Girls rule the roost in a new center opening in Missoula.

Come February, a nonprofit called The Girls Way kicks off on Russell Street, program director Stephanie Boone said. The center for 10- to 18-year-olds opens Feb. 12 between Home Resource and the Black Coffee Roasting Co. as a space wholly dedicated to young females and fitness.

"We wanted ... a space for girls to completely own so they feel like it's theirs and they are creating and fully able to freely express themselves," Boone said. "It's kind of a place run by girls. They are going to say what goes and what doesn't."

Boone started a similar program at the Women's Club, but it was a for-profit afterschool program. Girls would come in and do yoga, pilates, zumba, running and lifting. But Boone had a larger vision.

"I really wanted to reach more girls, especially girls who can't afford to take those kinds of classes because they get expensive," she said.

So she got together with Sally Jo Beck, and in July they presented the idea to WORD, Women's Opportunity and Resource Development. WORD took the program under its wing, which allows the Girls Way to use its tax identification number for grant applications.