Iqaluit leading Nunavut communities in 2023 ParticipACTION Community Challenge

National winner will receive $100,000 prize to support local physical activity and sport initiatives, and regional winners stand to win up to $15,000

By Tom Taylor Northern News Services

This year’s ParticipACTION Community Challenge is in its final stages, and Iqaluit is in the lead among communities in Nunavut.

The challenge, which is intended to encourage physical activity, runs from June 1 to 30, and is open to communities across Canada. Participants log their exercises into the official ParticipACTION app, and every minute of activity gets added to the total for their community.

“Its truly an honour to see our community being a leader in these types of events,” said Victoria Coman, an intern with City of Iqaluit Recreation. “I’m proud to see how many people want to be involved in these kinds of challenges.”

The starkly varying populations of the communities involved in the challenge are factored into the scoring, so small communities are not at a disadvantage in the race for their regional title, or the national title.

The leaders at the end of the challenge are not automatically the winners. When the challenge concludes, ParticipACTION will narrow participating communities down to a list of 50 finalists. Those finalists will be eligible to win their territorial or provincial titles. The National winner be selected from the territorial and provincial winners.

The challenge is not just for bragging rights.

The national winner will receive $100,000 to support local physical activity and sport initiatives, while the finalist from the remaining 12 territories and provinces will receive $7,500 to $15,000 for the same purpose.

Nationally, participants have logged well over 100 million minutes of activity. Toronto is in first place overall. It is followed by Salisbury, New Brunswick, and Red Deer, Alberta – a small community and small city respectively.

In Nunavut, participants have logged nearly a million minutes of activity. Baker Lake is currently one spot behind Iqaluit, with Grise Fiord, Cambridge Bay and Sanikiliuaq rounding out the top five.

A prize of any size would be a boon for the City of Iqaluit, according to Coman.

“The city of Iqaluit would benefit greatly from receiving the prize,” she said, pointing to children’s competitions and winter events like Toonik Tyme Festival as areas where the money could be spent. “Additionally

The exterior of the Iqaluit Aquatic Centre. Swimming is one of many ways people can participate in the 2023 ParticipACTION Community Challenge, which will award a $100,000 prize to one community in Canada. Photo courtesy of City of Iqaluit Recreation we can replace the outdated gym equipment with new ones.”

There are many ways to stay active in Iqaluit, year-round.

Coman recommends school speedskating, hockey, basketball, soccer, and volleyball programs for youth, and the annual Terry Fox Run and summer baseball tournament for adults.

“There is definitely a good amount of programs and facilities for people to stay active in general,” she said.

“The Aquatic Center is a fantastic recreational place for people of all ages to spend time at. I enjoy using the fitness center here at the Aquatic Center, and the pool.”