The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer Encouraging people to live healthier and physically active lives, the Flin Flon Creighton in motion Committee is again holding their annual Health Challenge. For the third year in a row, the challenge is open to the public and will run for six weeks. The challenge started within the NOR-MAN RHA in 2007, but has since grown into a public challenge that has earned provincial recognition. As a program that involves the community and encourages people to better their lives, the program will be presented in Winnipeg to the Chronic Disease Prevention Initiative. Fran Labarre, of both the NRHA and in motion, says with the success of the program over the last few years, word has really gotten around. Last year, 458 people made up 65 teams in the Olympic Health Challenge. This year, Labarre hopes to see those teams plus a few new ones. The challenge gets underway on Monday, January 17 and will run for six weeks. Goal The goal behind the challenge is simple: a healthier community. "I think that it's the fun teamwork that makes it so successful," said Labarre. "People want to be healthy, but it's so much more fun if you're on a team." Not only has the challenge spread through Flin Flon and the surrounding area, but it has also made provincial ears tingle. See 'Chall...' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 5 "It's such a success story,"Labarre says of the challenge. "Other communities want to learn from us and Flin Flon is now looked at as a leader." The challenge has participants eating healthy, being physically active, drinking water, sleeping the right amount each night, and restricting junk food. Along with those tasks, participants eat breakfast as well as vegetables, fruits and fish (or a substitute). Heading into this, the third public challenge, Labarre says things have run smoothly in the past. Plenty of positive feedback was heard last year. Some thought the best part of the challenge was the bonus activities Ð like the Shopping Challenge. Teams had to take a shopping quiz to the grocery store and answer questions by comparing nutritional information and looking over difference sections. Another favourite aspect of the challenge was simply hearing how others were doing. "Walking every day with my husband" was a favourite for one competitor. Though the challenge was only on for six weeks, many competitors said it wasn't a challenge at the end Ð it had become their lifestyle. Healthy changes When asked if people were planning on continuing with their healthy changes, the general population replied yes. Though it was a team competition, many of the competitors found themselves competing within their own teams. Many who participated in the challenge enjoyed positive results. A number people commented they had lost weight and were feeling better. "Our team lost 31 pounds and my jacket closes up to the bottom. Woo hoo!" read one comment left last year. Another comment reaching the in motion committee was that people were sleeping better and had more energy. The Health Challenge gets under way in one week. To register your team, contact Fran Labarre at 687-1355. A team for the Health Challenge can consist of four to 10 players. Points are collected each week and combined for a team total. The totals are then taken to see how the team compares to the rest. Before a team can register, they must create their team and come up with a team name. Last year, as the challenge followed the Olympics, teams were required to come up with a country name. This year, the table is open for ideas. The Health Challenge this year will also include bonus activities like BINGO, the Shopping Challenge and the trivia night.
