The University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness Center and Blue Cross Blue Shield held a grand opening event on September 27th to unveil the new fitness court.
The courthouse is located in the superblock, the campus area with the highest concentration of student housing within the university. The fitness court, which is free to all students, is stocked with a variety of outdoor fitness equipment, including pull-up bars and gymnastics rings.
Students can use these items in the Fitness Court app. This allows you to perform seven major athletic movements: core, squat, push, lunge, pull, agility, and bend.
The university’s Reckwell team works closely with Bukata Hayes, vice president of racial and health equity and chief capital officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota, and other members of Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota. cooperated with.
Hayes has worked to establish similar courts in other Minnesota communities, including Shakopee and Willmar. Hayes said he views these courts as an investment in the community.
“This investment will encourage good health and healthy lifestyles and activities,” Mr Hayes said. “Another benefit is the visual encouragement to be active, which I think is important as well.”
Benjamin Kohler, Wreckwell’s director of fitness and wellness, said he is pleased the court will allow students to work around financial barriers and accessibility lines.
“You can be creative,” Kohler said. “You can go alone. You can go in groups. There are so many opportunities to transition with this new installation, and I’m so excited for students to take advantage of it.”
George Brown, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of Reckwell, said the Student Services Committee provided great support during the installation process.
“They were on board with this project initially and were supportive of hosting the event as we continued to go back and update them throughout the course of this project,” Brown said. . “Their support was unwavering. Their partnership was make-or-break, but they saw us cross the finish line.”
Hayes and his team wanted to tap into local artists, so they commissioned the university’s alumni artists to create a mural that would serve as a vibrant backdrop for the new courtroom.
Mr Brown said the installment would remove both real and perceived barriers.
“It costs nothing,” Brown said. “No verdict has been passed. Do what you have to do, move on, go get something to eat, or move on to the next class. So what’s more in line with good public health principles? It’s all about removing barriers.”
Hayes said the fitness app will allow users to connect to the court via a QR code and try workouts created specifically for the court, making fitness accessible to students and community members. I did. He added that the app also allows users to directly track their personal health status.
“It provides an option, a physical place, for the community to come together and be active in living a healthy life,” Hayes said.
