BC Seniors Games Encourages Participation in Sport

The BC Seniors Games Society launched a promotional program entitled "For the Health of It", which took place from 2004-2007, to increase participation in the Games, particularly by seniors aged 55 and older living in urban areas.

Through 16 community newspapers with a provincial readership of 250,000 people, the awareness campaign reinforced the health benefits of activities like the BC Seniors Games. The program, which received $25,000 from the BC Sport Participation Program, also involved partnerships between the BC Seniors Games Society and 17 provincial sport organizations to improve technical services and resources for the Games and increase participation of senior athletes.

The "For the Health of It" promotion ran in newspapers in the following communities: Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Sooke, Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria and West Vancouver.

The BC Sport Participation Program aims to increase sport participation in community and school-based sports. From 2004-2007 the program gave more than $2 million to 22 sport organizations running programs in 109 communities for close to 85,000 participants and more than 4,600 coaches. The program is funded by the Province of British Columbia and Sport Canada.