General News
16 May, 2026
Health Challenge Winners!
The WNSWLHD has announced Gilgandra as the Building Healthy Communities Challenge champion.
Gilgandra efforts in the 'Gilgandra Get's Goin' - Have a Crack Challenge' have been rewarded by being crowned the overall winners of the 2025-26 Building Healthy Communities Challenge. The challenge, which was completed in February and March this year, included a number of organised sports and fitness events as well as a huge effort from local schools counting their steps per day.
Last week, Gilgandra was announced as the champion by the Western NSW Local Health District’s (WLHD) health promotion team. The team states "the challenge empowers smaller communities across the district to take ownership of their health priorities by designing and implementing initiatives that drive long-term, sustainable change, primarily through community collaboration".
WLHD health promotion coordinator, Hayley Vaughan, said Gilgandra was judged champion by an independent panel. “Gilgandra showed incredible commitment to their initiative, which focuses on addressing some of the important health challenges their community faces. It was a real pleasure to see their idea develop throughout the challenge,” Hayley said.
“The program was built around fun and inclusive sporting activities which are accessible to everyone, and was designed to promote physical activity, social connection and health literacy for people of all ages and all backgrounds.
“Different community groups hosted a series of non-competitive sports each week, coupled with health and wellbeing analysis tools like measuring step counts, blood pressure and pulse rates, to help understand the program’s benefits.
“By utilising existing health and wellbeing-based infrastructure in town, Gilgandra’s working group was focused on longevity as well, creating awareness and access to resources the community already had available.
“As the champion town, Gilgandra will now receive an additional $4000 in funding assistance as well as further support from the health promotion team, to ensure the program continues to develop and can be implemented long-term.”
Hayley also congratulated this year’s second finalist, Peak Hill, highlighting the town’s dedication and enthusiasm to implement its holistic health improvement program, the ‘Healthy Eating, Activity and Resilience Together (HEART) Project)’.
“Peak Hill’s initiative focused on overall physical health, combining active movement through aqua fitness, line dancing and running groups with the promotion of sustainable and healthy eating habits,” Hayley said. “It also incorporated important social and emotional elements including the delivery of mental health first aid training for community members.
“The challenge is designed to help communities understand how to best deliver programs longer term. Our health promotion team will continue to provide support, but I’m certain both of this year’s finalists have established lasting programs.”
WLHD health promotion officer, Karen Lloyd, said registrations for the 2026-27 Building Healthy Communities Challenge, the third edition, will also open up later this month, with up to $14,000 in funding once again available for the champion town. “The enthusiasm and engagement in this program from our smaller communities has been so exciting over the past two years and we can’t wait to see what communities and ideas will come forward for the 2026-27 edition,” Karen said. "Initiatives can be big or small, because we’ve already seen how much of an impact a simple program can have.”
Gilgandra will also be getting a visit from the team to present the champions' prize.
More details will be release in an upcoming edition
