Goalball, Snowsnake, Disc Golf, and more: 150 Activities to Celebrate 150 Years
Wednesday, June 28, 2017 - 09:25
Happy Birthday, Canada! “Sit less and move more”: ParticipACTION, a Canadian non-profit organization, aims to engage people across the country to make physical activity a key component to everyday life. In celebration of Canada’s 150th this year, ParticipACTION created its 150 Play List. Made up of 150 physical activities, the Play List challenges us to get active and try as many as possible over the year. Canadians can track their activity online to be entered into various prize draws, and there are many ParticipACTION Tour Stops and community programming events taking place throughout the year.
Inclusivity is a large part of ParticipACTION’s mandate and each of the 150 activities has adaptations that make it accessible to people of all ages, physical and cognitive abilities, and skill levels.
This is just a small snapshot of the variety of activities on the Play List:
- Origin: Now a Paralympic sport, it was designed in Germany in 1946 for blind athletes.
- Objective: Score goals by rolling or throwing the goalball from your end into the opponent’s goal. When on defense, stop the opponent from scoring by judging the position and movement of the goalball based solely on the sound of the bells inside it.
- Highlights from the 2016 Rio Paralympics
- Origin: An indoor game that was originally played during the winter months, it is one of the most challenging of the Inuit Traditional Games.
- Objective: With or without a running start, jump off both feet and hit a suspended target with your kicking foot. Land on your kicking foot only.
- Highlights from the 2011 World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
- Origin: It was created by physical education professor Mario Demers in Québec in 1986.
- Objective: Throw or project the ball in the air in a way that prevents the opposing team from catching it before it hits the ground. When “receiving”, work as a team to keep the ball from touching the floor.
- Highlights from the 2015 KIN-BALL® Sport World Cup
- Origin: Originally intended for athletes with severe cerebral palsy, this Paralympic sport now also includes players with other motor skill impairments.
- Objective: Throw your boccia balls towards the jack such that after all the balls are thrown, your balls are the closest to the jack. Balls can be rolled, kicked, or released down a ramp using a pointer, depending on the division of play.
- Highlights from the 2012 London Paralympics
- Origin: A traditional Woodland Native winter sport, it helped to develop skills needed for hunting, and tournaments are still held today.
- Objective: In the distance competition, underhand throw your snowsnake (a long, hand-carved wooden stick) along the specially-built track as far as you can.
- Highlights from the 2015 Ojibwe Winter Games
- Origin: Invented by elementary school children in Saskatchewan in 1926, it became more popular in the 1960s.
- Objective: Similarly to golf, throw the disc into the hole or target using the least number of strokes (throws).
- Highlights from the 2016 US Disc Golf Championship
There are many more – 144, to be exact – activities on the 150 Play List to discover. Whether the activity is familiar or completely new, each activity page includes all the rules, equipment, and adaptations needed to incorporate physical activity into your Canada Day and beyond – no matter your age or ability. ParticipACTION’s 150 Play List initiative runs all year long, with lots of resources for communities, workplaces, and schools to get involved.
Sources:
Arctic Sports. Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle.
Boccia. PartcipACTION.
Disc Golf. PartcipACTION.
Goalball. PartcipACTION.
Kinball. PartcipACTION.
One-Foot High Kick. PartcipACTION.
ParticipACTION.
Snowsnake. (2009). Canadian Heritage Information Network.
Snowsnake. PartcipACTION.
What is Boccia? Boccia Canada.
About the Author: Lily is a fourth-year student in the kinesiology program at Western University, currently interning with SIRC. With a background in synchronized swimming, she continues to be actively involved in the sport as a coach and varsity athlete.
