Rec Center offers enhanced facility, programs

Rec
Center offers enhanced facility, programs
…………………………………………………………………

BY DANA BENSON
Rice News Staff

As students,
faculty and staff returned to the Recreation Center this
fall, they found a facility with a new look, new programs
and a new attitude. In short, what they found was “more
than just a gym.”

That’s
the new motto of the Recreation Center, which is housed
at the gymnasium and now is under the direction of Boyd
Beckwith, assistant dean of student affairs for the student
and recreation centers.

All of the changes
at the center, which range from expanded hours to a new
no-uniform policy, have been initiated for the benefit of
its faculty, staff, alumni and student users.
“All of the things that we’re doing are to make
the facility more convenient, safe and accessible to the
Rice community,” Beckwith said.

Some of the
changes include:

• The Recreation
Center’s hours have expanded. The facility is open
from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m.
to 8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to
10 p.m. Sunday. Check the Web at <www.rice.edu/recreation>
for detailed holiday and recess hours as well as pool hours.
• The Rice-issued uniform is no longer a requirement,
although those wishing to still can use a uniform. For those
who choose not to wear the uniform, a shoe tag must be obtained
from the front desk. All gym users must present identification.
Rice identification is available to the partners and children
of faculty and staff for $10 from the Rice University Police
Department and will enable those family members to use the
facility as well.
• The Wellness Program now is called the Group Fitness
Program. Most of the same aerobic classes are being offered,
but for the first time, users can purchase a 10-day pass
that allows them to attend any combination of classes they
choose. By the spring semester, Beckwith hopes to introduce
the Personal Fitness Program through which faculty, staff
and students will have access to a personal trainer.
• A cardio-fitness room will be added in the gymnasium
by the end of the fall semester. The room will include more
than 15 pieces of equipment, such as elliptical trainers,
stair climbers, treadmills and stationary bikes. Eventually,
more free weights will be added in the weight room.
• In addition to lap swim and Group Fitness classes
in the pool, classes such as lifeguard training and swimming
lessons are being offered through the Aquatics Program.
The swimming lessons are open to the children of faculty
and staff, but they must have a Rice ID. Other activities
such as dive-in movies and pool parties are being planned.
• Dance “master” classes, which are one-time
classes taught by professionals, are being offered in the
fall. Classes include such types of dance as classical Indian
dance.
• For improved security, locks will no longer be provided
by the Recreation Center. Users must bring their own locks.
At the beginning of the semester, users can buy a lock at
the facility or, on a temporary basis only, they may be
provided a lock. Baskets and day-use lockers still will
be provided free of charge.
• An exercise testing and prescription lab will allow
Recreation Center users to get a report on their health
status and then have a workout regimen prescribed. This
collaboration between the kinesiology department and the
Recreation Center likely will be offered in the spring semester.
• New towels have been purchased for the Recreation
Center, and, Beckwith noted, they are full-sized. Extra
towels will be available for a fee.

“Many of
our program changes offer a tremendous opportunity for faculty,
staff and students to just try something out rather than
commit to a full semester,” Beckwith said. “Plus,
with our expanded hours, you’d have to have a really
long day to miss an opportunity to come and work out before
or after the work or school day.”

“We want
to help students realize that we can help them with their
academics by giving them a way to relieve stress. Same thing
with faculty and staff — we can help make the university
more productive by providing a recreational outlet,”
he said.

Recreation Center
users also will notice a change in the staff at the facility.
Several new staff members have been added, including Rich
Barnhouse, assistant director for operations; department
coordinator Teresa Tucker; and Steve Walton, evening facilities
coordinator.

In addition,
former faculty members in the kinesiology department have
made the transition to Recreation Center staff members.
Those staff members and the areas they oversee are Scott
Wray, aquatic and outdoor programs; Felicia Cavallini, fitness
programs; Rebecca Valls, dance programs; and Daniel McMasters,
who oversees all of the Recreation Center programs and has
direct responsibility for Rice’s summer camps. McMasters
also directs the Lifetime Physical Activity Program, or
LPAP, which now also comes under the direction of the Recreation
Center. LPAP courses are required by students.

More student
workers will be evident around the Recreation Center as
well, Beckwith noted. With expanded hours and programs,
there is a need for more student lifeguards, entry monitors,
activity attendants and facility managers. Beckwith estimates
that as many as 40 student employees will be hired, and
that’s in addition to the 30 or so lifeguards who ideally
will be students. All of the center’s operations assistants,
whether students or regular staff, are fully trained in
first aid and CPR, he added.

An advisory council
consisting of student, faculty and staff representatives
will be created in the fall to provide direction for the
Recreation Center, Beckwith said. But already, he’s
excited about the changes.

“I’m
really looking forward to seeing the reaction from students
and staff when they come back to this facility, because
it will be different. Not just the cosmetic of the new floor,
which was installed over the summer, but the attitude of
the staff and the programs that they can attend. Student
affairs is putting a whole new focus on this operation,”
he said.