I couldn’t get to the oficial opening of the Adizone fitness area at 12:00 today but I went down about 2:30pm to see what it was all about.

The Adizone is an outdoor gym open to everyone free of charge and available 24/7, although as there’s no lighting I don’t think it will get much use after dark. Sponsored by Adidas (did you guess?) around 40 are being installed around the country. Access to this one is from Marsh Lane, Marston, via the entrance to the Oxsrad Sports Centre and Oxford City Football Club.

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The equipment is installed on an artificial soft surface (which probably has a name which I don’t know) within a grassy field. There’s a small children’s play area behind. The only signs of the opening ceremony were the muddy footprints showing there must have been quite a few enthusiasts trying out the facilities.

There’s a range of fitness machines – cycles, step machines, pull-downs and so on. There’s also a small ball game area with a basketball hoop and tennis wall.

The advance publicity I saw said there was a climbing wall. This is a bit optimistic. It’s more of a bouldering wall (no real height involved) with two double rows of big juggy holds: nothing very challenging but fine for children to mess about on.

All the equipment is weatherproof and each station has instructions and advice on how to use it. I think it’s a great idea and I hope it gets used enough to make it worthwhile. Let’s hope too it doesn’t get spoiled.