Wow! Penticton is already a winner in the Gamestown 2010 “It Starts with Your Story” contest. Penticton has just won a visit from an Olympic or a Paralympics athlete for the “early bird” entry on Penticton Steps Out, submitted by the Community Centre. The contest is aimed at promoting the 2010 Winter Olympics and getting everyone more active. Now we need you to submit.

Gamestown 2010 is an online competition in which residents are invited to submit stories relating to the Olympics and put their community in the running for the title of Gamestown 2010. This can especially include anything relating to the “20 per cent by 2010” challenge to get us more physically active by the start of the Olympics. Top prize is $100,000 towards improvements to a community sports, fitness or healthy-living facility. Other prizes of $50,000 and $25,000 are being offered. We can do this Penticton!

I would like to encourage everyone to go to www.gamestown2010.ca to check out the submissions by other communities and then enter your own and click on the ActNow BC Healthy Living Pledge. Just imagine if a few hundred of us take five minutes and submit by the end of this year. (This is a small white lie — it took me 10 minutes but I type like a turtle).

This is now our chance to stand up and tell B.C. about our get active, get inspired and get connected community. If you enjoyed our motivational speaker series, the South Okanagan Health Fair, use our beautiful trails or lakes, then please go online or drop a note to the front desk or e-mail me at bob.pope@penticton.ca and I will even send it in for you. Have you participated or volunteered in any of Penticton’s triathlons, tournaments or special events? Did Penticton Steps Out help get you walking? Do you have a personal success story or nice memory to share? Photos are worth a 1,000 words so include them too, as you only get a couple hundred words max.

We can help get you summer active with the new Penticton Steps Out pedometer/walking program contest. “Step your way to Laughter” is sponsored by Global Spectrum and the South Okanagan Events Centre. Everyday you log in your steps or an activity; you get an entry for our draw to win tickets to the very funny Gallagher or Corner Gas comedian Brett Butt.

Also on the funny bone theme, we have just confirmed Lorne Elliot’s Catch Him Before He Croaks tour for our Get Active! Penticton speaker series in October — tickets will be available at the end of August. Our fall speaker lineup is amazing!

To get some help on creating wonderful summer memories go to www.penticton.ca and check out our summer recreation guide. See you on the Gamestown 2010 website.

Bob Pope is the recreation co-ordinator for the City of Penticton.