news@nfchq.com
USC Sumter and the City of Sumter joined forces to bring an outdoor Fitness Court to their shared campus corridor, creating a wellness resource that belongs to students, faculty, and Sumter residents alike.
The Fitness Court at USC Sumter did not come from one decision made in one office. It came from a conversation between a university and a city that recognized something they both needed: an accessible, high-quality outdoor fitness resource that could serve their overlapping communities without drawing a line between them.
USC Sumter contributed grant funding and the campus location. The City of Sumter brought the municipal relationship and community reach. The Williams-Brice-Edwards Charitable Trust provided philanthropic support that helped close the funding gap. The result is a Fitness Court co-branded with the USC Sumter Fire Ants logo, sitting at the corner of Theatre Drive and University Drive, between Palmetto Park and the Palmetto Tennis Center, in a corridor that students, faculty, and community members already move through every day.
A location that earns its keep
Placement matters. Jason Stoddard, project manager for the City of Sumter, described what the location makes possible in practical terms:
"This fills a gap. It provides free outdoor fitness to everyone. Their whole mission is building healthy communities nationwide, and they do that by bringing free outdoor fitness to everyone. That ties into what we've been trying to do in Sumter, which is to make Sumter a healthier, more resilient community."
The Palmetto Tennis Center next door saw it immediately. James Harrellson, service coordinator at the Tennis Center, noted what the corridor now offers together:
"You've got the tennis center right here, the baseball field over there, and then calisthenic strength work over there. It's like all in one. It encompasses all the movement, working on your coordination on the tennis court and then strengthening everything over there. It's all close. It's really good."
Julia Beynor, head teaching professional at the Palmetto Tennis Center, pointed to what makes the bodyweight format particularly valuable:
"The calisthenics, all body weight and not having to worry about equipment, those are actually really functional movements. Things that you use every single day. Not these big heavyweight movements. Things that just help every single person."
The seven-station bodyweight circuit is supported by the free Fitness Court app, which provides guided workouts at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, putting a coach in the pocket of every person who steps onto the equipment. Stoddard emphasized the reach that creates: "I want to see people of all ages out here. They have workouts geared towards senior citizens and pretty much all ages."
What the partnership signals
Mayor David Merchant put the collaboration in terms that resonate for anyone involved in campus-community partnerships:
"This project is an important investment in the health, wellness, and quality of life of our community. Partnerships like this demonstrate what we can accomplish when organizations come together with a shared vision of building a stronger, healthier Sumter for generations to come." Mayor David Merchant, City of Sumter
That framing matters for university partners in particular. A Fitness Court on a college campus is rarely just a campus amenity. When it is placed thoughtfully, it becomes a point of connection between the institution and the community it lives inside. USC Sumter's project demonstrates what that looks like in practice: a university contributing grant funding toward a public resource that serves its students and its neighbors in equal measure, with the city and a philanthropic partner at the table to make it real.
Part of a growing South Carolina network
South Carolina now has 11 open Fitness Courts across 8 communities, and the network reflects genuine range. Aiken is part of it. So is the City of Columbia, which launched its second Fitness Court at Finlay Park in 2025 as part of a $25 million park revitalization, one of the most significant public wellness investments in the state in recent years.
USC Sumter joins that network as one of the first education-sector partners in the region, demonstrating a model that other campuses can adapt: combine university grant funding, municipal partnership, and philanthropic support to create something that serves everyone on both sides of the campus boundary.
Colleges and universities are increasingly being asked to extend their wellness infrastructure beyond the rec center and into the public spaces their communities share. A Fitness Court is a durable, low-barrier, highly visible way to do exactly that. USC Sumter's partnership with the City of Sumter is a strong example of what it looks like when a campus and a city decide to build something together rather than separately.
