On Friday the 11th of October 2024, some of the ActiveStrongerBetter team were lucky enough to attend the AUSactive National Gala Awards Night as the program was shortlisted as a finalist. The AUSactive awards showcase the best of the fitness industry from across the country. To our delight, the program was announced the winner of the Social Value and Community Impact Award, along with Kangatraining Australia, a postnatal exercise program who provide a brilliant program throughout Australia.
We are so grateful and excited to be a National Award-Winning program and to be recognised for the community impact and social value that our program strives to achieve. Without the brilliant and passionate fitness professionals providing classes to seniors in the community and the wonderful and motivated participants that show up to class each week, this program would not be possible.
Regular exercise is vital for our health throughout our lives but holds a greater importance as we age and face an increased risk of health conditions and decreased mobility. Improving access, affordability and prevalence of community exercise classes by utilising the fitness professional is what the ActiveStrongerBetter program is designed to do. The program is filling a gap between exercise professionals in the community and health professionals, to promote engaging, safe and effective exercise classes available in our community that seniors can benefit from in countless ways.
The ActiveStrongerBetter program is based in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, where we have been growing for the last 2 years. The key objectives of the ASB Program are to:
1) highlight and very practically support the work of the fitness professionals already providing opportunities for older people to exercise
2) be a preferred provider for the health professional to recognise as a referral destination for the older patients, or those who need to engage in safe exercise for health
3) advocate on behalf of the fitness industry by providing training, web and social media presence and opportunities and to link to health professionals in the community
The program plans to expand to new regions of New South Wales and Australia in the coming years to further promote and provide safe and accessible seniors’ exercise to as many communities as possible.
ActiveStrongerBetter is an initiative of the Hunter Ageing Alliance which is generously supported and managed by Novacare Community Services. A massive thank you to both organisations for all of their amazing work!
If you are an AUSactive fitness leader interested in our training program—currently offered only in the Hunter Region but expanding throughout NSW—please visit our Fitness Leader page to learn about upcoming workshops and express your interest in our training. Together, we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of seniors in our communities!
If you are looking to join a class, you can visit our class locations page to find your local program and leader with all the relevant contact information.