On Saturday January 16th, the Chestermere Recreation Centre was all a buzz with the laughter and sounds of young girls are eager to learn and be inspired. Go Girl is an award winning one day program of fun filled activities for girl’s ages 10-16 sponsored by In Motion Network. Go Girl provides an introduction to a variety of popular recreational and sport activities in a supportive environment. It’s a chance to spend a day with the girls. Participants have the opportunity to participate a number of different activities during the day that may lead to a new interest or passion, while developing healthy lifestyle choices.
Goals of this yearly event are:
• Promote and support healthy, active lifestyles for teen girls in the province of Alberta
• Provide communities with the support and resources to host their own Go Girl events
• Encourage recipient communities to establish a local network and programs to ensure ongoing support of teen girls’ physical activity following a Go Girl event.
This year’s Go Girl event had 42 participants, which is slightly lower than last year’s attendance, and had activities such as ringette, yoga, boxing, Zumba and hip hop. Lunch this year was ‘Build Your Own Salad” from the salad bar that also included gluten free choices. The girls also received “swag bags” provided by the Chestermere CIBC to keep their information in and some fun surprises.
During the lunch break, a small resource fair popped up which had representatives from Muslim Women’s Society, Stepping Stones to Mental Health, Chestermere Lake Middle School Leadership Group, Chestermere Walks, City of Chestermere Parks and Recreation, Graham’s Home Décor, Camp Chestermere, St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish, Young Women of Power, Jacki Manning – Hula Hoop instructor, Breast Cancer Information, City of Chestermere Lemonade Day, Chestermere Public Library, Chestermere Rec Centre Programs.
The keynote speaker for the event was the always amazing Alison Springer who specializes in speaking to young girls about finding their voice, how to deal with bullying and being their best self. As Springer spoke to the girls, even the most shy and quiet of the bunch soon found her voice and was out of her seat joining in.
Events like these thrive on the dedicated staff of the Chestermere Rec Centre and the volunteers in our community. Vicki Klinger, Recreation Program Coordinator with the Chestermere Rec Centre commented, “Thank you to the organizing committee: Lori Cheng, Chantal Woolley, Cathy Burness, Jodi Neetz, Jody Nouwen. Volunteers, Paul, Paulette, Karen, Clara and everyone who participated and came out to the event”.
