Push Play Day OK
Push Play Day should be embraced and physical activity encouraged at home, in the workplace, by parents and by
employers.
That is the message from the New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) in support of the highly successful campaign led
by SPARC.
“Even though Push Play Day only comes around once a year, it is an ideal opportunity for all New Zealanders to be active
either continuing to lead a healthy active lifestyle or to start down that road” says Brendon Ward, NZRA Chief
Executive.
A number of activities are planned throughout the country for Push Play Day today and this weekend, and NZRA encourages
participation in those activities.
However, what is more important is sustaining an appropriate level of physical activity throughout the year. Push Play
for 30 minutes a day means being active and having fun.
Parents should encourage children to be active and employers should promote and cater for the physical activity
requirements of their employees. This could be through the provision of showers in the workplace, allowing flexible
working hours, offering gym memberships, or having organised physical activities scheduled into the working week.
Certainly Local Authorities are looking at ways of providing “Activity Friendly Environments” and making the physical
choice an easy choice.
“Part of the NZRA concern is to kerb the trend that sees many of us, especially those affected by increased traffic
congestion, having less time for recreation, including physical recreation” said Mr Ward.
The New Zealand Recreation Association promotes recreation at all levels and works with recreation providers to ensure
programmes and facilities are professionally run by trained and qualified people.