The second year for Fresh Air Fitness has been every bit as good as the first.
The site, located at Woodlawn Regional Park, opened for the season in early May. Co-founders Debby Knight and Peggy Rohatyn said it has been busy, with lots of families stopping by to use the exercise equipment.
“We have some groups doing some things down there,” said Knight. “We have a group that is training for an event in Moose Jaw coming up in August, and so they get together down there and do some of the hardcore lifting.”
They also have meditation groups that use the area, and yoga instructors have indicated they will be starting classes.
Now that the park is open for camping season, they expect to see the number of users continue to grow.
“We saw people coming and going steadily on Sunday morning (May 20) when we down there,” said Knight.
“I was down there the one afternoon, and there was a few people down there, and there was a girl who came down and cleaned up the flower bed in the yoga area, and then she stayed and did some yoga,” Rohatyn added.
It shows that people are taking pride in the area, they said.
Fresh Air Fitness doesn’t offer classes for yoga and other fitness interests. But there will be yoga classes, offered by other people, down there at some point. Those who have classes at the facility often make a donation to a local organization.
“We actually can’t charge anybody for yoga down there, because of our non-profit status, and the way we applied for some of the grants,” said Rohatyn.
Encompass Fitness, meanwhile, will do a demonstration on June 2 of how to use all of the equipment properly.
“If someone does want to do a class down there, and they want to charge people to do the class, we tell them that facility is there to be used, but if you’re doing a class, and someone else wants to come and do yoga at the same time, you don’t book it,” said Rohatyn. “It’s not your space to book to do something.”
If someone else wants to do it, then that person can join in, or share the area.
The equipment handled the winter well, they said. Some of the equipment, such as the battle ropes and some pieces that were on the ground, were stored inside.
“We left a set of rings out there, and they did well,” said Rohatyn.
The yoga deck required a little bit of work following the winter, which they said is to be expected.
Rohatyn and Knight are pleased with the respect that users have shown for the Fresh Air Fitness equipment since it opened. There has been no vandalism, which they view as an encouraging sign.
“With the rings, people could have taken them any time, but the rings stayed there the whole time,” said Rohatyn.
People have also been very appreciative of the services Fresh Air Fitness provides, and the park remains on board with their efforts.
Some new equipment will be added this year, including a zig-zag wall for people to climb on. People climb across the wall, parallel to the ground, rather than up like a climbing wall.
Also coming in will be a balance structure, a new culvert-style tube for people to crawl through, tires for people to run through to build their agility, a back extension machine, a tai-chi wheel for shoulder mobility, and equipment to help with rehabilitation from shoulder injury.
Benches have been added to the trails that access the Fresh Air Fitness site, and Knight and Rohatyn hope to add a donor wall at some point this year, to recognize those who contributed to the equipment and amenities at the site.
If people want to see a piece of equipment added to the grounds, they are asked to contact Rohatyn and Knight.
Fresh Air Fitness has applied for some grants, and money from the Coal Country Run earlier this month and the Run the Course event in October will be directed to the organization. If some of those grants come through, and if the fundraisers are a success, then Fresh Air Fitness will continue to add to its amenities.
