From four square to hopscotch — school yards across the city are going back to the basics in the name of fitness and fun.
Volunteers will visit over 50 local schools this weekend, painting a myriad of sidewalk games onto school compounds as part of the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology Gift of Play program launched Thursday.
“We wanted to give back to the community as our way to celebrate the U of C’s 50th anniversary by providing a low-cost initiative to help children and youth become more active,” said Penny Werther, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology.
“We are painting 50 schools this weekend, and although the project is a one-time event the stencils and resources will be available to schools across the city and province.”
Olympic wrestling gold medallist Erica Wiebe jokes and joins students at Sacred Heart Elementary in southwest Calgary, Alta on Thursday, September 8, 2016. The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology along with alumna Wiebe, are looking to the experts — elementary school children — to help create games that will be painted in 50 schoolyards across the city this fall. Jim Wells/Postmedia
Dignitaries at the launch on the playground of Sacred Heart Elementary School included U of C Chancellor and former Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and Erica Wiebe, who was the gold-medal winner in the women’s 75 kg freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“As a kid I grew up playing on the school ground and to be able to give back to kids in that way is so exciting,” said Wiebe.
“As a wrestler, you always need someone to wrestle with, to play with. So I hope as part of this program kids can learn to make friends, find someone to play with, and get more fit.”
Wiebe added that as kids start to feel increasing pressure to have high grades, it’s more important than ever to include fitness and exercise as part of their routine.
“It seems play has become minimized, because kids have so much pressure on them academically, and there’s this fear of failure. But kids have to challenge that. Failure is the pathway to excellence, and they need to find that balance by always including play in their lives.”
Thirsk, who lauded the benefits of the Centennial Athletic Award Program which introduced him to benefits of fitness in the late 1960s, agreed fitness of body and mind go together.
“Astronauts are explorers, and I want Canada to be a nation of explorers and you have to be fit to be explorers.”
In Canada, less than 10 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years old meet the recommended 60 daily minutes of moderate to vigorous activity levels – the minimum amount needed to experience health benefits, according to ParticipACTION’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.
Once the project is underway, kinesiology researchers plan to study the effectiveness of the project in encouraging greater physical activity in the schools.
