Indoor walking program off to good start at Maple Grove
Established programs at Digby high school and St. Mary’s Bay Academy getting great participation
In an effort to help people keep moving at a time of year when exercise can be a challenge, Yarmouth Recreation has partnered with Maple Grove Education Centre to offer an indoor walking program at the school two evenings per week.
People are invited to walking sessions on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursdays from 8 to 9:30 p.m. The response has been pretty good, says Frank Grant, director of Yarmouth Recreation.
“It seems like it’s a popular thing,” he said. “People are already talking about what’s going to happen when good weather comes. Maybe we’ve got a little walking club that we’re building out of this.”
Registration is not required, but participants are encouraged to check ahead of time to make sure the program is happening. The Jan. 30 program cancelled because of a school dance, and the program also would be called off on days when the school is closed due to stormy weather.
Grant said adults, anywhere from age 40 and over, have been taking advantage of the program.
Maple Grove is a pretty big school, but walkers who may be unfamiliar with it can get help upon arrival.
“There’s a little map that some of the students at the school did,” Grant said. “(Walkers) just check in with the supervisor and sign in and if there are any areas that are being cleaned or whatever, then the supervisor tells them and gives them a map of where they can walk.”
Some people prefer not to climb stairs, but it’s up to the walker.
A similar program again is being offered at Digby Regional High School (Tuesday and Thursday evenings) and St. Mary’s Bay Academy (Monday and Wednesday evenings). Session times for both locations are 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
“The participation level is great,” said Cindy O’Neil, administrative services manager with the Digby Area Recreation Commission, which offers the program in partnership with DRHS and St. Mary’s
Bay Academy. “We are getting 20-30 (walkers) at each school each night.”
Like his counterparts in Digby, Grant says anything that promotes physical activity is a good thing.
“That’s what Sean Kenney, the principal (at Maple Grove) had said. If there’s anything they can do to help people get more active, then they’ll try to do it.”