Stepping Up! Council staff hit their stride for Safety Week

Published: 22 Oct 2020 8:38am

Wagga Wagga City Council staff are on the move, even if it’s just from one side of the Civic Centre to the other, trying to build their step count for the 10,000 Step Tournament.

Part of Council’s Health and Wellbeing program, the 10-day challenge kicked off on Monday (19 October), which also marked the start of Celebrate Safety Week.

Acting Manager People & CultureTanya Jackson said October is National Safe Work Month, with a focus on making a commitment to improving safety and health in your workplace.

“This year, the theme is Work, Health and Safety through COVID-19, and in line with that, we wanted to promote health by getting everyone moving again and helping them to reconnect with each other,” Ms Jackson said.

“The 10K Step Tournament is a fun way of doing that and our staff are certainly taking up the challenge.

“We’ve got 14 teams of six taking part, comprising staff members from the Civic Centre, Riverina Regional Library and Wagga Airport and, needless to say, they’re all very competitive!”

Reflecting the ‘fun’ aspect of the tournament, the teams have let their creative spirits free when it comes to their competition names, with the likes of The Christian Lou-boot-ins, the Cliff Young Shufflers, the Red Hot Chilli Steppers and The Wacktivators, taking on The Walkie Talkies, Run For Your Money, The Swifters and the Movers & Shakers.

The teams register with the 10,000 Steps online program, run by Central Queensland (CQ) University.

“Over the 10 days of the Tournament, each team’s daily tally of steps is recorded on the website and we can provide regular updates on who’s in the lead, and by how far,” Ms Jackson said.

“Wagga’s quite a sporty and competitive city, and that’s the same for all of our teams who are keen to be in front when the final steps are tallied next week."

The tournament runs from 19-29 October and there will be prize for the winning team.