Three southeast communities have entered the Saskatchewan Blue Cross In Motion Get Out and Play Challenge.
Macoun, Manor and Oxbow are competing in the challenge, which carries a $10,000 top prize for the community that accumulates the most minutes of exercise from March 1 to 10. A $5,000 prize will be awarded to the runner-up.
If Macoun wins the $10,000, the money will be used to update the community’s existing park with new playground equipment that is safe and accessible for all.
Manor would use the money to purchase new playground equipment for their school.
Oxbow, meanwhile, would dedicate the funds to kick-start the large fundraising effort needed to build the town’s new outdoor pool.
Eligible projects must increase physical activity in the community by creating programs, places or spaces for young people to be active outdoors; develop active and safe routes for children and youth to walk to school and other destinations; or create initiatives, which engage youth and families to create awareness, and build leadership or volunteerism to inspire active outdoor play.
Prize money cannot be used for indoor projects.
Individuals and families could create a personal or family profile as of Feb. 22, but they couldn’t start accumulating minutes until March 1. Each individual can accumulate up to 120 minutes of indoor or outdoor physical activity per day, which may include activities done at home, at school or in the community.
Each individual or family can log in multiple times each day during the challenge, and can add minutes. But they cannot enter physical activity minutes from previous days.
Schools cannot allocate the minutes of physical activity done by their students, and parents or guardians must enter minutes for children under the age of 18 in a family profile.
People do not have to live in a community to dedicate their minutes.
The community with the most logged minutes of physical activity will be declared the winner.
A total of 24 communities are nominated in this year’s competition. Two community associations, which are in Saskatoon, are vying for a separate $10,000 prize.
Last year Churchbridge finished first in the competition with 395,813 physical fitness minutes.
The winners will be announced on March 15.
