News from ParticipACTION

Issue 12/December 2009
Move More!
Welcome to our latest E-Newsletter from: www.participACTION.com

Message from the President

It's such a friendly, lovely, magical time of year! As December rolls in, we're looking ahead to a happy, healthy and active holiday season at ParticipACTION.

We are also pleased to tell you about our latest initiative to get Canadian kids happy, healthy and more active throughout the year. In response to the 2009 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card, we have created a guide to help us work together to turn this research into action.

Our Plan for Action was created in collaboration with partner organizations, and offers suggestions on what each of us working in the field can do to get Canadian kids more active.

Have a fun, frosty and family-filled holiday season. And remember - if you want to stay warm this winter, keep moving!

Warmly,

Kelly Murumets

ParticipACTION Update

Canada's Most Powerful Women 2009

Kelly Murumets, President and CEO of ParticipACTION, has been named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women for 2009. Kelly was recognized on November 30 as one of 100 women who are proven achievers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Each year, an independent Advisory Board selects winners in eight categories. Kelly was lauded in the Trailblazers & Trendsetters category for having "a major impact on [her field] and [making] a great contribution to Canadian society." She was judged on her success in breaking new ground or traditional barriers, her contribution to Canadian society, her vision, leadership and community service.

Kelly was recognized alongside leading Canadian women like Indigo Chair and CEO Heather Reisman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and CEO, MaRS Discovery District, Ilse Treurnicht.

The seventh annual Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 awards are given by the Women's Executive Network, a Toronto-based networking and advocacy group founded in 1997 by Pamela Jeffery.

For more information, please click here.

Monthly Highlight

Prince Rupert Port Coquitlam

GreenGym getting residents active in BC

If there were a physical activity metre hanging in the Autumn-tinged trees above the new GreenGym outdoor fitness park in McClymont Park, Prince Rupert, the dials would be spinning. The 16 units in this park have instantly become "perpetual motion machines," with residents of all ages and sizes starting pre-dawn and lasting well after dark, putting the outdoor fitness machines, which are free and wheelchair accessible, through their paces.

The park opened in October, 2009, but the project was a few years in the making.

"We first saw the equipment demonstrated at a British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association Symposium," says Recreation Coordinator Michelle Willard. "We've been looking for a grant to fund a version for Prince Rupert ever since."

The GreenGym project in Prince Rupert was made possible through funding from the Towns For Tomorrow Program and ParticipACTION, which gives all municipalities and non-profits who invest in GreenGym equipment a grant back worth 10% of the purchase price.

The City of Port Coquitlam is also the proud owner of a GreenGym outdoor fitness site with 12 units, installed in October, 2009, in the middle of Gates Park - a hub for sport and outdoor activities, including tennis courts, picnic tables and multiple sports fields.

To welcome the installation, the city is building a Get Started Fitness Program, which will offer training, support and information to schools, the public and the business district on how to become active using the new equipment.

Local resident Shelley Crawford is delighted at how the GreenGym equipment inspires not only movement and physical exercise, but conversation and laughter.

"What a wonderful way to inspire physical fitness for all ages and capabilities. It is so much more fun to go and play than work out," says Crawford.

Nathan Taylor, Active Communities Coordinator with the City of Port Coquitlam, says that the city invested in GreenGym to break down two of the major barriers that prevent the inactive from becoming active: the equipment is both free and accessible.

This installation also benefited from ParticipACTION's partnership agreement with GreenGym.

"The City feels incredibly fortunate to have received financial assistance from ParticipACTION to help us complete this project. We are proud to align ourselves with the national voice of sports and physical activity as we strive to create a healthy community where every resident is physically active," says Taylor.

Research Update

The Gift of an Active Lifestyle

As another year comes to a close, our thoughts turn to how we can be "new and improved" for 2010. For many, that means losing weight that may have crept up during the holiday season, or over the past few years. But instead of making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, research suggests increasing physical activity levels as a healthier alternative. People who are fit and fat actually have lower risk factors than those who are at a healthy weight, but sedentary. Recent research tells us that that, independent of weight status or weight changes, physical activity has a positive impact on health. The December Research File examines the fit versus fat debate for one of the season's most well-known celebrities - Santa Claus.

For more information, see our Research File.

Q&A

Q - With the holiday season here, how can I enjoy a few extra treats and not gain weight? Gretchen

A - First of all, remember moderation. It is okay to enjoy one cookie, but it's not okay to have ten. That said, even one cookie here or there can add up. To compensate for the extra treats you will inevitably consume over the holidays, add a little extra physical activity to your day. On average, you need to walk 2000 steps to burn 100 calories. These steps can be easily accumulated by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking an extra lap around the mall while doing your shopping, or parking in the spot furthest from the entrance.

Advocacy Update

ParticipACTION works with partners across Canada to share knowledge and information about physical activity and sport participation. Our recent October 2009 Angus Reid Strategies survey tells us that Canadians care deeply about these issues:

Four in five (81%) Canadians are concerned about the issue of physical inactivity.
Canadians overwhelmingly agree that the government should support physical activity and sport participation (92%). Over half (54%) strongly agree.

If we want to achieve our vision of a society where Canadians are the most active on earth, we each need to do our part to get the word out there - advocacy is really for everyone! At ParticipACTION, we're working with other organizations through a Physical Activity Policy Collective, and we call on the expertise of others in the sector via our Policy and Capacity Building Advisory Group. If you have something to say about physical activity and sport, we think you should speak up. You can:

Let your child's principal or school board know that physical education and physical activity opportunities are important to you, and not a "frill."
Write to your elected officials to let them know that you care about how your society supports physical activity and sport through its policies and funding.
Form a partnership with likeminded groups or individuals - businesses, community centres or health professionals - to tackle a small issue in your community, whether it's improving bike lanes, bettering community access to the school pools or offering something new.

Professional Development

PARC Workshop - Social Determinants of Health and Physical Activity
January 14 & February 3
Online

This workshop will present information and considerations on ways to address the social determinants of health when developing physical activity programs and services. Discussion will include an overview of existing programs and provide networking opportunities. The presentation will cover information from the Heart Health Resource, Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition (OHCC) and Health Nexus, as well as research from Dr. Gina Browne, a professor in the School of Nursing at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. OHCC will be assisting in the facilitation of the workshop.

To register, please visit their website.

The Early Years Conference 2010: The Rights of the Child
February 4 - 6
Victoria, BC

The conference will explore early childhood, family and community development through the lens of child rights. The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) articulates various inherent human rights that should be afforded to children. Policies designed to support and provide general and specific services to children and their families should reflect these rights, so that all children may reach their full potential in society. Conference participants will have the opportunity to consider research, policy and practice from a child's rights perspective, in order to further the quality of their work with children, families and communities.

For more information, please visit their website.

Ontario Exercise Physiology
OEP Conference 2010
January 22 - 24
Barrie, Ontario

The keynote speaker at the Saturday, January 23 banquet will be Royal Society of Canada laureate Dr. Arend Bonen. Abstract deadline for the conference is December 30, 2009.

For more information, and to register for the conference, please visit their website.

ICPAPH Pre-Congress Workshop
Active Healthy Kids Canada
May 5
Toronto, ON

Active Healthy Kids Canada encourages all International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health (ICPAPH) delegates to check out its Pre-Congress Workshop, titled "The Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth as a Model for Knowledge Exchange to Policy Action." Find out more about how the Report Card model can drive change in your jurisdiction.

For more information, or to register, please visit their website.

Partner Highlights and Events

2009 International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 3
Vancouver, BC