Collingwood is among the top ten most active communities in Ontario, according to the most recent ranking in the ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge.
The national physical activity initiative comes with a $100,000 prize, which could land in the Collingwood treasury if the town proves to be the most active in the nation.
The contest runs during the month of June, and requires people to add their activity to the ParticipACTION app or website and add it to their community tally. The local YMCA has been encouraging residents to participate and used their own ParticipACTION funding to offer free day passes on Saturdays for the month of June.
Currently the Ontario rankings show North Grenville is in the lead followed by Toronto, Sarnia, Ottawa, Wawa, Smooth Rock Falls, Merrickville-Wolford, and Collingwood in order.
Anyone can participate by using the ParticiPACTION app as an activity tracker, or manually entering your activity into the Community Better Challenge. All physical activity must be logged by June 30 to count for the contest.
The top 50 finalist communities from across Canada will be invited to submit an application explaining why they deserve to be Canada's Most Active Community. Finalists are chosen by three factors: total minutes tracked, number of individuals and family members participating, and number of organizations participating. The winner is decided based on a combined score of minutes, participation, and the finalist submission.
The prize money is given to the winning municipality to be used for physical activity opportunities in the community, including new playgrounds or trails, new or existing programs serving inactive or underserviced groups, and buying equipment and supplies for physical activity programs.
There are also secondary prizes between $7,500 and $15,000 for one community in each of the remaining 12 provinces and territories after the winner is chosen.
For more, visit the ParticipACTION website here.