TTAPP initiative officially launched

Posted Nov 3, 2011 By Scott Pettigrew

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EMC Lifestyles - Tweed - The Tweed Trail Active People Program (TTAPP) was officially launched Thursday, October 27, at the Tweed Fairgrounds on a very chilly morning. TTAPP is a joint-initiative between Gateway Community Health Centre (GCHC), the municipality of Tweed, and the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance (EOTA). On hand for the event were representatives from each of the partnership organizations, the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport, and members of Gateway's pole walking groups.

"All of the partnering groups have been very helpful and after two huge storms that came through Tweed in the spring that knocked down trees and spread debris all over the place, the EOTA as well as the municipality did a great job cleaning up the trails," said Doug Stevenson, health promoter for GCHC. "Injury prevention is one of our main goals and when the trails are in good shape it makes all the difference. By utilizing the trails it gets people off of busy streets and allows walkers to use more even ground on a safer trail."

Funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport's Healthy Communities Fund, TTAPP is a two-year, $24,991.90 project with two primary goals: getting people physically active and increasing injury prevention. To attain these goals, the TTAPP partnership has implemented loops for exercise purposes, such as walking, pole walking, running, and cycling, and offered multiple pole walking groups, facilitated by Gateway CHC. The designated activity loops will feature multiple rest areas and periodic signs designating the loop distances.

The Healthy Communities Fund provides support to community partnerships to plan and begin to integrate programs that improve the health of Ontarians. Some of its main goals are to create a structured, healthy community and generate policies and programs that make it easier for Canadians to live a healthy lifestyle. TTAPP aims to satisfy these criteria and has been a true partnership thus far, with the municipality and EOTA working to ready trails and Gateway offering two pole walking programs.

Pole walking is a user-friendly sport that combines the aerobic and strength building benefits of cross-country skiing with the convenience of walking. An amazing upper body and core strengthening workout results from adding the poles and individuals can burn twice as many calories and engage as much as 90 per cent of the body's muscles while improving posture, balance and stability, and increasing injury prevention.

"Our main group of pole walkers is the Tuesday-Thursday group which has 30 people signed up. We have a number of success stories already and we have done three private demonstrations, this means other groups are interested and want to be trained. We are taking the distances we walk and mapping a walk across Canada and we have already (theoretically) walked from St. John's, Newfoundland (we have walked across water) and we are now about one hour east of Quebec City, which is 1,856.6 kilometres or 2.6 million steps in just three months which is one-third of our goal of walking of 6.9 million steps. The people in this group are very inspiring, we have an individual who had to walk with a cane when they started and no longer needs the cane and multiple individuals who have shared with me that pole walking has represented a rehabilitation they have gone through because of a lower body injury whether it is hips or knees or ankles, many individuals push to new goals."

Doug also announced there will be maps placed all around the trails that feature the loops that they have designated and had an example of the signs at the launch.

Gateway is currently offering groups on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9 to 10 and on Wednesdays at noon. Groups meet at the parking lot by the Tweed pool and utilize the nearby exercise loops. While TTAPP is targeting individuals age 55 and over, the partnership welcomes the entire community to participate and benefit from this initiative, regardless of age. Poling is easy to learn and people of all ages and fitness levels will benefit from this fun and social form of exercise.

Deputy-reeve Bryan Treanor was present at the launch and said, "This whole area where people are now standing was a snow dump four years ago and we need to thank the people who had the vision to make the changes we have seen here with the pool, what will be basketball court, volleyball and we will be adding a trailer park to facilitate programs like the Elvis Festival, we also have the soccer pitch and a new bicycle trail. If people want to use the track in the winter for walking come and see the staff at the municipal office and we will clear the track."

A number of the pole walkers asked for a portable toilet and Bryan Treanor said he would make the new toilets his number one priority.

Land O' Lakes Tourism Association Manager Rachel Hardesty (she also sits on the board of the EOTA) was also at the launch.

"One of the things we are doing at the LOLTA is promoting all of our trails for 2012 and I think it important for us to be here today and show our support for these very healthy activities."

Additionally, if you have a group interested in learning how to pole walk, Gateway Health Promoter Doug Stevenson is a trained pole walking instructor and would be happy to offer your group a private session, introducing you to this new exercise that is taking off in Tweed.

For more information on TTAPP or pole walking, please contact Doug Stevenson at Gateway Community Health Centre: 613-478-1211 ext. 230.




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