There’s a movement gaining momentum in New Westminster and it’s all thanks to a group of Grade 10 students led by one passionate teacher.
On May 9, residents across the Royal City are invited to participate in the second annual Hyacks in Motion Run/Walk. The event is aimed at getting people thinking about fitness and wellbeing, not as something that you have to do each day but rather as something that’s just part of daily life, Chad Oatway told the Record.
Oatway teaches the Grade 10 male sport leadership cohort at New Westminster Secondary School. The students in his class are all student athletes. They’ve also been tasked with organizing the community run/walk event.
“It’s kind of like a combination of what we’ve done with the class at this point,” Oatway said.
The cohort program is a year-long class that encourages students to find their passions and pursue them. The goal is to get the students thinking about self-leadership and then have them use those skills on projects within the community.
“Really and truly what leadership is about is doing something selflessly for a cause. So this is something a lot of our students are pretty passionate about because they’re all student athletes at the school,” he said.
Oatway believes society is heading down a dangerous path when it comes to health and fitness, and he hopes his students can inspire the community in a positive way, especially younger students who should be encouraged to live healthy lives.
“Our health and our fitness, we shouldn’t have to make routine around it. It should just be an everyday ongoing thing,” Oatway added.
While the run/walk gets started at 10:30 a.m., the event is about much more than just that. Oatway’s students have reached out to the community at NWSS and the city at-large to get other health-related groups including the school’s gardening club and Canadian Blood Services’ Young Blood for Life. They’ve also reached out to Fraser Health and Royal Columbian Hospital in hopes they could participate as well.
“It’s about looking at health from a more holistic perspective as well, and that’s what my students are starting to understand a little bit more,” he said. “Health is not necessarily just running around and kicking a ball. It’s about a bunch of different aspects in your life.”
All the money raised during the event will go back into the school for athletic programs and equipment.
The Record recently sat down with some of the students organizing the Hyacks in Motion event to hear what expectations they have for the event and what they thought of the male sport leadership cohort.
Why did you take this class?
Connor Pattison: Mr. Oatway asked me to and it was going to be with all my friends, so I felt like I wanted to, and I’d heard it’s a fun class before that.
What kinds of things had you heard about this class before you joined?
CP: It was a class about getting involved in the community.
Why were you interested in getting involved in the community?
Malik Shebabo: It’s a way of telling the community that not every teenage boy or girl is really that bad. That we can also help.
What challenges have you faced while organizing the event?
CP: Getting shot down. A lot of no replies.
What’s it like when you don’t get a response?
CP: It’s just on to the next one.
What successes have you experienced while organizing the event?
CP: I find that the people who actually are going to do it are involved heavily in it. They’re not just teetering like, ‘Oh here, we’ll give you cheque and you guys can do whatever.’
MS: One time we were sitting in the lab and someone got (a response) and we all got excited and started clapping because that was like the first one.
Sarban Sidhu: We’ve had a lot of sponsors from last year, they came back and asked about the event this year. So we’ve created a relationship with a lot of sponsors now.
What are hoping for the event?
CP: We want it to be kind of like a mini Sun Run. …You do the run and then you come into an area with booths in it like they did at the Sun Run this year.
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Register now for the run/walk event at www.hyacksinmotion.com. Adults are $10 if they pre-register and $15 on the day of the event. Students, ages six to 18 are $2 before the event and $5 at the event. Kids under five are free. Participants can register in-person on May 9 from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. The run/walk takes place at Queen’s Park. Participants are asked to meet at picnic shelter #1. After the run there will be entertainment, information booths and more to check out.
What are you most excited for?
CP: Seeing it all come together.
