Inverness Co. named Nova Scotia’s most active community

The ParticipACTION Community Challenge is a national physical activity and sport initiative that encourages Canadians to get active throughout June.

This year was the fourth edition, and the results are in.

Inverness County has been crowned Nova Scotia’s most active community.

A $15,000 prize is awarded to the municipality to support local physical activity and sport initiatives.

The municipal Recreation and Community Wellness department worked hard to promote the initiative and remind Inverness County residents about the benefits of getting active – and the wide range opportunities to do so, either independently or in groups, here in the county.

Residents heard the call, and clocked hundreds of thousands of minutes of physical activity during the month of June, in activities including tai chi, ball hockey, square dancing, highland dancing, basketball, running, soccer, hiking, fitness classes and cycling to name just a few.

Acting head of Recreation and Community Wellness, Jason Calder, said that he was thrilled to see all age groups being active across the county.

“We were tracking minutes right across the board from seniors down to youngsters.

The younger ones were the most active age group, which we’re pleased to see as it means the next generation are out there experiencing how much fun you can have living an active lifestyle, which is so important for physical and mental health throughout life.”

The municipality has a priority to support fun and inclusive ways for all county residents to be active, and regularly organizes activities like ball hockey, bike rides, walks and more.

This year’s summer student program is in full swing with a fantastic team organizing outdoor events across the county.

The full weekly program of events can be found here.

“We’re pleased to be recognized as the most active community this year, and the prize money is very welcome as it will allow us to expand our programming capacity, as well as adding to our inventory of equipment that is available to loan at low or no cost."

The aim is to remove barriers to being active so that all Inverness County residents can feel the benefits of a more active lifestyle.