Unique running program keeping girls active

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This article was published 16/12/2011 (5214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Organizers of a new, girls-only fitness program in Oak Bluff are hoping it will encourage teens to be more active.

So GO (Girls Only) Active hit the ground running — literally — this past September. It is being offered by the Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District, which received funding for the program from Coca-Cola Canada.

The program is open to Grade 5 to 8 students at Oak Bluff Community School. A total of are currently 12 girls enrolled in it.

Oak Bluff students Jacyln Keddie, 10, and Mackenzie Eisbrenner, 11, say So GO has been a breath of fresh air.

The youngsters say the girls-only program offers a more comfortable environment than mixed phys-ed classes.

“The boys in our gym class are wild and they like to take charge,” Eisbrenner said.

“They always think that they are the best and it can keep us girls from partaking in gym class,” Keddie added.

MHRD recreation director Susanne Moore said it’s not uncommon for girls to avoid participating in physical activities because of the presence of young males.

Moore said the hope is that So GO will make exercising more fun for teens.

“This is a girls running program that tries to instil a love of running as a means of maintaining fitness,” she explained. “It is also a venue for these young women to be able to talk about women’s health issues.”

So GO instructor Avery Gervais, 18, said that she remembers not wanting to participate in school sports because of the attitudes of the boys in her phys-ed class.

“I can remember being nervous trying new things in class when I knew the boys were probably going to be better than me at them,” said Gervais, who lives in Sanford. “I kind of wish I had a program like this when I was their age.”

Gervais said she thinks the program will benefit girls both now and in the future.

“The girls benefit so much from this program because they get to be themselves,” she said. “Seeing them grow, have fun and excel without being looked at by boys really makes them want to stay active.”

Participant Gabby Sellsted, 10, said one of the aspects of the program she enjoys most is that it provides her an opportunity to talk about subjects she might not feel comfortable addressing with her parents.

“We get to learn about girl things like menstrual cycles,” she said with an embarrassed giggle.

Moore added that the program has been such a success, the MHRD is planning to continue it indefinitely. It will break for the holidays later this month and resume early next year.

For more information about other MHRD programs contact the office at 885-2444.

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