Roving Gyms provide play and exercise during pandemic

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 28, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman One-year-old Louie Scherloski plays with his mom Kelsey during the Roving Gym program offered by the Lethbridge Sport Council Thursday at the Servus Sports Centre.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Sport Council offers parents of children newborn to five years old an opportunity to use equipment designed to get kids moving.
Through their Roving Gyms program, the LSC provide a space and equipment for families to connect with their children through free play.
“We try to educate families about physical literacy and how it helps their child’s brain development and their physical development, to make them happier and healthier adults,” said Shawn Daye-Finley, program and event coordinator, Lethbridge Sport Council.
He said they were able to purchase the equipment thanks to several grants they have been able to obtain.
“Right now we’re running two times a week. We run an evening program and a morning program,” said Daye-Finley.
He said morning programs run on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Servus Sports Centre, located at 2501 28 Ave South, and evening programs run on Tuesday at Immanuel Lutheran Church located at 20 Rocky Mountain Blvd West for parents who work during the day.
A first-time attendee, Kelsey Scherloski said she found out about the event through a website called Lethbridge with Kids and her 18-month-old son Louie Scherloski was enjoying his time at the Roving Gym on Thursday.
“It’s nice to be able to meet up with other moms and kids in the community especially during this time. Things are really weird and with the weather being cold it’s harder to go out for walks and enjoy the parks, so it’s good to be able to access stuff like this and he loves it,” said Scherloski.
Daye-Finley said the program is set to continue year round provided they have the capacity to keep running it. And when the weather gets better, they will be moving outdoors and visiting different parks so they can reach more families.
“It’s really great to see the families come out and I encourage people through these hard times to come out and connect with one another, and for the kids to benefit from seeing other kids their age. It’s really awesome to watch them grow,” said Daye-Finley.

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