News Release
Nicola Sturgeon Joins Ramblers Walk at SNP Conference
At the SNP Conference this weekend the Ramblers’ Association Scotland will call on politicians to “take up the baton and walk the path to 2014”.
Delegates will be told that a sustained campaign to promote walking is needed if the 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy is to include an improvement in Scotland’s health record.
Ramblers will be promoting the benefits of walking throughout the Conference and will be joined by Nicola Sturgeon, Depute Leader of the SNP and Cabinet Secretary for Health at the start of a short walk by the River Tay.
All conference delegates have been invited to join the walk led by members of the Perth Ramblers group. Ramblers Scotland and Perth and Kinross Council have also provided a map of walks to encourage delegates to keep active during the conference. There are three walking routes based around the conference venue, graded at Bronze, Silver and Gold level.
Nicola will say: “As we work toward the Commonwealth Games in 2014 I hope to see all Scots increasing their exercise levels and improving our nations health. Walking is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to keep fit - whether it’s walking to work, a lunchtime stroll or a Sunday walk in the country.
“This is an excellent initiative from Ramblers Scotland and shows that walking is an activity we can all take part in, wherever we live. By 2014 Scots will be going for gold as the Commonwealth Games leaves a lasting legacy for a healthier Scotland.”
Alison Mitchell, Ramblers Scotland convener, will say: “Walking is fun, free and accessible to almost everyone! Only 30 minutes of brisk walking a day 5 days a week will keep you healthy. “
“Ramblers Scotland has been developing proposals to promote walking as a key legacy for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. All the evidence points to walking being the key to getting people more active – something that previous games have largely failed to do.“
“Our ideas include the development of a network of Bronze, Silver and Gold walking routes around communities across Scotland. All routes would be flat and easy, with Bronze routes taking 15 minutes, Silver routes 30 minutes and Gold routes 60 minutes.”
The walk on the Silver route will be followed by a fringe meeting at 12.30pm in the Royal George hotel – chaired by Michael Matheson MSP and with speakers - Shona Robison MSP and Alison Turnbull of Ramblers Scotland.
Michael will say: “The 2014 Games provides a tremendous opportunity to encourage more people to participate in physical activity. Walking is a good example of the type of thing people can get involved with.’
Shona will say: Walking is something almost everyone can do, it’s free, it’s an enjoyable activity with many benefits for the individual, improving general fitness and health, helping with weight control, promoting longevity and good mental health.
“But walking can also be a sociable activity and organised walking initiatives can make more impact by getting more people involved. I’m delighted to support Ramblers Scotland’s plan ‘Walk the Path to 2014’, which contains lots of useful research on activities and projects tried in the run up to previous Commonwealth Games.
“I was particularly interested in the Irish ‘Girls Outside’ project which worked with teenage girls and to read of the value of using appropriate role models in initiatives aimed at young people. I understand that more research will be required on specific strategies to reach teenage girls.
“It makes sense to use the Scottish Government’s Homecoming Scotland initiative in 2009, the lead up to the London Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 as catalysts to promote walking activity and make Scotland healthier, safer and stronger.”
ENDS
Notes
Information on 2014 walking plan
‘Walk the Path to 2014’aims to substantially increase the numbers of people walking in Scotland and use the stimulus of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to help increase physical activity levels across the Scottish population as a whole.
The plan proposes extensive promotion of walking, involving support and expansion of existing work to promote walking, as well as work on new programmes. It also examines the need to develop much better path networks in and around Scottish communities, both for walking and other non motorised activities such as cycling. The proposals target the inactive majority of the Scottish population, notably communities suffering from serious social and physical deprivation, as well as young people.
