To us sport and being active is a part of life, things would be dull without it. This past weekend my lil cousin played for his elite hockey team. They are like a bunch of mini NHL’s flying around out there, it’s incredible to watch! Even my gramps, that has played coached and watched hockey his entire life is amazed at how well they play at 9 years old.

It was definitely exciting hockey and when someone we’re related to plays we all get pretty amped up! (Who am I kidding; we don’t have to be related to them at all lol) Once we’re amped up, we all start griping over whose sport is better or tougher. Or if being great at one sport is better than being good at a lot.

It’s never good enough to talk about it, we always have to say “prove it”, followed by an inevitable “let’s race” or “best 2 out of 3”. This time somehow the deciding game came down to tennis..I’m not sure how, being that none of us play tennis normally..(maybe that’s why).

The first day the boys battled it out for a couple hours at the public outdoor courts. Then on day 2 (yes, there is a day 2, it’s ok you can call us ridiculous if you want) we all packed up and went to the courts for a final show down.

We brought a football and a soccer ball and spent the whole afternoon at the park all together. It sounds sappy, but it was awesome. At the end of the day I’m not even sure who was crowned the champ..Each person would probably tell you it was them. Haha

The moral of my little story is that it’s good to get out and run around, play, and be active no matter how old you are. It doesn’t really matter what you’re motivation is. For us it was the competitive spirit, which can be a really amazing force.

Look at the World Cup, people from all over the world are coming together.  A few of them come to actually compete as world class athletes. Most come to cheer and be entertained by the competition both in person and all around the globe.

Check out some of the world cup soccer, maybe it will be your latest inspiration!

Find what motivates you to be active, and remember your way more likely to be active when you’re having fun!

Let me know what gets and keeps you active in the comments below!

Kenji

This will be quick. Today our S.Y.N.C with GenerationAction.ca youth (ages 13-19) contest officially kicks off!

We have 10 days of trivia for you, with a daily prize draw for your correct answer to the questions. We will be posting one trivia question a day, on one of our social media outlets. It’s up to you to find it, and then submit your correct answer to get your name into the draw for each day’s great active prize! (trust me they are good! I wish I could enter, for real!)

I will tell you where to check, we don’t want to make it too hard for you! Watch the blog (you are here, www.generationaction.ca). Watch our Facebook group Generation Action by Saskatchewan in motion, and peep our tweets on Twitter!

You can submit your daily answer by commenting on the blog, posting on Facebook, tweeting the correct answer to @Kenji22, emailing kenji@saskinmotion.ca or txting 306-550-9646! So many ways, it’s almost too easy.  

It doesn’t stop there either. Do you have something to say about physical activity, the physical inactivity crisis, or something connected to these topics? Write a blog and submit it to kenji@saskinmotion.ca. You could be selected as a guest blogger on GenerationAction.ca, this is your chance to be heard! Speak up and Act Out now.

You can submit as many complete blog posts relating to the specific topics as you want. Each complete post gets you another entry into the Grand Prize Draw for a $350.oo SportChek voucher! (Nice eh!) Plus if you are selected as the guest blogger not only will your winning post be featured there is an additional prize in it for you! (You can’t go wrong with that)

As I mentioned a second a go, even after all that opportunity to win there is a Grand Prize Draw! (I know right! more winning!) Each day you submit a correct trivia answer you get one entry into the big draw! That makes 10 chances to enter! Plus each complete blog post you submit relating to the required topic earns you that many more chances to win! Wow.

Like I said before the prizes are great, so for the next 10 days (until March 15, 2010) keep your eyes on our socail media, submit, and win!

Go!

You can check out the full contest rules at saskatchewan in motion’s website.

Good luck everyone.

Check out Generation Action by Saskatchewan in motion’s Facebook group for today’s Trivia!

Kenji

Severn Cullis-Suzuki is known throughout the world for her work in the environmental movement. Why then would Saskatchewan in motion invite her to be the guest speaker at out provincial gathering?

There are a few different reasons we choose to team up with Severn. At Sask in motion we are trying to build a provincial movement. We’re trying to promote lifestyle change. An epic goal like that requires leadership on many levels!

Laying the Groundwork

 Severn knows what it means to take a leadership role. She’s been doing environmental and social justice work since kindergarten. By the time she was in grade 5 Severn and a couple friends formed ECO (the Environmental Children’s Organization). Together they raised enough money to go to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. At just 12 years old Severn took the stage at a plenary session to deliver ECO’s message. During Severn’s address the room of adults was silenced by young girls powerful words of caution.

Severn was awarded the UN environmental Program’s 500 Award the following year. Ever since, Severn has spoken around the world about social and ecological issues, climate change and intergenerational injustice.

Wait!..don’t be intimidated! Severn may take a leadership role on an international scale, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Severn has said that global change starts at the community level.

You Can Too

That philosophy is a huge part of how Sask in motion operates. We try to provide individuals with skills, knowledge, tools, resources, and connections so they can take action and contribute to a making changes that affect our physical activity!

You can take on a leadership role for yourself, and for your family and friends. With every action, this lays a foundation for more efforts in schools, communities, our country and even prhaps on an international scale. You can decide what your actions and goals will be based on what you are comfortable with. The most important thing to remember is that anyone is cable of identifying something they believe in and advocating for that cause on whatever level.

So to recap-> to raise awareness, build a movement and ultimately influence behavior change. We need people to be leaders!

Linkage

One of the other important reasons we wanted to work with Severn is because of the connection between the environment and physical activity.

The connection is there on so many levels, that it only makes sense to team up. At Sask in motion we aim to increase physical activity levels for improved health, social, enviornmental and economic benefits. Severn advocates for the health of the environment which ultimately affects the health of people.

Active Transportation

So many of the ways we can help ourselves go hand in hand with the ways we can decrease or impact out the environment. Active transportation is one of the most obvious examples of this. We provide the power rather than burning fossil fuels, and the reward is green living and acquiring recommended daily physical activity!

Connections Run Deep

By choosing to engage in a more physically active lifestyle people often discover or rediscover nature. By being outside and experiencing the natural world you may develop a deeper concern for conservation and sustainability.

The Greater Good

In the long run choosing to be both physically active and environmentally conscious are (in my opinion) “good” things to do. Being physically active has health, social, economic and environmental benefits. Plus, the environment, in simple terms supports our existence. So it makes sense to make sure we act in a sustainable manner…Don’t ya think?

So that’s the short version of why Saskatchewan in motion and Severn Cullis-Suzuki teaming up make sense.

The Event!

If you are interested in being a part of our Inspiring Action-Jump in 2010! event you can find details at saskatchewaninmotion.ca

The event is going out live through the LIVE Satellite Network and over the Internet. Which means we’re going interactive here people!

As Severn speaks tomorrow I’ll be plugged into the social media world connecting with the world outside the Queensbury in Regina and bringing it back to the event. Meaning - even if you’re not physically at the event you can tune in, and/or follow the discussion, send in your questions for Severn and see what people around the province (or the world) are feeling about the event.

Where To Connect:

Facebook- Event Page: Inspiring Action-Jump in 2010! (confirm your attending the event to comment)

Twitter- Direct message @Kenji22 or use the hash tag #jumpin

E-mail kenji@saskinmotion.ca

Txt- 306-550-9646

(Remember to keep it clean)

If you won’t be able to participate tomorrow post your questions below, I’ll check here too!

This is an opportunity to be heard.. will you take it?

Kenji

Don’t ask me to explain the names of the tricks or the scoring system. All I know is when they fly over that lip and force their bodies to do those crazy rotations it’s amazing!

What’s not that amazing, because it was a bit of a given, is that Shaun White of the US won his second straight gold medal. The amplitude and ease of his runs..those were amazing! The dude didn’t even have to do his final run to win, but threw it down anyway and topped his score!

As you can imagine I don’t know the guy; but I get the feeling that part of the reason his runs are so sick is because he has so much fun!

I’m positive to be on his level you’d have to put in some serious work, but boarding for anyone is such a total body workout. The good thing is you may not even notice it cuz you’re having too much fun..until the next day anyway. Then you might encounter some sore muscles, maybe even some bruises depending how often and how bad you whipped haha.  What’s a bruise compared to gliding down a mountain or flying along the lip of a pipe?!

Probably the coolest thing about White’s win, is how stoked he was to win. The Olympic organizers pretty much could have mailed him the gold medal before the games even started. Still when he won he couldn’t believe it. There was fist pumping like nobody’s business at the end of his second/celebratory run. It’s just inspiring to see a guy who has won gold before, and is consistently number one get that amped about a victory. It’s obviously because he loves what he does.

The way I see it he loves getting outside and moving. He just gets a little (by a little I mean a lot) more height and rotation than most when he does.

Have you ever hit the half pipe to see if you’re the next Shaun White?

Kenji

I was stuck on blog inspiration for this week – I had a couple of thoughts but nothing I was feeling desperate to share with the world.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Moment!

Then I checked my twitter (have I mentioned how much I love twitter.. I love it! [follow me @Kenji22] haha). There was a message from our communications guru Kim (follow her @Herperki) with a link to a great blog written about exactly what I was struggling with, so helpful! Check it out if you’re stuck -13 Ideas To Inspire Your Blog Content

This One’s For You

A second glance at my direct messages revealed a tweet for my “awesome friend Tim” with another idea about how he stays active playing league rec hockey. So this one’s for you Timma!

My boy Tim is right; the best inspiration for being active is fun! He doesn’t play on his team because they are elite or win every game..(sorry man, you guys are awesome tho!) It’s because a bunch of buds get to play the game they love. They get their competitive spirit going, and take pride in their team. Let’s be honest, the chill time after the game doesn’t hurt either. But if it wasn’t for the hockey, that bunch of guys wouldn’t hang out nearly as often. (Smart sounding summary of my point—activity is a social catalyst)

The Science—or Not

My original plan was to get into the scientific stuff about the chemicals your body produces when your active but; all the articles are really long and would require research into the meaning of strange multi-syllable words. Perhaps a subject for another time, I’m going to stick with the fun!

Life Experience

In grade 9 one of my favorite teachers ever got me and my friends into rowing. We were never at any kind of competition level, but it was cool. I have a competitive spirit for sure. So I may have gotten intense and tried to make us into world champs. Much to my dismay it never happened. Lol. We did spend a lot of time at the marina and gained enough skill to move from an 8 boat to a 4 (the more people the less balanced you have to be on your own). For a while, we took it pretty serious and did dry land training too. We all knew we would never be Canada’s Olympic team or anything, but it motivated us to be active, even off the water.  Plus, learning to row on Wascana lake in Regina pre “big dig” gave my friends and I some now hilarious oars covered in seaweed stories for our crew.

No Rules

You don’t need a league to regularly have a mostly friendly competitive game, family drive way b-ball games can get nasty depending on who’s playing.  Hit the school yard for b-ball, or the ball diamond, or the park for football, soccer or cricket, or fly a kite. Whatever! They’re all a good time and good for ya too!

One With the Fun

Sometimes being around a bunch of people isn’t my idea of fun either. So I hit the bike path. Either on my bike or my long board, on which I am a hot mess! Ok… just a mess, but it’s a blast anyway. Plus, I get an ab workout from laughing at myself.

Any good stories out there..share em’ in the comments below!

Keniji

Like most issues that need attention, climate change is daunting because of its scope. There are so many causes and effects on our planet and the atmosphere that it often feels overwhelming. A lot of the time, if we feel overwhelmed about something we choose to ignore or avoid it. It’s kind of like “this issue is so huge, what am I, one person supposed to do? Someone else will take care of it.”

The simple truth is, if you live on this planet you impact it. The science says it all. Here are a few things I learned at the David Suzuki Foundation website.

Pollutants we pump into our atmosphere are changing its composition and preventing heat from escaping the earth’s surface. Today the atmosphere has 32% more carbon dioxide than it did at the start of the industrial era. The result is climate change.

Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas is a huge cause of the problem. If you choose to use Active Transportation you decrease your Carbon Footprint.

The global impacts a far reaching; warmer earth temps don’t just mean warmer winters. It means extreme heat, flooding, drought, extreme summer heat that leads to violent storms and other extreme weather.

Kinda scary I know, but a fact’s a fact. We can still do the right things and make the changes needed to reverse the negative impacts “civilization” has had on the earth.

• We can choose Active Transportation, Public Transit, and encourage Urban Planning that increases Walkability.
• We can measure, reduce and offset what we contribute to climate change. Measure your carbon footprint, reduce your waste by recycling and being energy efficient and offset by purchasing Carbon Offsets.
• We can Speak Out and Demand Change for the better by participating in the discussion and making your opinion count. This December leaders from all across the globe will meet at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen Denmark with the goal of creating a new global protocol to address climate change.

 I came across another cool site that simply explains a sustainable goal to keep us all in a “climate safe zone” of sorts. The site is 350.org. This site made something that can be really confusing simple and seem achievable! On October 24 you can join people all over the world to take a stand for a safe climate future.

Ultimately what I realized through all my searching is that no issue stands alone. Physical inactivity has its way of contributing to the global climate crisis. If we spend all of our time in front of screens we are constantly requiring energy. If we never use our ability to move ourselves without a car we never reduce the amount of fossil fuels we burn. If we never go outside and explore we never turn off all the lights and reduce the energy we use to power our homes. Being physically active is one way you can make a direct impact on the way you affect the planet!

We are the future. We are powerful, stay informed, stay vocal and stay active. So how do you see the link between physical activity and climate change? Please share in the comments below.