of engaging a variety of different sectors.

In the local government challenge, Sparwood and Elkford both had 100 per cent participation among its civic employees, topping the up to 50 employees category. Courtenay came out in force for the 50 to 200 employees category with 51, or 44 per cent, of its employees participating. In the 200 plus category, Surrey was a winner with a 60 per cent participation rate, or 324 employees, while 454, or 37 per cent of Vancouver civic employees got active.

In addition to Mayors' walks throughout BC, Chiefs also walked with the communities of Canim Lake Band, McLeod Lake Indian Band, the Nisga'a village of New Aiyansh, Williams Lake Indian Band and Lower Similkameen Indian Band. The Seabird Island Band put on an Active on Wheels event with participants biking, rollerblading, pushing strollers, riding scooters and skateboards. Gitanyow Human Services in Kitwanga in northwest BC hosted a mini-marathon with 150 people, honouring mothers and grandmothers. In Alexis Creek, the Anaham Band's Tl'etinqox School held a community-wide softball tournament.

Move for Health Day kicks off SummerActive-a six-week national active living campaign designed to help Canadians improve their health through physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco-free living-now running until June 21 (www.bcrpa.bc.ca/summeractive).

For complete details on Move for Health Day events and results, visit www.bcrpa.bc.ca/mfhd.

Move for Health Day Partners

2010 Legacies Now, Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of BC, Action Schools! BC, BC Healthy Living Alliance, BC Lung Association, BC Ministry of Health, BC Pediatric Society, BC Recreation and Parks Association, BC Therapeutic Recreation Association, Canadian Cancer Society of BC & Yukon, Canadian Diabetes Association-Pacific Division, Dietitians of Canada, Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon, Premier's Sport Awards Program, Sport BC, Sport and Recreation Branch-BC Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, SportMed BC, The Arthritis Society, Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

About BCRPA

The British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association is a not for profit organization dedicated to building and sustaining active healthy lifestyles and communities in BC. Established in 1958, the Association is a central resource agency for members and stakeholders of the parks, recreation, physical activity and culture industry, providing leadership, training and support to help meet national, provincial and local priorities. Through a diverse network of partners and extensive programs and services, BCRPA actively advocates accessibility and inclusiveness to recreation and physical activity and strives to bridge the gap between the recreation and sport system to increase participation from "playground to podium".

About Move for Health Day

Move for Health Day was designated by the World Health Organization in 2003 as a world wide day of physical activity.

About ActNow BC

ActNow BC is the provincial government's integrated, partnership-based health promotion and chronic disease prevention platform that supports people to be more active and fit, eat healthier foods, live tobacco-free and make healthy lifestyle decisions. For more information, visit www.actnowbc.gov.bc.ca.