“It was based on a community’s activity minutes. They looked at the totals, the activity and population and averaged it all out. That was all part of it.”
All sorts of activity could be clocked for the challenge. Walking, biking, running are some of the obvious ones. There were a few organized ones during June, like pickle ball in the Legion, or trips with school children down the walking trail, which helped get everyone out and active. There were other activities, like gardening in the ArtsPark, which also counted in the community totals. Giesbrecht said there were a lot of groups involved, like the municipality, the Boissevain-Morton Library and Cherry Creek Place, that helped organize events or tally totals.
She said she was not sure of the total minutes, but said just under 200 people in the community accessed the app during June.
Participation was enough for Boissevain-Morton to make the final cut. The community finished third provincially, behind Winnipeg and Pinawa, and ahead of Killarney-Turtle Mountain. These four went on to the nationals with other communities from across the country. Some are a similar size while others are large cities.
The next step was for finalists to submit a proposal to tell ParticipACTION why they should be honoured as Canada’s Most Active Community. Giesbrecht said this, which included photos, testimonials, records of how they promoted the challenge, had to be in by July 12. As she explained, community minutes would be a factor in the award, but others such as uniqueness of effort and population percentage would also play a role.
There is a $100,000 prize for the most active community in the country, and a $7,500 one on the provincial level. Giesbrecht feels Boissevain’s chances are solid of finishing on top.
“Why not?” she asked. “We are Canada’s most active community.”
Winners will be announced next week.
Regardless of finish, Giesbrecht said the community shone through the event. There were businesses that helped track minutes for free. People helped set up activities. A lot of people got active, which is the true purpose of the competition.
“That’s the win, the show of community spirit, our competitive edge. That was absolutely the best part.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff