EDWARDS — From a landscape perspective, it’s difficult to miss Mountain Recreation’s Edwards Field House.
But Mountain Rec wants local residents to be as familiar with the inside of the facility as they are with the large building’s looming presence in their community.
“When we look at our three facilities — the Gypsum Recreation Center, the Eagle Pool and Ice Rink and the field house — we see Edwards as a facility that has done really well renting out space to other user groups,” said Mountain Rec Marketing and Communications Manager Scott Robinson. “What we want to do is to get more programming booked into that facility.”
To that end, Mountain Rec just launched a fitness program that offers 12 different classes ranging from tai chi to Zumba — offered Monday through Friday at the Edwards site.
Room to spread out
As its name suggests, the Edwards Field House is an expansive space. The facility includes an indoor soccer field, a gymnastics center and an anti-gravity center equipped with high-performance trampolines. The field house is a popular practice facility for various groups including the Freedom FC soccer team and the Vail and Battle Mountain High School lacrosse programs.
But as Mountain Recreation looked at how to maximum public opportunities at its facilities, the field house was identified as a site where fitness programs were needed. A survey last year supported that finding as potential users weighed in on what they wanted at the facility. More than 60 percent of the survey respondents indicated they would be interested in attending fitness classes “a few times a week.” Their preferred fitness options included yoga, circuit training, Barr, spin, Zumba and tai chi.
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However, before Mountain Rec could program fitness classes the district needed to do some remodeling. That’s now happened and the Edwards Field House fitness program debuted Feb. 4.
The fitness schedule also reflects the survey results with classes offered early and mid-morning, at noon and after work. The cost is $10 per class or $180 for 20 visits.
Welcome addition
Jessica Cliver has been teaching the popular Fury (high-intensity workout) class at the Gypsum Rec Center for the past five months. She will co-coach the Edwards Fury sessions with Lucas Rivera, Mountain Rec’s health and wellness supervisor.
“I know that Edwards residents are looking forward to a larger variety of fitness classes in their area,” said Cliver.
She added the field house space offers some great workout options.
“We are bringing a very unique facility to the table with the use of our new studio and indoor turf,” Cliver said. “This gives me, and all the instructors, the ability to bring much more variety into our workouts.”
Robinson said the turf area is just one of the unique programming options available at the field house. For example, the anti-gravity center provides the opportunity for aerial yoga and there are slackline options at the gymnastics area.
Robinson said many locals aren’t familiar with the field house amenities.
“We have fitness customers coming in who have never been inside of the facility,” he said. “Offering more community programs gets more people through the doors.”
“We have heard a lot of feedback about program affordability,” Robinson continued. “Our focus at Mountain Rec is to make fitness and wellness more accessible to people with a price point that’s lower than what is currently available in the area.”
For more information or to see a detailed fitness schedule for the Edwards Field House visit mountainrecreation.org.
