Jasper Seniors’ Society members get moving indoors

Jasperite David Prowse wants to see people on their feet.

As vice president of the Jasper Seniors’ Society, he suggested an indoor walking club at a recent meeting and last Wednesday, Feb. 18, a group of 10 seniors met in the morning and walked laps around the inside perimeter of the Jasper Arena.

Prowse came up with the idea when one member asked him about walking and expressed concern about how difficult it is to walk on sidewalks in Jasper in the winter. After a few members showed interest, Prowse spoke to the arena manager who said the group could use an empty time slot to do its walks.

Prowse is also interested in group walks because of his involvement in the Volkssport Association of Alberta, an organization which hosts non-competitive activities, mostly walks, to promote physical fitness and good health.

Volkssporting is done across Canada and all over the world, which is how Prowse got involved. He did his first walks while on a tour with the Canadian Forces in Germany.

“We went out, did the walk and enjoyed it,” he said. The third walk Prowse did with his wife was three kilometres longer than they had expected and included some steep grades. “We were really finished at the end of 13 km,” he said, laughing.

Volkssports events are free, or a nominal charge for those who want their results recorded. Prowse, for instance, is recorded as having completed 600 km of walks through the association. 

Jasper boasts five official walks, three 10-km routes and two 5-km routes, all starting and ending at Totem Ski Shop on Connaught Drive, where walkers can register. The walks have been in Jasper for the last decade, and about 70 to 80 registered walkers took part last year. 

When asked why he takes part, Prowse pointed to the slogan of the Canadian Volkssport Federation: Fun, Fitness and Friendship. “That’s the official slogan and it’s for fitness, to meet people and to get out and see the world.”

He recalled the story of a woman he knew who had a stroke and continued to walk as a form of therapy. “Walking gave her her life back,” he said.

Until the weather becomes favourable and makes Jasper area walks more accessible, the group will walk indoors. The club meets at Shirley’s food outlet in the Activity Centre on Wednesdays at 10 a.m.