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The 'Footsteps to Fitness' program, now in it's fourth year has an exciting new look. The program has received funding from the Victorian Governments 'Go For Your Life' Initiative 'Walk Together Grants'. Through the support of the Central Highlands Primary Care Partnership and member agencies, the program will be opened up to all residents in the Central Highlands Region. Footsteps will provide opportunities for Ballarat residents to join different walking groups, inclusive of all ages and abilities. Alternatively, as part of this program, residents can also walk alone, with a friend or exercise their dog.
As an option, participants can wear pedometers to track the number of steps completed each day. The aim is to work up to 10,000 steps every day. Pedometers can be purchased or used on loan through the Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation. The loan packs include information on the program and instructions for using the pedometer. Each month, participants email or phone in their results. These results are used to track how far people are walking 'virtually' around the globe. Currently, the Footsteps team are 'virtually' walking around Canada, which is expected to take around 4-5 months. The team have already conquered Australia, North and South Islands of New Zealand, and North and South America.
Primary School students in the Central Highlands region are being put to the test by participating in the 'Ballarat to Beijing' challenge. Primary Schools must aim for the goal of 'virtually' walking the distance from Ballarat to Beijing before the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games (08/08/08). Starting in April, primary schools will begin supervised walking, and encouraging students to walk outside school hours with parents or friends. Students will tally their results and progress updates will be sent out each month to all competing schools.
We are developing a Footsteps website to list all available groups, log in your steps and track your progress. A newsletter subscription and enquiries page are included at http://footsteps.ballarat.vic.au
The program is ongoing, so residents can join any group or challenge at any time. For more information please contact Barbara Hughes on (03) 5339 4649.
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