FitSpirit
Encouraging Teenage Girls to be Physically Active
Statistics on inactivity show that one out of two girls give up sports when they hit puberty. Moreover, that trend takes a dramatically downward turn between the ages of 12 and 17, since 9 girls out of 10 do not meet Canadian exercise guidelines by the time they graduate from high school.
Intending to do something about this problem, since its founding in 2007 by Claudine Labelle, FitSpirit has fully devoted itself each year to inspiring and motivating thousands of Québec and Ontario teenage girls to get moving through an enjoyable, non-competitive and empowering program. In partnership with schools and community organizations FitSpirit offers tools and services to get girls moving through activities tailored to their challenges guided by facilitators in the schools and FitSpirit ambassadors, such a athlete speakers, kinesiologists, and mentors.
Every year FitSpirit holds Celebrations that bring together thousands of young Canadian girls who have taken part in the activities supported by the organization. As time has passed, FitSpirit has acquired more partners, such as Power Corporation, allowing girls in the program to be introduced to more activities sure to interest them, another way of encouraging them to stay active throughout the year.
Claudine Labelle is a true social entrepreneur, using her business acumen to create a range of physical fitness activities that will have an enduring effect on teenage girls.
BY THE NUMBERS
schools were involved in the program during the 2020-2021 school year
The number of schools FitSpirit hopes to partner with across Québec by 2023
The age range of the girls who participate in the programming
