WELCOME!

It is with great anticipation that Calgary Board of Education brings the Participation Nation program to its elementary schools.  Participation Nation is a program that is intended to compliment the physical education / health programs that schools are already offering.   With growing concerns over the decreasing amount of time that today’s youth is spending being active, Participation Nation is a perfect vehicle to engage the natural energy of students and channel it into an experience that is fun, inclusive, non-competitive and contributes to the achievement of a healthy lifestyle.  The welcoming environment that is created coupled with the exciting rewards system that the program offers is sure to have your students more active and your school environment benefiting from the effects! 

WHAT IS PARTICIPATION NATION?

Participation Nation is an exciting new extracurricular program that targets elementary students in an effort to encourage and support participation in physical activities and healthy behaviours.   One of the main objectives is to create a welcoming environment where the focus is on increasing student participation, not team selection or winning.  The non-competitive nature of the sporting events is intended to capture the interest of all students without fear of losing or failure.  There is also a component of the program that encourages fairplay, leadership, community participation and healthy living.

The program has an exciting rewards system in which all participating students receive a souvenir pin or sticker depicting the activities in which they participate.  Participants collect these souvenirs as they complete activities throughout the school year, or as they are acknowledged for fairplay, leadership, community sports or healthy choices. 

Participation Nation is fun, easy and simple for schools.  Activities offered by a school may already be part of a well established intramural or club program.  New activities may be offered to students at lunch or before and after school depending on the level of school availability, community support, and interest of students. 

HISTORY

The Participation Nation program was created in 2003 by the Newfoundland and Labrador School Sports Association (SSNL).  With obesity and inactivity rates rising in Canada at an alarming pace over the last 20 years, a program that catered to students who did not regularly participate in physical activities was greatly needed. Participation Nation achieves these goals by providing a strictly non-competitive activity program that helps to support students in a fun and active environment.  It was first administered in the 2004/2005 school year amongst the student body in Newfoundland and Labrador from grades 6-9 and was implemented by almost half of the eligible schools in the province, attracting more than 7,200 students to be more active.

With more schools accepting the program every year, students who previously did not show an interest in being active quickly realized that they had a supportive environment where they could shine and where no importance is placed on winning.

By the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year approximately 30,000 students had become active through Participation Nation.  They have now expanded the program to include grade 4 and 5 students.  The exceptional growth of the Participation Nation program in SSNL demonstrates the need and desire for students to have opportunities to be active in a fun, inclusive and non-competitive environment.

The Calgary Board of Education became aware of the Participation Nation program in 2006 at a National conference.  The concept of implementing a program that removes the emphasis on competition and encourages students to lead a more active lifestyle was embraced and presented to the Calgary Board of Education for approval.  They agreed to pilot the project, beginning in Area IV in 2007-2008, for three years.  In its inaugural year more than 1900 students participated, receiving over 3300 pins.

After the initial success of the pilot with grade 4-6 students in Area IV schools in 2007/2008 the Participation Nation program expanded in 2008-2009 to be available to all elementary schools within the Calgary Board of Education.  The development of the program to include Division I students has been very well received by schools and students alike.  The program continues to grow with new schools across the city signing up and sending in Reward Requests on a regular basis.