Children at the Bellamy Fitness Center

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Ellsworth AFB, S.D. --  The Commander's Action Line is a forum for the Ellsworth community to make suggestions or voice concerns about Ellsworth directly to Col. Mark Weatherington, 28th Bomb Wing commander. 

QUESTION 



I am writing because spouses have been denied the ability to bring our children to the Bellamy Fitness Center to participate in group classes and personal training. We used to be able to bring our children to the classes to sit on the sidelines while we worked out. As the class started to build with more people, the fitness center staff discovered that it was not in line with their AFI to have children in the room while the adults participated in the fitness class. To fix the problem the fitness center banned children from the room and the class that we enjoyed for several months ended.

Col. Mark Weatherington
Col. Mark
Weatherington		   RESPONSE

Thanks for your note and I applaud your dedication to exercise.

Age appropriate limitations during fitness activities help to ensure a safe environment for all customers--parents, children, and other users--and they also protect the Air Force from a liability standpoint. The Air Force Instruction you mention is consistent with guidelines established by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine.

The current Parent Child Area provides a host of fitness alternatives for families, including treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, and multi-station strength machines. Additionally, we are preparing to build a larger child play area which will improve direct line of sight supervision of the children and provide additional exercise equipment for the parents.

Unfortunately, we cannot place an additional Parent Child Area within the group exercise room without significantly reducing available square footage and affecting other programs and activities. We also cannot provide staffed child care for parents participating in exercise classes. I encourage you to work with our Fitness Center Director, Mr. Rick Ives, and our Airman and Family Services Flight Chief, Ms Angela Winchester, to meet your child care needs and enhance your fitness objectives (385-7772/2266).

There are five licensed Family Child Care Providers on base and three Air Force affiliated licensed Family Child Care Providers residing near the base in Box Elder who all provide hourly care in their homes. The Family Child Care Office, the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Child Development Center and the Fitness Center can provide a list of licensed providers.

Additionally, limited hourly care spaces are available at the Child Development Center; parents can call the center at 385-2488 to make reservations.