June 27, 2018

GameTime Opens National Demonstration Site for Youth and Adult Fitness in Irwindale, California

Play for Life

GameTime is proud to announce the opening of the new playground and adult fitness space at Irwindale Park in Irwindale, California. City leaders worked with GameTime and Great Western Recreation, the exclusive GameTime representative in Southern California, to create a multigenerational recreation area that provides fun, physical activity for children and adults.

The playground was designed to provide all six essential elements of physical play, as outlined in the PlayOn! curriculum. It promotes gross motor development, improves critical thinking and problem solving problem-solving skills. It also offers opportunities for creativity, social interaction, and physical fitness through a variety of activities selected to provide developmental progression of skills.

PlayOn! is a curriculum developed by PlayCore in partnership with SHAPE America. It includes more than 100 playground activities that align with national physical education standards for students in Pre-K through 5th grade. The PlayOn! Activity Guide will be used by the Irwindale Recreation team to support health and wellness initiatives and engage additional program partners such as local school physical education instructors.

Adjacent to the playground is an adult fitness area with GameTime outdoor fitness equipment. The equipment includes familiar-looking machines like a Chest Press and Lat Pull Down, as well as push-up and chin-up bars, balance platforms and more. The area is designed to provide adults of all abilities and fitness levels a well-rounded workout. Since it is near the playground, it also provides parents an opportunity to get in a workout while their children are playing. 

"This type of multigenerational approach to physical activity is a leading trend in parks throughout North America," said Kent Callison, Director of Marketing for GameTime. "When parents exercise in an outdoor setting near the playground, it sets a positive example for children to maintain a healthy lifestyle."

Because the play and fitness areas were designed using research-based best practices to promote youth and adult fitness, Irwindale Park has been named a National Demonstration Site by PlayCore. As a National Demonstration Site the community received a certificate of recognition, the project was added to PlayCore’s national registry at www.pointsmap.com/playcore and will be promoted actively to other communities wishing to promote active lifestyles through play and recreation.