Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
Prince Albert has been named Saskatchewan’s most active community in the 2024 ParticipACTION Community Challenge.
The community will receive a $15,000 prize to support local physical activity and sport initiatives. ParticipACTION is a national physical activity initiative during the month of June that encourages Canadians to get active in search of Canada’s Most Active Community.
“It was cool to see people get on board,” City of Prince Albert Recreation Programmer Robin Mkangwana said. “We had people from different organizations that were more than happy to sign up and be a part of our cause. Its cool to see people get excited.
“The organizers also tracked how the participating communities were doing through out the month and consistently Prince Albert was at the top. It was awesome to get that feedback that we are doing a great job.”
The Community Challenge is open to all Canadian communities and individuals, and all events tracked in June counted toward a community’s total score.
More than 591,000 participants and 1,250 communities across Canada participated in the challenge. After tabulating the results, 50 finalist communities were invited to share more about their activities and why they should be named Canada’s Most Active Community
“This win has showcased Prince Albert on the national scale in a positive limelight,” Mkangwana said. “This shows there is a lot going on here, particularly with sport and recreation. We have so much going on. It’s awesome to showcase this on a national level.”
Prince Albert will seek to enter the Challenge again with the aim of clinging the top prize. This year’s top prize of $100,000 and title of Canada’s Most Active Community went to Hay River, Northwest Territories. Prizes were also awarded to the most active community in each remaining province and territory.
“Congratulations to the community of Prince Albert for being named Saskatchewan’s most active community,” Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport Laura Ross said. “We all win when our communities become more physically active. ParticipACTION’s Community Challenge inspires and encourages families, seniors, adults and youth to become more physically active and we are very proud of everyone’s efforts.”
The prize won by Prince Albert will be invested into sports recreation and physical activity programming for community groups. Mkangwana said this will benefit the people of Prince Albert and will align with the goals of the Initiative.
“Through Prince Albert’s involvement in this initiative, it easily gave recognition to the fact that sports, recreation and physical activity is a foundational piece to this community,” Mkangwana added. “We have a plethora of sports and recreation organizations. We at the City of Prince Albert offer a variety of programs and services at our facilities, and in June particularly, there are major community-based events ran by local organizations that encompass the essence of physical activity almost daily.”
For more information about ParticipACTION, or other ParticipACTION challenges and initiatives, visit: www.ParticipACTION.com.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
