The Windermere Community Fitness Park Story

The Windermere Community Fitness Park project team, led by Brad White and the Windermere PAC, assisted by volunteers from the community, have been busy behind the scenes for more than 2 years to make the Windermere Fitness Park a reality. As of June 2022, the work had paid off and the Windermere Community Fitness Park officially opened, and by late summer online resources to help people learn how to use the fitness park were live.

The posts below are snapshots from the storyline of Windermere Community Fitness Park. Many seemingly little things have come together through the efforts of Brad White and the Windermere PAC to get us to where the project stands today. With essential funding in place, the empty asphalt lot at 27th Avenue and Lillooet Street has become Vancouver’s first dedicated fitness park, a free public exercise facility outside in the fresh air, a place to challenge yourself and meet your neighbours.

Recently, phase two of the fitness park, a $45,000 addition to the park was fully funded by the province of BC. The donation covers the cost of Vancouver’s first dedicated outdoor table tennis court (complete with twin tables), benches, and modest landscaping. The table tennis court is expected to be completed by early summer of 2023.

The Windermere Community Fitness Park blog details important moments in the journey to create the fitness park for the benefit of Windermere School and the local community. Check in frequently as articles are added regularly to this page to announce, promote, fundraise, educate and inform. Thanks for reading!

Vancouver’s First Dedicated Table Tennis Court is a GO!

It’s official! Windermere Community Fitness Park will soon be the home to Vancouver’s first dedicated outdoor table tennis court as phase two of the park is receives $45,000 funding from Adrian Dix, BC’s Minister of Health. Says Windermere PE Director Brad White, “This is great news! Table tennis is the world’s second largest participation sport and requires little more than an entry level racquet and a few balls. The sport is accessible to nearly everyone, develops agility, coordination, balance, leg and mid-section strength.

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How to Get the Most From Your Fitness Park Visits

In this article you will learn some key points on how to get the most out of your visits to the Windermere Community Fitness Park. Empowered with this information, you’ll be able to master correct form and posture for each exercise; you’ll be able to gauge exactly how much work you need to do; you’ll be able to reduce the time you take for a workout; and you’ll be able to optimize recovery to help your muscles rebuild. In essence, with this information, you’ll become your own personal trainer.

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Donor Wall of Gratitude

The Windermere Community Fitness Park Project team of teachers, parents, volunteers and community members is deeply grateful to all of the individuals and corporations who have donated money, time, and resources to help make phase one of Windermere Community Fitness Park a reality. With phase two in the fundraising stage, we invite you to pledge your 100% tax-free donation!

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Donation FAQs

With phase one complete and the fitness park open, efforts have begun in earnest to raise approximately $25,000 for phase two of the Windermere Community Fitness Park. Phase two includes Vancouver’s first dedicated outdoor table tennis court, two tribute-ready benches overlooking the fitness park, some landscaping, and a small contingency fund for adjuncts and accessories for the fitness park.

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Our Online Resources are now Live

Bring your smart phone to the fitness park! Our new “scan to learn” information system for finding out how to use the stations at Windermere Community Fitness park is now complete. The online information system was a collaboration between Brad White, Windermere PE Director, and a local volunteer who just happens to be a retired NSCA-certified Personal Trainer who worked the front lines of fitness centres with the city of Vancouver for 35 years! How’s that for fortuitous?

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Windermere Community Fitness Park is open!

A month after the rubber surface was installed and allowed to cure, workers from Marathon Surfaces arrived to remove the security fencing surrounding the Windermere Community Fitness Park site. As of this morning, and without the usual fanfare, the fitness park was unofficially open to the community. By early evening the site was alive with families exploring the array of exercise stations for the first time. Yet to be installed are the QR codes on each station offering exercise suggestions when scanned with a smart phone, and the large format welcome sign that provides an overview of the fitness park.

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Construction Report – Rubber Surfacing Begins!

The Windermere Fitness Park installation made great progress this past week. By the start of the long weekend, the fitness equipment had been assembled and erected, and the concrete bases, poured a few days before, had firmly set. On Monday, the team from Habitat Systems had completed most of their work. On Tuesday, the team from Marathon Surfaces arrived to begin the installation of the rubber surface.

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PAC Donates $11,000

The Windermere Fitness Park team is overjoyed to announce the PAC executives of Windermere Secondary have made the decision to donate $6,000 more towards the fitness park!!! This is in addition to $5,000 already approved earlier this year. Remarkably, a total of $11,000 is being donated from the PAC 🙂

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WFP gets Canada Healthy Communities Initiative Grant!

The Healthy Communities Initiative is a $31 million investment from the Government of Canada to transform public spaces in response to COVID-19. Brad White applied on behalf of the Windermere Fitness Park (WFP) project and within months found out that indeed, we qualified. Read the story here…

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The Project is a GO!

It’s official. The Windermere Fitness Park project is a GO! The years-long efforts of Brad White and the PAC has paid off. The equipment and rubber surface for the park have now been fully funded: Phase 1 by individuals, businesses, the VSB and the PAC, and Phase 2 by the government of Canada, through the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative. The facility is expected to open in late April.

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Windermere PAC Donations Call-To-Action

The Windermere PAC wants you, students, families, and residents of Renfrew Heights… to get fit for life. That’s right, you can be prepare to be fit for life tomorrow by making the Windermere Fitness Park a reality with your generous donation today.

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Construction Begins But Grinds To A Halt

A long-anticipated email from Brad White, Windermere PE Department Head, announcing the start of construction of the Windermere Fitness Park, arrived on May 19 to the delight of everyone involved with the fitness park project. The day after, security fencing went up, holes for foundations were dug, the equipment was off-loaded from flatbed trucks and laid out in pieces on the ground for assembly. That’s when someone noticed the equipment was not the orange colour ordered…

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Construction Resumes

Construction of the new Windermere Fitness Park resumed on June 20. A crack crew from Habitat Systems arrived with the new Windermere-orange fitness equipment and resumed excavating holes in the asphalt for anchoring the bases of each of the 15 stations. Construction of the fitness park had stopped last month when the equipment arrived finished in a powder-coat of blue paint instead of orange. The resumption of construction is happening quicker than anyone had anticipated and the park will likely be open sometime in July or August.

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Construction Report – Progress!

Progress really picked up last Monday on the Windermere Fitness Park project and by the end of the week most of the structures had been assembled and positioned in place awaiting concrete to anchor the bases. Brad White, the project manager is hopeful that the rubber surface would be poured this week to complete the construction phase of the project.

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Introducing Athletic Endeavours

Introducing Windermere Fitness Park featured donor Andrew Tuovinen of Athletic Endeavours Personal Training and Multi-sport Endurance Coaching who, until recently, made his home here in Renfrew Heights. “Even though I’ve moved a few kilometres away, I donated because I believe in this project and I think it will pave the way for more fitness parks.”

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SY Farm Market

Owners Sonny and Yuyi of SY Farm Market at 2438 E Hastings Street live near the school and donated $500 towards the Windermere Fitness Park describing their contribution as a “no-brainer”. “We value our community and try to give back when we can”, adds Sonny. Many thanks to the Deng family for their generous support!

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My Active Community

Home My Active Community As a long-time resident and Windermere Fitness Park project supporter, allow me to introduce the neighbourhood surrounding Windermere Secondary, the community

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