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CANADIAN NEWSWIRE
TORONTO – ParticipACTION, in partnership with Get Active Toronto, has donated an accessible outdoor fitness gym for city residents to use for free at Ashbridges Bay Park. President and CEO of ParticipACTION, Kelly Murumets, teamed up with Toronto Argonauts Cedric Gagne-Marcoux and Ricky Foley, and Get Active Toronto Manager Catriona Delaney to try out the new outdoor equipment – challenging all Torontonians to get off the couch, enjoy the outdoors and stay physically active.
“This is another great way to give our residents more opportunities for physical activity,” says Mayor David Miller, who is also Honorary Chair, Get Active Toronto. “We all live healthy, more vibrant, more thoughtful lives when we are fit.”
ParticipACTION worked with Get Active Toronto to secure the Ashbridges Bay Park playground location and promote the use of the outdoor equipment to city residents.
“Being active outdoors is a great way to improve your health while escaping the pressures of everyday life,” says Murumets. “By providing Torontonians with free, fun and safe outdoor gym equipment, we are giving them a means to incorporate more movement into their everyday lives.”
According to the 2010 Get Active Toronto Report on Physical Activity, over 57 per cent of Torontonians aged 12 and up are inactive; a number that has risen six percent since 2005. More alarming is that the average Toronto teenager spends up to 18 hours per week in front of a screen. The donation of the free, accessible equipment to the city is meant to make physical activity accessible to people of all incomes, abilities, interests and ages.
“This new outdoor fitness park provides a great opportunity for families to enjoy outdoor physical activity for free,” says Delaney. “We are proud to work together with ParticipACTION to reduce or eliminate barriers and enable a more active population.”
The outdoor fitness equipment is installed in the playground area at Ashbridges Bay, just northwest of the beach volleyball courts, and includes six pieces of gym equipment, such as: seated leg presses, air walkers, a chest press and an air skier. The outdoor gym equipment is weatherproof, so can be used all year round, and does not use weights for resistance, but rather one’s own body weight.
ParticipACTION, in partnership with Get Active Toronto, made a similar outdoor fitness park donation to Glen Ravine Park at Gilder Drive in Scarborough. The equipment was installed earlier this year.