Eastern Montana Just Got a Fitness Court, and the Location Says Everything About What Sidney Values

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Sidney, Montana sits in the far northeastern corner of the state, in Richland County, where the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers meet and the landscape opens up into the wide skies of the eastern plains. It is a community with deep ties to agriculture and oil, a strong parks system spanning 27 designated parks across more than 63 acres, and until September 3, a gap that Parks Superintendent Stephanie Ridl had been hearing about for years: there were few fitness options in Sidney's public parks.

The Fitness Court at Svarre Municipal Pool Park fills that gap. Developed through a partnership between the City of Sidney, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, the Foundation for Community Care, Kraken Oil and Gas, and the National Fitness Campaign, the seven-station outdoor gym is free, open to anyone 14 and up, and designed to meet every user at whatever fitness level they bring to it.

A location chosen with intention

Svarre Municipal Pool Park is one of Sidney's most active public spaces. The 50-meter pool with waterslides and a splash deck draws families through the summer. A veterans memorial anchors the park with civic significance. A playground serves the youngest residents. And directly across the street, a 2.1-mile pedestrian trail runs through the heart of town, connecting the park to the broader fabric of Sidney's outdoor life.

The Fitness Court sits at the intersection of all of it, close enough to the trail that someone mid-walk can detour for a set of ring rows and keep going, and close enough to two elementary schools that the next generation of Sidney residents will grow up seeing outdoor fitness as a normal part of their park experience. Ridl put the value of the location plainly:

"Bringing outdoor recreation facilities such as the NFC Fitness Court into our community gives people a reason to get outside, stay active, and enjoy the great outdoors of eastern Montana." Stephanie Ridl, Parks Superintendent, City of Sidney

Ridl also prepared demonstration boards for the launch, a detail that reflects the care with which the parks department approached activation from day one. The boards give first-time users a visual guide to the seven stations and the exercises available at each, making the Fitness Court genuinely accessible to the older adults and newcomers to fitness who had never had a space like this in their community before.

A launch day that reflected the community behind it

The September 3 ribbon cutting brought together the people who made the project possible. Mayor Rick Norby spoke on behalf of the city. BCBSMT President Lisa Kelley took the podium to share what the partnership means for Montana at large. Jeff Hintz, Sidney's Director of Public Works, joined alongside Shannon Wick and Lisa Gorder of the Sidney Chamber of Commerce, and Jen Boyer and Kara Lustig from the Foundation for Community Care, whose local philanthropic support helped close the funding gap alongside Kraken Oil and Gas.

Kelley spoke directly to the public health motivation behind BCBSMT's investment in this campaign:

"We're so happy we can help with this addition to your lovely town. It's an honor to join you today to celebrate our collaboration with the City of Sidney and the National Fitness Campaign to provide this free, accessible space for community members of all abilities. On average, one in two adults don't get any physical activity in their day-to-day lives, which can lead to chronic detrimental conditions. We saw a need to reduce barriers to improving both physical and mental health, especially in an outdoor setting." Lisa Kelley, President, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana

Tyler and Don from the Parks Department served as fitness ambassadors, demonstrating beginner and advanced variations at each of the seven stations for the crowd. Then Sidney Police and Fire squared off in a head-to-head challenge on the Fitness Court, giving the launch day exactly the kind of energy that makes a new community amenity feel like it already belongs.

What Montana is building

Sidney joins Glasgow and Columbia Falls as one of three BCBSMT and NFC partner communities in Montana, with the state's network continuing to grow. BCBSMT has committed $250,000 toward funding 10 Fitness Courts across Montana, a statewide investment that reflects a clear-eyed understanding of what outdoor access means in a state where people's relationship to the land is not incidental but central to who they are.

"Montanans have a deep appreciation for the outdoors and the role it plays in our well-being. By bringing Fitness Courts to communities across the state, we're creating new ways for people to stay active, enjoy outdoor spaces, and make healthy living part of their everyday lives." Lisa Kelley, President, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana

For Sidney, the Fitness Court at Svarre Municipal Pool Park is not just a new piece of equipment. It is the answer to a question the community had been asking for a long time: where do older adults go in this parks system to get a real workout? The answer is now across the street from the trail, next door to two schools, and beside a pool that has been the heartbeat of this community's summer for generations.