Fresh Air Fitness is on the cusp of having outdoor exercise equipment available for public use at Woodlawn Regional Park.
Some of the equipment is on site and waiting to be installed at their location between Cossette Park and the Woodlawn Athletic Park’s Dana Quewezance Memorial Field. A welder has been at the site to see everything that has to be installed.
Peggy Rohatyn, who has spearheaded the project with Debby Knight, is optimistic Fresh Air Fitness could be ready to go by the beginning of July.
“F&L Concrete has been down there, starting to put in the pad for the (wheelchair) accessible area,” said Rohatyn. “We have some pieces that go on there already. We have some stairs. We have some parallel bars.
“We have ordered some overhead bodyweight machines, plus we have ordered some pieces that people will be able to roll into with their wheelchair.”
The wheelchair-accessible area could also be used by those who have had a stroke and need to practise on stairs, or who would benefit from parallel bars.
The equipment was assembled by Randy Franke of KRJ Custom Fabricating. Rohatyn said they will have monkey bars, pull-up bars, gymnastics rings, a jump box, a triceps pulldown, battle ropes, tires, and a balance apparatus this year. Equipment that will be similar to an army crawl will also be added, although Rohatyn isn’t sure if it will be a net or some bars to crawl around.
Fresh Air Fitness has also ordered some equipment, including a couple of chest press machines, that will take about six weeks to arrive.
“Every year we plan on adding to it, so there will be more pieces added,” said Rohatyn.
Fresh Air Fitness will offer more than just exercise equipment. A platform that will be used for yoga and other activities is more than halfway finished and should be ready soon.
The sand that will serve as a base has also been delivered.
Rohatyn said it has been exciting to see all of the equipment arrive.
“We like to drive down there almost every day to see if something else has been done,” said Rohatyn.
It’s hard to believe the equipment is on site, she said, and that people will soon be using it to improve their fitness.
“If anybody has an idea for some other piece of equipment they’d like to see down there, we’d love to hear about that,” said Rohatyn.
She stressed there won’t be any supervision down at the site, so people will be using the equipment at their own risk.
The equipment is well-built, she said, and should be able to withstand the harsh winter conditions found in southeast Saskatchewan.
“The product that we ordered also comes from a Saskatchewan company, so when I talked to them, they said they send it further up north than us, and it’s made for the outdoors,” said Rohatyn.
Proceeds from the Coal Country Run at the Woodlawn Regional Park in the spring and Run the Course at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course in the fall have been used to benefit Fresh Air Fitness. Organizers of the two events recently presented a $9,000 cheque to Fresh Air Fitness representatives.
Other individuals and organizations have also been supportive.
“Everyone we’ve talked to has either given us a definite discount, or given us staff,” said Rohatyn.
Rig matting, transportation costs and other services have also been donated, she said.
“Everybody we talk to is really pleased (this is happening),” said Rohatyn.
Woodlawn Regional Park will be taking care of the site’s maintenance, so Fresh Air Fitness will be making a donation to the park each year.
Rohatyn said Fresh Air Fitness will also be painting an old storage shed near the site. It will be used to store some of their equipment, and it will also have a donor wall to recognize those who have contributed to their efforts. The shed will also be used to store equipment of other organizations with sites nearby.
A grand opening celebration is scheduled for August. Most of the equipment Rohatyn and Knight have budgeted to purchase this year should be in place by then. They will have people down there to show how to use the equipment, and others will be on hand to provide demonstrations of their respective activities on the yoga platform.
People will also be able to take tours of the walking trails in the area.
