STITTSVILLE - The Stittsville Village
Association has another fitness instructor training course coming up in March.
This will be the second such
course offered by the SVA thanks to a $10,000 grant received from the city of Ottawa to conduct these
training courses. The first course, held last November in Stittsville, resulted
in ten new fitness instructors for the area.
The idea behind these
training courses is to develop a cadre of certified fitness instructors willing
to work in the western rural area of the city, conducting fitness classes for
seniors.
The problem trying to be
solved is that while fitness instructors are reasonable available in urban
areas of the city, the same cannot be said for the rural areas and particularly
the smaller communities in rural areas. There is a shortage of fitness
instructors in these more remote locations, making essential fitness courses
locally unavailable for seniors in these communities.
It is not possible for the
city to pay for fitness instructors from the urban areas to travel to the rural
areas to conduct these fitness courses for seniors due to the travel expenses
involved and because of the relatively small groups of seniors involved. In
addition, interested seniors in rural areas cannot always access the courses in
the urban areas.
To remedy this situation, the
city’s Parks and Recreation Department came up with a solution, namely training
local volunteers to be certified fitness instructors who would then lead the
exercise class for seniors in these rural communities.
A 36 hour course is available
from the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, associated with the University of Western Ontario.
The funding to conduct the
course was applied for from the city by the Stittsville Village Association,
with the $10,000 grant for two sessions approved.
The second course will be
given over two weekends and a Friday evening in March at the Stittsville
District Community Centre. The course is open to those 16 years of age and up
who in turn commit to providing a certain number of fitness class hours to
senior groups in rural areas. The $250 cost of the course is covered by the
city grant.
The fitness instruction
course, while geared towards fitness for seniors, is broad enough that the instructor
can work with any age group.
SVA president Metin Akgun
says that it is hoped that there will be at least 10 to 15 people interested in
taking the course this March. Those interested in the course should contact Mr.
Akgun at 613-836-5350 or by email at aysemetin@rogers.com.