Pavement Games Bring Colour and Fun

The 16-year-old student’s idea won the 2017 Len Sheedy How Would You Improve Your Community Competition, which encouraged students to come up with ideas about how they would improve their community.  

Rachel’s entry was the winner and was implemented across Rockingham with help from the City and local businesses. 

Games include circular maze, calculating caterpillars, dinner time Mr Wolf, twister, snail A-Z, hopscotch (turn), hopscotch (fairies) and traditional hopscotch. 

The games are painted outside the Gary Holland Community Centre, Town Square in Baldivis, Lions Park in Shoalwater and there are two outside Secret Harbour Shopping Centre. 

City of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels congratulated Rachel for her award-winning idea. 

"Each year students from different high schools across the City come up with a variety of ideas that are then judged during the competition, before being handed over to the City for assessment," Mayor Sammels said. 

"Rachel’s entry, which won the competition last year, was a fantastic idea and the City was thrilled to help her implement it across Rockingham with the help of local businesses.

"As a City we are fortunate to have a great number of talented young people wanting to make a positive difference in their community."    

Rachel  said she was inspired to implement the initiative after playing similar games at school. 

"Whenever I would be walking somewhere, I would look at the pathways and think of families and how active kids are, so I thought there could be a small activity for kids on the go," Rachel said. 

"I used to have similar games at my primary school and loved playing on them." 

The competition and rollout of the Childhood Pavement Games was made possible with support from Bendigo Bank, Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce, Tiny Tots, Baldivis MLA Reece Whitby, Lions Rockingham, Charter Hall and Warnbro MLA Paul Papalia. 

Image: Baldivis MLA Reece Whitby, Tom Stanners from Tiny Tots, competition winner Rachel Jones (16), Chair of the Board of the Rockingham and Secret Harbour Bendigo Bank branches Barbara Holland and City of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels with one of the games outside the Gary Holland Community Centre.