Special to the NEWS
The City of San Benito, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and National Fitness Campaign (NFC) announced earlier this week a partnership to bring an outdoor Fitness Court® and digital wellness programming to San Benito.
The Fitness Court, located at Kennedy Park, is opening on April 17, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The public is invited to attend the opening ceremony.
This Fitness Court® was developed by the City of San Benito, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and NFC to expand free access to high-quality workouts and create equitable access to exercise for communities across the region, according to a City of San Benito press release. The Fitness Court® is the world’s best outdoor gym that empowers users to leverage their own body weight for a complete workout using seven exercise stations.
Created for adults of all abilities ages 14 and up, the Fitness Court® workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels, allowing participants to move at their own pace. Users may download the free Fitness Court® App, which acts as a coach-in-your-pocket and enhances the outdoor gym into a digitally supported wellness experience.
The City of San Benito is one of 35 Campaign Partners building a network of Fitness Courts across the state with the help of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
“The City of San Benito is deeply committed to enhancing the quality of life and health for all our residents. We are incredibly grateful to our partners for their generous support in making this state-of-the-art fitness court studio available to the public at no cost,” said San Benito Mayor Ricardo “Rick” Guerra. “This is an exciting addition to our community, and we can’t wait to see everyone take full advantage of this amazing resource.”
As part of the nationwide effort to build Fitness Courts®, grant funding is available to support local artists collaborating with their communities. The City of San Benito highlights the work of Cecilia Sierra, a local artist known for her impactful murals throughout the region. Sierra’s contribution to the Fitness Court® will bring creative and wellness benefits to the community.
“In addition to improvement in physical health, physical activity improves behavioral health conditions and can foster opportunities to make new social connections,” said Dr. Mark Chassay, chief medical officer at BCBSTX, “About half of U.S. adults are not getting enough physical activity in their daily lives. Helping fund these Fitness Courts is just one example of how we can support optimal health outcomes for all Texans, right in their own communities.”
“We are excited to have the City of San Benito join us in the journey to improve health and wellness as we work to make a powerful and long-lasting impact on health outcomes and happiness by building healthy communities across America,’’ said Mitch Menaged, founder of National Fitness Campaign. “The addition of the outdoor Fitness Court, along with digital wellness programming, demonstrates a tremendous commitment to the health and wellbeing within the San Benito community.”
For more information on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’s support of NFC, visit https://www.nationalfitnesscampaign.com/texas.
Celebrating 95 years of helping improve the health of Texans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas — the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas — is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with more than 168,000 physicians and health care practitioners, and 550 hospitals to serve eight million members in all 254 counties, according to its website.
BCBSTX is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico). Health Care Service Corporation is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Founded in San Francisco in 1979, National Fitness Campaign (NFC) is a wellness consulting firm that provides programs and services to cities, schools and sponsors. Our mission is to build healthy communities nationwide, according to a press release.
The campaign delivers an integrated wellness initiative, centered on the Fitness Court®– the world’s best outdoor gym. National Fitness Campaign is preparing to welcome its 750th healthy community in 2025, as it continues to grow the country’s largest public-private partnership in support of wellness with the goal of building a Fitness Court® within a 10-minute bike ride of every American. Learn more about National Fitness Campaign at nationalfitnesscampaign.com and follow along on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.