Hay River crowned $100,000 national winner in ParticipACTION challenge

Hay River is the national winner of the 2024 ParticipACTION Community Challenge — and the event's coveted $100,000 prize.

The annual challenge, which is in its fifth year, runs through the month of June. It is designed to encourage physical activity across the country, with participants logging their exercises into the official ParticipACTION app, and every minute of activity contributes to the total for their community.

Hay River, which is home just over 3,500 people, was the regional winner for the NWT in 2023, and got off to a strong start in the national standings this year.

When activity totals were finally tallied by challenge organizers, the community was named the winner for the entire country, and will now receive $100,000 to invest into its local recreation programming. 

It is the first time a community in any of the three territories has won the national title. 

“On behalf of the council of the Town of Hay River, I would like to highlight the tremendous impact the ParticipACTION Community Challenge has had on our community this year," said Mayor Kandis Jameson. "With over 40 organizations tracking events, hundreds of participants, and thousands of hours of activity, a significant portion of the community came together with a common fitness goal that they knocked out of the park.

"Once again, Hay River has demonstrated its ability to punch above its weight as a hub of recreation. I thank ParticipACTION, all participants, and especially the Town of Hay River’s recreation department, who demonstrated outstanding leadership through their encouragement, support, and outreach to the community," Jameson added.

This year, more than 591,000 people and 1,250 communities across Canada participated in the challenge. The greatly varying populations of the communities involved in the ParticipACTION Community Challenge are factored into the scoring, so smaller communities are not at a disadvantage.

“The recreation department is so proud of our community for their involvement and engagement in this challenge,” said Hay River’s recreation programming supervisor Courtney Fraser. “Hay River demonstrated their unstoppable spirit once again, with community members, sports groups and community groups all rallying together to register participants and track their activities. 

“We thank everyone who participated in the challenge alongside our department of recreation staff and we look forward to continuing to offer quality recreation programming.”