ARARAT Active has moved a town, moved a Deputy Premier and with the prospect of significant funding it now has the potential to move a state and a nation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tuesday's Coalition commitment of $2.5 million over three years for the program was met with rapturous applause and tears of joy.
Its magnitude was not lost on members of the community that attended the Chalambar Golf Club, especially staff from Ararat Rural City Council and participants of The Biggest Loser and Active8 who know first hand the impact the program has had on them and the Ararat community.
Ararat Rural City Mayor, Cr Paul Hooper said he was both gob smacked and overjoyed by the pledged level of funding for a program that has brought so many people together.
"Ararat Active City is so much more than a slogan, it's a culture, it's our culture," he said.
"I absolutely understand the punt that you (Coalition) have taken on this partnership with us, on behalf of the Ararat Rural City I guarantee that we will not let you down."
Deputy Premier and Leader of The Nationals Peter Ryan said it was important the community retained the capacity to have ownership for what has been borne out of what he described 'a quite remarkable endeavour mounted by the people of Ararat'.
"It became something that was driven by the Ararat Rural City Council and they've done a great job, however it was also at the YMCA, it was the personal trainers and all of the other people who contributed in their own way," he said.
"The cultural change that happened in the community of Ararat is extraordinary, it's not just a fad, not just something done for the sake of the cameras being there, it translated into a self worth issue and a dignity issue.
"Of all the projects I've seen, in all the environments I've seen them, I think this has got something extra about it that will captivate people."
Ararat Rural City Council's chief executive officer Andrew Evans said Ararat has witnessed an unrivalled turnaround in behaviour and attitudes towards health over such a small period of time.
"We went from having the worst BMI (Body Mass Index) scores to having some of the best in the state in a 12 month period," he said.
"It's not just the individuals who are effected, it's their families, it's their friends, the people that they work with.
"We are probably one of only three or four cities across the whole world that have actually found something that works."
Former Biggest Loser contestant Katrina Pianta said Ararat Active was working because of its focus on healthy living.
"We focus a lot on weight, but I think the focus needs to be shifted to health because that's where the crux of the problem is," she said.
"Changing your eating, just being more active in your own mind, in your own sense is what helps you to be more happy.
"If you're feeling better about yourself, if you're feeling healthier you just want to keep going and it becomes infectious, somebody else wants to join in.
Mrs Pianta said The Biggest Loser television program acted as catalyst for massive change, Active8 drove that change and the community has embraced it.
"We were lucky, we were in an environment that was very controlled, real life isn't controlled like that," she said.
"You have to work, you've got family, you've got commitments and to stay healthy while you are doing all of that, that is where the real stars are.
"It's about surrounding yourself with people that are like minded, that can give you the tools to go ahead and work it out all by yourself.
"It's not about what we did, it's about what Ararat is doing and I couldn't be prouder of where it is going."