News from ParticipACTION

Thank you to the organizations who submitted over 859 sporting events for CBC Sports to consider for the Sports Day in Canada television broadcast on September 18. Even if you're not chosenfor the broadcast, there are plenty of other ways your organization can get involved in Sports Day in Canada. Get involved by hosting your own local celebration event anytime during the week leading up to, and including, September 18. Join thousands of organizations across Canada and create something new, or throw open your doors to a competition, activity or event your organization is already doing-and invite other Canadians to join you:

1. Think of a sport-related event or activity that your organization, club, team or school is already doing, or could do, between September 11 and 18, 2010. If the event is already open to the public, great - all you have to do is register it on the site. If not, decide how you could open it up to the public - hold an open house, offer a free 'try-it day,' hold an athlete meet-and-greet before a competition, stage a community softball game, invite people to view a team practice or invite your local mayor to host a demonstration event of your sport. Use your imagination.

2. Post the details of your local event (contacts, description, photo etc.) on the Sports Day in Canada website at www.cbcsports.ca/sportsday as soon as possible.

3. Promote your event to the public. After August 18, the site will include free promotional tools you can download and customize: e-blasts to send to your organization's members, web banner ads to put on your website, free articles about Sports Day in Canada for your newsletter, customizable posters you can print and put up in the community, etc.

4. The event listings registered on www.cbcsports.ca/sportsday will become fully, publicly searchable after

August 18. Individuals can make plans to come to your event, media can find out details and the country can learn more about your sport and your organization!

5. You will also be invited to promote your event to the local media in the 2-3 weeks leading up to September 18. Free PR templates will be available in early September for you to send out to any local contacts you have. If you know any local politicians or elite athletes or celebrities, invite them to come to your event and tell people about it!

6. Host your Sports Day in Canada event and join this national celebration of sport.

To learn more, please visit www.cbcsports.ca/sportsday or contact Adrea Fink at afink@participACTION.com

The new and improved Sogo Active

Since the fall of 2008, Sogo Active has been engaging teens to lead more active lifestyles. Presented by Coca-Cola Canada in collaboration with ParticipACTION and a network of provincial/territorial coordinators and approximately 1,300 local Community Host organizations, Sogo Active has inspired almost 13,000 Canadian youth to get moving. During the first phase of Sogo Active, over 1000 youth were selected by Coca-Cola Canada to carry the Olympic Flame in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Plus, more than $500,000 in Sogo Active micro-grants were distributed to enable teens to increase their physical activity.

New to Sogo Active for this phase are an updated look and feel and the idea of the Sogo Active Challenge - youth challenging themselves to find new reasons and new opportunities to get physically active. The new Sogo has more educational messaging and asks youth to challenge themselves to overcome the physical inactivity crisis by finding, joining or creating ongoing activities or one-time events.

Check out Sogo Active for more information on the program and to register as a Community Host organization or youth. Create and join your own Challenges today!

Join the ParticipACTION Partner Network

The ParticipACTION Partner Network (PPN) is a robust network of not-for-profit and public-sector organizations dedicated to physical activity and sport participation. ParticipACTION's belief is that the PPN will not only help support the work of individual member organizations, but will strengthen the physical activity and sport participation sector in Canada. The PPN is a formalized mechanism through which:

ParticipACTION can marshal resources and deploy these resources to PPN members in support of the delivery of initiatives to address the physical inactivity crisis.
PPN members can build a community of practice related to physical activity through collaboration and communication between stakeholders.
ParticipACTION can facilitate the coordination of communications and knowledge exchange across Canada, to ensure clarity of message to the general public and to help build capacity of member organizations.

To learn more, please contact Christa Costas-Bradstreet at ccostasbradstreet@participACTION.com