UTPB launches Fitness Court

Sep. 5—University of Texas Permian Basin has added another fitness feature to its campus — the Fitness Court.

An official ribbon cutting was held Thursday. The court has been set up for a few weeks and people have been using it.

On the other side of the Fitness Court is a floor that can be used for yoga classes, for example.

Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Becky Spurlock said Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the National Fitness Campaign approached UTPB and said they had identified the campus as a prime space for a Fitness Court.

The total project cost is $262,500, including UTPB's portion of $222,500 and a National Fitness Campaign Sponsor Grant of $40,000.

"We are so excited about this fitness court," UTPB President Sandra Woodley said. "What it represents to the university (is) our commitment to enhancing health and wellness in the community. So many of us care about all of the things that make our lives better ..."

"The Fitness Court is located ... near our beautiful walking trails. We see so many people in our community using those. As you all know, we have a $6.5 million dollar grant where we're about to really add to those trails, so this fitness court will be a premium spot on that trail for the community to use," Woodley said.

She noted that you can download the Fitness Court app and it will give you ideas on workouts.

"We encourage you to take advantage of this beautiful resource — whether it's a seven-minute workout or a yoga class, or if you want to do a much more dedicated experience to wellness through the fitness court app — we want to make sure that you have that available to you now. You can download these free workouts, you just search fitness court, and then you'll have all of the ideas that you need to take advantage of this," Woodley said.

She expressed thanks to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas and National Fitness Campaign for helping UTPB offer "this really amazing, high-quality fitness opportunity for this community."

Woodley also thanked UTPB officials and others who worked on the project and also Spurlock because it was her idea.

"Her team worked with Blue Cross and National Fitness Campaign to make this a reality," Woodley said.

Spurlock said "space matters" whether it's the right space to learn, the right space to study, or space to exercise and hang out.

"It makes a tremendous difference in the quality of life of our community (and) in our students' (lives). We're so proud to add this Fitness Court to our other outdoor recreation spaces, including our sand volleyball court, our outdoor basketball court; as Dr. Woodley mentioned, our trail system, our intramural fields; so many spaces that make our campus life fun and make it a great place to be," Spurlock said.

"I want to also offer a special thanks to our colleagues in human resources, who have launched our fantastic Falcon Fitness program that so many of you choose to participate in. They've been a wonderful partner to us, and this is an important resource for our employees as well, and our new year at Falcon Fitness kicks off next week. It's perfect timing for you to re-register for that program and be ready to have fun out here on our trail system and in our courts," Spurlock said.

She added that the Fitness Court is a great addition to the campus.

"We have so much more ahead with our campus transformation, and I can't wait to see all the ways our campus grows to serve our community better," Spurlock said.

Mallory Sumner, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas director, said on the average one in two adults don't get enough physical activity in their day to day lives, which can lead to chronic yet preventable conditions.

"We at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas, and with the National Fitness Campaign, saw a need to reduce barriers to improving physical and mental health," Sumner said.

"In 2022, we joined the National Fitness Campaign, which is the organization that brings all of this funding together, to bring up to 40 outdoor fitness courts to communities across Texas. This fitness court is the 26th of those 40, and we're excited to complete this initiative by the end of 2024," Sumner said.