Spinning wheels to win

St. James-Assiniboia

Sometimes boosting the morale of an entire school division is as easy as jumping on a bike and pedalling to your heart’s content.

The fifth annual St. James-Assiniboia School Division staff ‘wheel’ challenge took place from May 20 to June 10 bringing in approximately 150 staff members in the division. Participants hailed from every type of position, from janitorial to teaching staff. Participants are welcome to ‘roll’ in any way they can, whether that be cycling, rollerskating, or scooting.

The challenge pits different schools against each other, creating a fun yet competitive atmosphere — with the winning school taking home a $500 shopping spree at White Pine Bicycle Company (2059 Portage Ave.), which is then awarded to one deserving student each year.

This year, Linwood School took the top spot on the roster with the highest number of kilometres accumulated amongst school faculty — contributing 4,925.27 kilometres of the 19,905.72 division-wide.

This year, the student was Nadiya Husnoo, who used the spree to buy a brand-new bicycle.

Linwood School’s Caslyn Bonnefoy was the top rider overall, reaching an “astonishing” 1,540.56 kilometres, according to a release. Her impact was felt across the division, but especially amongst her colleagues at the school.

Physical education teacher and Linwood team leader Garrett Young said he enjoys the challenge not only due to its timing — as the last month of school presents its own unique challenges to students and teachers alike — but for the change to get outside and active, as well as the opportunity to boost the physical and mental health of everyone involved.

“We’re looking to promote physical activity, we’re looking to promote a greater sense of our own community — within Winnipeg and within the cycling community — and we’re looking to boost staff morale, especially at the end of the year when we have gone through, usually, a challenging spring,” Young said. “It’s just a really accessible, easy idea for people to discover a bit more about their community, have a no-pressure opportunity to be active, and also the motivation to potentially do some good and provide a student and a family with a bike.”

Pedalling can also be done on a stationary bike — which Linwood used to their advantage on the final night of the challenge, when Bonnefoy gathered a group of 17 staff to take part in a special spin class at Wheelhouse Cycle Club for a final hurrah.

Young described it as “the cherry on top,” and an opportunity to just “spin and bike and sweat and laugh” as a group, especially after what is usually a solitary challenge people complete on their own time.

Whether its on his own or among friends, the father of two added that he’s noticed that his own mental health improves during the weeks the challenge takes place.

“Reserving time each day to bike on my own, or making a point of biking my daughters to daycare instead of driving, and just reserving and protecting that time to give myself movement also allowed myself to have a lot of time to reflect and to think and to kind of be with my thoughts,” Young said. “And sometimes you play loud music when you’re biking, and sometimes it’s quiet, and sometimes you just need some time alone. I think cycling or rollerblading or any activity is great for that, but I found that in these three weeks I was really physically active, and I felt like my mental health also was in a better spot than it usually is.”

Young said that Linwood had set a big goal for this year due to many staff members leaving or retiring, which was met. Next year is up in the air, but the challenge is a no-lose scenario — no matter what the final outcome is.

At the same time, students across the division are encouraged to take part in their own bike challenge, which also resulted in a lucky kid — Jack Taylor Glaister — getting a shopping spree at the same establishment. Both sprees were donated by White Pine Bicycle Company.