Swing, slide, and now sweat: Moundsville adds unique fitness court to local park

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — A new outdoor fitness court is now available to Moundsville residents after a ribbon cutting on Wednesday.

If you’re looking to hit the gym, there is a new spot available outside at East End Park. It’s only the third outdoor court in the state and the first owned by a municipality.

“Everybody has swings, everybody has slides, and you need to have those, but we’ve tried to find different things,” City Manager Rick Healy said. “We took it a step further with the hillside slides. This is completely different. This is just something that’s not out there. There’s one in Charleston, there’s one in Morgantown. We’re the first community to own one in West Virginia.”

It features seven core functions to do active work. From push-ups to curl-ups to pull-ups on the handlebars, it’s designed to give you a good workout quickly and at any age. Chris Mercer, director of rehabilitation at WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital, said this can be a great way to keep people healthy.

“This is such a great facility,” Mercer said. “Anytime you can create a place where people can have fun and exercise, it’s so great for their well-being and their health. Moundsville should be really proud of a place like this.”

The city contacted the National Fitness Campaign and was able to get a $30,000 grant. That got the ball rolling along with getting support from WVU Medicine, EQT, and the Evan G. Roberts Trust. And with all its features and future opportunities for instructors to have classes there. Healy said residents don’t have to pay a cent for a good workout.

“This opportunity will be here all the time, as long is the park is open, morning to night, for all ages, absolutely free,” Healy said. “It’s accessible by bike, by walking, we have a parking lot nearby. We think it’s a perfect location and it gives everybody that opportunity to exercise.”