GETTING FIT — The Weirton Park Board is working toward the development of an outdoor fitness court, through the National Fitness Campaign, in the back of Marland Heights Park. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — A new amenity to encourage fitness in the community may be coming to one of Weirton’s two major parks.

Following several months of discussions and planning, Weirton Parks officials are moving forward with a project to establish an outdoor fitness court in an area at the back of Marland Heights Park once occupied by a sand volleyball court.

“It’s a flat area,” Parks Executive Director Coty Shingle said. “It’s really the only usable space we have left.”

The issue was first raised last fall, with Weirton Council approving a resolution in October to allocate funds for the outdoor fitness court as part of the 2026 National Fitness Campaign.

For its part, the city submitted a grant application for $30,000 to the National Fitness Campaign, with the city providing a local match of $145,000.

While no specific designs for the fitness court have been made publicly available, the National Fitness Campaign describes its fitness court sites as being “designed to provide a full body workout in only seven minutes, all for free in the great outdoors.”

The courts offer up to seven zones of exercise activities, focusing on squats, core workouts, push and pull activities, lunges and agility and bending, establishing opportunities for a circuit workout through established stations.

The National Fitness Campaign Fitness Court also utilizes an established smartphone application, to connect with a network of other fitness courts and training programs made available through the campaign.

Courts are known to incorporate elements of public art along with the focus on fitness.

Shingle said he anticipates much of its use will be in the earlier morning and later afternoon hours.

“This is another amenity that will draw people to the park,” Shingle said.

The National Fitness Campaign has set a goal of funding 5,000 free outdoor fitness courts by 2030 within a 10-minute bicycle ride of every American.

Shingle noted this wouldn’t be the first time the National Fitness Campaign has partnered with Weirton on a project. A walking trail installed at Starvaggi Memorial Park in 1971 was among its first efforts in community fitness.

The Fitness Court program was launched in 1979.