Ottawa children expecting to fill their Halloween bags with candy this year may also get something unexpected: a ticket.
Ottawa’s fourth Trick or Swim or Skate program is underway, which allows members of the public to purchase 10 tickets for $10 at city-owned community centres, and distribute the tickets to young trick-or-treaters.
Children ages 3 to 15 can then redeem these tickets.
In Centretown, Jack Purcell Pool and Plant Recreation Centre offer public swimming sessions any day of the week at various times.
McNabb Arena hosts public skating on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Kendra Hobbs, a representative from the city’s parks, recreation, and culture services, says Ottawa Public Health is promoting Trick or Swim or Skate.
“It’s an initiative to promote all the facilities we have (and) all the swimming programs we offer, as well as all the public skates that we offer throughout the year,” she says. “It’s steadily grown over the years. There’s more awareness in the community.”
The program is intended to provide an alternative to candy for children during the Halloween season, she notes.
“Instead of handing out sugar-filled candy, we’re able to hand out physical activity,” she says.
Hobbs explains that the ticket system allows children to redeem the passes anywhere in the city.
A list of community centres participating in the program is available on the city’s website.
She explains why the activities are limited to two.
“It’s just easier for us to manage,” she says. “They’re some of our most popular activities, especially seasonally. And they’re the most affordable.”
She adds that ten tickets for $10 is a good deal, since one public swim for a child usually costs around $2.
Nutrition researcher and childhood obesity expert Dana Olstad, a former University of Alberta research associate, says she thinks the initiative is a great idea.
“Anytime you engage kids in fun, movement-based activities, rather than feeding them candy, you are likely going to have positive impacts on their health – physical, mental and emotional,” she says.
Yoni Freedhoff, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, says he also applauds the idea behind Trick or Swim or Skate.
“There’s lots of kids who, first of all, struggle with Halloween food allergies. Parents are concerned about letting their kids trick-or-treat randomly. So having non-food treats is a good idea to help with those children,” he says.
“Having something that’s being provided to kids which is a healthful option isn’t a bad thing, and I think that swim passes are lot more enticing than toothbrushes,” he adds.
But he says the program isn’t a solution to unhealthy lifestyles.
“I think that anybody who thinks handing out a pass on Halloween is going to change the face of everything is misguided,” he says. “There are no single things that can make huge differences with incredibly complex issues.”
Ninety per cent of children don’t get enough physical activity, according to a statistic on CHEO’s obesity information web page. The page also says there is high demand for youth obesity treatment at the hospital.
Freedhoff says he doesn’t think Halloween is part of the issue.
“It’s the other 364 days of the year where we decide that treats are part and parcel of everyday life,” he says.
The amount of junk food “hoisted” onto his own children worries him throughout the rest of the year, he says.
“We have dumbed down the use of food, especially junk food, into a tool to pacify, reward, and entertain children,” he notes. “That’s a real problem.”
However, he still encourages people to buy Trick or Swim or Skate tickets if they’re interested.
“Kids are going to come home with bags full of candy. I think it’s lovely to have some kids coming home with some community arena passes, whether it’s skates or swims or what have you,” he says.
“But as it stands right now, I think that the likelihood is most kids’ bags are going to be full of candy, and not full of swim passes,” he adds.