Commission Funds Pilot Program

Funding for a new two-year pilot project by Recreation Nova Scotia was announced today by Rodney MacDonald, Minister responsible for the Sport and Recreation Commission. The $50,000 project is a childhood development initiative called the High Five program, which focuses on fitness and healthy lifestyles.

High Five promotes safety, well-being, and the healthy development of children. It will be offered in six locations throughout the province with the goal to get children involved and active, and to encourage them to stay active.

An estimated 117,000 Nova Scotia children between the ages of six and 12 participate in various recreation and sport activities everyday.

"High Five is designed so that sport and recreation programming will get children involved and keep them active," said Mr. MacDonald. "The program also helps us toward our goal of encouraging more activity in Nova Scotia's youth."

High Five educates, trains and provides resources for leaders to deliver quality sport and recreation programs to young Nova Scotians. Leaders are encouraged to think about children, their needs, and how they must be treated in recreation and sport environments.

Training in formal policies and procedures for front line staff and volunteers is promoted under the program. Processes for the continuous assessment and improvement of sport and recreation programs are outlined as well. The High Five program also informs parents and care givers of what to look for in terms of healthy child development when selecting quality sport and recreation programs.

"This program makes sense," said John MacLean, retiring president of Recreation Nova Scotia. "It will allow us the time to assess its effectiveness in keeping children and young people involved in recreation and sport programs."

High Five was developed in 1994 by Parks and Recreation Ontario, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, health and well-being of people, their communities and environments. Nova Scotia is the first province, outside of Ontario, to launch High Five. For the next two years Recreation Nova Scotia will develop, test and evaluate a model for province- wide delivery of the program.

The funding announcement was made at the 4th annual Recreation Nova Scotia awards ceremony and luncheon in Baddeck. The theme for the conference was Achieving Results through Recreation.

The Sport and Recreation Commission provides funding to Recreation Nova Scotia to promote the values and benefits of recreation. Funding for High Five is part of the $500,000 designated for the development of a provincial physical activity strategy.