Olympian Jennifer Heil and Paralympian Bo Hedges, both Canada Games Activity Challenge Ambassadors, will visit Dr. A.T. Leatherbarrow Primary School in Hampton, New Brunswick and Hawthorne Elementary School in Delta, British Columbia to launch the Canada Games Activity Challenge on February 13th. In collaboration with Heil and Hedges, the Canada Games Council (CGC) created the contest to encourage schools to register for the Activity Challenge prior to January 27. The two winning schools were randomly selected out of 3567 registrations from across the nation.
“I’m thrilled to see the engagement around the Canada Games Activity Challenge,” says Heil. “A lot of children across Canada now have the opportunity to build their confidence and experience the joy of movement, becoming more physically literate. I look forward to personally joining the children and their teachers on this journey, by visiting schools across the country.”
Heil, two-time Olympic medalist, will be going to Hawthorne Elementary School in Delta, British Columbia while Hedges, two-time Paralympic medalist, heads to Dr. A.T. Leatherbarrow Primary School in Hampton, New Brunswick.
“Heading out and meeting some of the kids that are signed up for our program will be special,” says Hedges. “Being in one of the classrooms kicking off this great Challenge will be a fantastic opportunity that I am looking forward to! My hope is this is the beginning of something that will positively change Canada's fitness and awareness to physical activity.”
The Canada Games Activity Challenge has registered class participants in every province and territory.
“We are thrilled to have registrations in every Province and Territory and are overjoyed that hundreds of thousands of kids will work to build their physical literacy with our dynamic initiative,” says Tom Quinn, Canada Games Council Chairman. "These healthy habits will benefit the kids for years to come, and will hopefully help them on their way to becoming an athlete of the Canada Games”
The Canada Games Activity Challenge is a fun, free and interactive program designed to help children ages 5 – 12 build daily, active habits. The Activity Challenge is aimed at inspiring the 90% of youth that are not currently meeting the recommended daily amount of physical activity, and will empower elementary teachers with a database of age-appropriate and skill-specific activities, linked to Canada’s Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. Participants in the Activity Challenge will stick to a daily activity program, based on the principles of physical literacy. The program is inclusive and adaptive, and there are rewards for kids along the way! The Canada Games Activity Challenge is a Canada 150 signature project, and a Canada Games 50th Anniversary celebratory program.
If you haven’t registered your class yet, it’s not too late to sign up for the Canada Games Activity Challenge! There will be plenty more rewards and incentives along the way. For example, the Activity Challenge will start with a special message and end with a certificate of completion from the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.
Get inspired to get active, and sign up your class today: www.canadagames.ca/activitychallenge
For more information about the Canada Games Activity Challenge, please contact CGACinfo@canadagames2.ca
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