ParticipACTION Community Challenge

We're excited to announce that Airdrie is joining the ParticipACTION Community Challenge this June - a national initiative encouraging Canadians to get active while competing for the title of Canada's Most Active Community and $100,000 in prize money to support local sport and physical activity programs and initiatives. 

Throughout June, communities across Canada will log physical activities through hosting events and participating in local programs and events. Individual participants will take the pledge to be active by registering with ParticipACTION to contribute to Airdrie's overall activity score. The community with the highest activity score will win the title of Canada's Most Active Community and funding to enhance local physical activity opportunities. You can learn more about the ParticipACTION Community Challenge at a national level at participaction.com/programs/community-challenge. 

Airdrie-based, not-for-profit organizations promoting physical activity through programs and/or events are invited to participate in our community's call to be more active this June. 

Step one: register your organization with ParticipACTION as participating in this year's Community Challenge. Then register your physical activity or sport program(s), initiative(s) and/or events taking place in June.

Register with ParticipACTION

Step two: register your not-for-profit organization with the City of Airdrie by emailing active.living@airdrie.ca to confirm your participation in the Community Challenge to be eligible for grant funding if Airdrie is named Canada's Most Active Community. 

Step three: beginning June 1, track participation in your programs, initiatives and/or events and log it through the ParticipACTION Community Challenge portal by June 30. We'll share links and more information with you in the coming weeks.

Step four: promote your participation in Airdrie's ParticipACTION Community Challenge through a combination of City-provided materials and your own call for residents to participate. These materials will be shared with you closer to the Community Challenge kick off.

If Airdrie is named Canada's Most Active Community and wins the $100,000 grand prize, the City will distribute 80 per cent of the funds to eligible not-for-profit organizations through grants. Prize fund grants will be distributed equally amongst eligible not-for-profit organizations and the dollar value of the grant will be determined by the number of participating eligible not-for-profit organizations.

To be eligible for the grant, organizations must be classified as a not-for-profit, be Airdrie-based and be supporting physical activity through programs and events. 

• Sport organizations
• Physical activity or fitness organizations
• Community groups

*The remaining 20 per cent of prize funds will be held by the City of Airdrie to fund future physical activity initiatives, such as the following year's participation in the Community Challenge.

By joining the challenge, your organization can:

• Help Airdrie compete for $100,000 in funding to support local sport and physical activity initiatives.
• Become eligible for grant funding if Airdrie wins - funds can be used for equipment, program development, facility improvements, or initiatives serving underrepresented groups. 
• Showcase your programs and attract new participants while supporting a community-wide effort to make Airdrie Canada's Most Active Community.
• Contribute to the vision of the Let's Get Moving (PDF) national framework of increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary living in Canada. 

Not-for-profit organizations registering with the City to participate in the ParticipACTION Community Challenge are also invited to a kick-off celebration at Genesis Place on May 31, where they can host a booth to promote their physical activity programs and initiatives. 

Organizations must have a strong understanding of the ParticipACTION Community Challenge and how individuals can contribute to Airdrie's overall activity score. Please reach out to active.living@airdrie.ca to register your booth for the kick-off celebration. Deadline for kick-off event registration is May 25, 2026. 

ParticipACTION's latest report on adult activity in Canada, titled, Moving Beyond Stagnation: Elevating Physical Activity in Canada (2025), and on child/youth activity, titled Rallying for Resilience (2024), highlight:

• Only 46 per cent of adults meet recommendations of 150-minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week
• Only 39 per cent of children and youth meet the recommendation of 60-minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. 
• On average, only 48 per cent of key settings like schools, workplaces or community organizations have a formal plan for physical activity, sport, recreation or active transportation and are aware of or use physical activity guidelines.
• Only 22 per cent of of communities of at least 1,000 people have a formal strategy for physical activity and sport.

The reports provide recommendations for all levels of government, community and individuals on how we can collectively contribute to prioritizing and elevating activity levels in Canada. 

The Community Challenge helps build connections between government, community organizations and individuals to strengthen networks supporting and promoting physical activity in aim of people in Canada moving more!

 Learn more about ParticipACTION