Craig Howell COMING SOON – The Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation, working with the National Fitness Campaign, will soon have an outdoor fitness court installed at Margaret Manson Weir Memorial Park.

WEIRTON — A planned public fitness court is expected to soon take shape at Margaret Manson Weir Memorial Park.

Working with the National Fitness Campaign, the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation will have a Fitness Court installed in the coming months in an area of the court that once hosted a sand volleyball court.

An initial shipment of equipment and materials already has arrived on site, Parks and Recreation Executive Director Coty Shingle explained during Thursday’s meeting of the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation.

The first phase of work, however, is not expected to begin for about another month.

“The concrete will be poured around July 15,” Shingle said. “It has to have a month of curing time.”

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 designated stations.

The National Fitness Campaign Fitness Court also utilizes a smartphone application to connect users 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, although Shingle indicated the Park Board may opt for a predesigned art option instead of a custom or local design in an effort to save time and money.

“It all has to be planned and sent back to them,” Shingle said, explaining the artwork is applied as a wrap on the equipment.

The predesigned art options may cost around $10,000, Shingle noted, while custom or local designs can cost up to $25,000.

Board member Anthony Capp pointed to a few of the proposed pre-made designs he thinks will fit in well, including some reflective of nature.

“I feel some of the standard options aren’t bad,” Capp said.

Shingle said a more customized design could be possible if local financial support for the project materializes, but that has not happened so far.

“So far, the feelers we’ve put out there haven’t yielded anything,” Shingle said, noting there will be space available on the court for supporter logos.

The project is being funded through a $30,000 grant from the National Fitness Campaign, along with a $145,000 local match provided by the city of Weirton and the park board.

This would not 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.