UC Community Sweating to Keep a Resolution

The Campus Recreation Center is reporting a record spike in daily attendance as the fitness section of the facility comes up on its first anniversary. Lee Ann Werner, associate director of membership and marketing for the Campus Recreation Center, says that during winter quarter, the Rec Center is seeing more than 3,200 people daily, the first time crowds over 3,000 have been so consistent since the Rec Center opened. Werner and Campus Recreation Center Director Kim Schmidt say it’s obvious that the UC community is holding to that resolution to shape up for the new year (and spring break) at UC’s state-of-the art facility.

The fitness facility in the 350,000 square-foot Rec Center first opened Feb. 6, 2006, completing UC’s MainStreet corridor, the largest and most ambitious capital project in the university’s history. The fitness and recreation section of the Campus Recreation Center holds more than 200 cardio and fitness machines; eight racquet courts, a lap pool; a leisure pool (with current channel, water wall, bubble couch and vortex); a whirlpool; a suspended four-lane walking/jogging track; six-court gymnasium; 40-foot climbing wall; three multipurpose rooms; a warm-up/stretching area and juice bar. Full-time undergraduate students need only their ID to get in – their membership is paid for as part of their campus life fee. Paid memberships are open to UC faculty, staff and alumni as well as the Cincinnati USA community. Werner says from December to January, the Rec Center gained 75 additional non-student memberships.

Schmidt adds that paid registration for group exercise classes and special fitness programs is up as well, with a Gravity Pilates fitness class being the center’s first program to fill up. Other popular programs include ballroom dancing, an Argentine Tango class and swimming lessons.

Registration is currently underway for a fitness program for future brides, which begins classes on Feb. 8. FitBrides offers a comprehensive fitness, nutrition and wellness program to help brides look their best on their wedding day.

Fit versus Fat

In 2005, Men’s Fitness Magazine partnered with the Princeton Review research organization to rank the top 20 fittest and fattest schools across America, based on surveys of over 10,000 students representing 660 of the nation’s top colleges and universities. Among the questions, students were asked how much they worked out, as well as what they thought of their campus fitness facilities. UC ranked 17th among the fattest universities (Number one in the 2005 fat category: University of Louisiana, Lafayette; Number one in the fittest category: Brigham Young University).

That survey was conducted before the state-of-the art Campus Recreation Center opened in February, 2006, a facility that also holds the national award-winning restaurant, CenterCourt, which features “Just for You” vegan and vegetarian selections, as well as nutritional kiosks that provide information on fats, carbs, cholesterol and sodium content in food selections.

Schmidt says the Campus Recreation Center is obviously shaping up the crowds along MainStreet – noting the spike of over 3,000 fitness enthusiasts and comparing that with the average of 650 people who would typically work out at the old fitness facility at Shoemaker Center.

Diving for Diamonds
Rec Center members and non-members can register now to literally go diving for diamonds on Feb. 10. The dive, sponsored by the Richter & Phillips Company, takes place at noon, Saturday, Feb. 10, in the Campus Recreation Center lap pool. The dive to the bottom of the pool could pull up gym bags, T-shirts, massages, gift certificates or a diamond worth up to $2,000 to be redeemed from the Richter & Phillips Company downtown. Registration is $15 for rec center members and $20 for non-members, with the money raised supporting the rec center’s student scholarship fund. Registration is taking place now at the member services desk at the Campus Recreation Center. For more information, contact Chad Rodgers, associate director of programs, at 513-556-0510.
 
Campus Recreation Center Web site and Membership Information
Campus Recreation Center Member Services: (513) 556-0604
Department of Campus Recreation Main Office: Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm, (513) 556-5706
Fax: (513) 556-0601
E-mail: reccenter@uc.edu