Skip to content

This year, the NWTRPA Board of Directors and Staff have made the decision to change the name of our flagship event temporarily while we engage in a program review as our first step towards decolonization. If you would like to read more about this decision, you can read the Board’s letter on our News Page: A Walking Challenge Apology

What is the NWTRPA Walking Challenge?

The NWTRPA Walking Challenge (previously known as Walk to Tuk) is an annual community walking challenge. Community members, schools, and workplaces are encouraged to form teams and conceptually walk the distance of the Big River from Zhatıé Kų́ę́/Fort Providence to Tuktuuyaqtuuq/Tuktoyaktuk, a total of 1,658km. This free event is a great way to meet new people and stay active during the cold and dark months of winter. Participants have from January 2 to February 28, 2023, to collectively walk 1,658km and get their team to Tuktuuyaqtuuq.

Participants have from January 2 to February 28, 2023 to collectively walk 1,658km and get their team to Tuktuuyaqtuuq.

No matter who or where you are, NWTRPA Walking Challenge is a great way for us to celebrate the new year being healthy, safe, and engaged with our community. See you out there! 

Subscribe to the Walking Challenge Weekly Newsletter!

How to register:

Registration is open for the NWTRPA Walking Challenge 2023 from December 16, 2022, to January 16, 2023. 

If you’re looking to join a team, you can get in touch with the team captain of the team you’d like to join, or contact us at walktotuk@nwtrpa.org | 1-867-669-8381| and we can help find a team for you. 

What are the challenge rules?

  • Teams of up to 20 people (or 35 for school teams) are challenged to walk from Zhatıé Kų́ę́ to Tuktuuyaqtuuq along the Big River for a total distance of 1,658km.
  • Teams have from January 2 to February 28, 2023 to walk as far as they can along the river.
  • One hour of walking equals 5km for teams of 1 – 10 people.
  • One hour of walking equals 4km for teams of 11 – 20 people.
  • Every Monday, team captains log into the web app to make sure their team has been putting in miles every week on their way up the Big River- in order to be eligible for weekly prizes and team captain prizes, teams must have entered their activity through their online dashboard. 
  • Any exercise that is continuous, moderate to vigorous-intensity, aerobic physical activity (such as jogging or cross-country skiing) counts towards the challenge. Activities must be done in bouts of at least 15 minutes to be counted.

What does a team captain do?

  • Motivates people to get outside into the fresh air, and get moving!
  • If a captain is running a team of fresh energy this year, they can get started by signing up for the challenge, then create a team by following the User Guide instruction How to Create Team and finally, invite team members through the User Guide How to Invite Team Members.
  • Fills out team information, adds a team profile picture, and provides descriptions/stories for their team’s profile page.
  • Team Captains can also create offline participants who would rather not create an account. Follow the User Guide instructions on How to Create Offline Participants
  • Receives the team’s start up communication tools by email from the admin team.
  • Tracks and submits their own walking time/distance online with the click of a button. Captains can also add or edit time/distance for their teammates. 
  • Helps the NWTRPA organize walking celebrations in their community where prizes will be awarded.
  • Motivates and encourages their team to complete the challenge!

What can you win?

Click here to see what prizes you, your team, or your team captain could win.

Calendar

  • December 13, 2022: January 16, 2023 – Registration
  • January 2, 2022: Start of NWTRPA Walking Challenge
    • January 9, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 1 To be Eligible for Week 1 prize
  • January 11, 2023: Weekly Prize Draws (week 1)
    • January 16, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 2 To be Eligible for Week 2 prize
  • January 18, 2023 – Weekly Prize Draws (week 2)
    • January 23, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 3 To be Eligible for Week 3 prize
  • January 25, 2023 – Weekly Prize Draws (week 3)
    • January 30, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 4 To be Eligible for Week 4 prize
  • February 1, 2023: Weekly Prize draws (week 4)
    • February 6, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 5 To be Eligible for Week 5 prize
  • February 8, 2023: Weekly Prize draws (week 5) and January photo contest winners announced
    • February 13, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 6 To be Eligible for Week 6 prize
  • February 15, 2023: Weekly Prize draws (week 6)
    • February 20, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 7 To be Eligible for Week 7 prize
  • February 22, 2023: Weekly Prize draws (week 7)
    • February 28, 2023: Last day of the NWTRPA Walking Challenge challenge
  • March 1, 2023: Team Captains: Deadline to edit/enter team activity for WEEK 8 To be Eligible for Week 8 prize
    • March 2, 2023: Weekly Prize draws (week 8)
  • March 7, 2023: February photo contest winners and Grand & Captain Prizes winners for 2023 are announced