Teresa Collins, Deputy Director of Communications, City of Escondido

In the Fall of 2019, the City of Escondido was selected by the National Fitness Campaign as one of 400 locations across 40 states to open the world’s best free outdoor gym — the Fitness Court®

The Fitness Court is a free, outdoor, bodyweight circuit training system that provides a full-body workout to people of all ability levels. With seven functional fitness zones, the Fitness Court can be used in thousands of ways. Users can follow the simple picture instructions printed right on the Fitness Court equipment or download the free Fitness Court App from their smart phone app store. The app provides access to a wide variety of workout plans, a schedule of free classes held in-person on the court, video tutorials, workout tracking functions, and competitions.

The City of Escondido is committed to promoting healthy activities and upholding the Live Well San Diego vision of healthy, safe and thriving communities by becoming the first National Fitness Campaign Model City in the region. The City will be installing five Fitness Courts throughout Escondido and will be part of a greater network of Fitness Courts across the County and Southern California.

Escondido’s first fitness court was installed in late 2019 at Mountain View Park. It was set to be unveiled in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was delayed until such time as it was safe to return to the parks and utilize fitness amenities. The ribbon was officially cut in February 2021, and the Fitness Court is now officially open for use.

To continue to fulfill its promise as a National Fitness Campaign Model City, Escondido put out a survey to ask residents to rank their preference for where the remaining four fitness courts should be installed. The selected locations represent an effort to spread these recreational assets equitably around the City to maximize access. The next two Fitness Courts will be installed in early 2021 and the remaining two will be completed in late 2021/early 2022.

Feedback so far from the community has been overwhelming positive as they are so grateful to have a free, COVID-safe, outdoor fitness option.

The City’s Fitness Court Ambassador program allows enthusiastic fitness and wellness professionals to volunteer their time and expertise to help new users get the most benefit from the Fitness Courts by providing free trainings and classes on the court, as well as serving as an advocate for the program to help spread the word.

In acknowledgement of their efforts, the City was awarded the 2020 National Fitness Campaign Healthy Infrastructure Award in the distinct category of Innovation for cultivating “the most forward-thinking, unique and powerful strategy, idea or campaign element that can be shared as a ‘best practice’ to all Campaign partners in the following year.”

For more information about Escondido’s Fitness Courts and how to become an Ambassador, visit https://recreation.escondido.org/fitness-court.