 |
 |
|
|
|
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
Club and intramural athletes excited about bigger, better games
By Jessica Ullian
|
|
Six squash and racquetball courts are available for physical education classes, intramural sports teams, and recreational play. Racquets, goggles, and other equipment can be rented or purchased in the center’s pro shop. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky |
|
|
|
The members of the men’s volleyball club, a Division I team in the New England Collegiate Volleyball League, have big plans for next semester. In their new home, a three-court gymnasium with motorized divider curtains, benches for home and opposing teams, and 1,600 square feet of storage space, they envision practices that start before 9 p.m. on weeknights, 12-college tournaments hosted by Boston University, and a weekly open-recreation game where they can recruit new players.
“I’ve already seen the new Fitness and Recreation Center,” says club vice president Derek Palmore (CAS’06), sighing happily. “And it’s nice.”
Until now, the Case Physical Education Center, Sargent Gymnasium, and Walter Brown Arena have been shared among 21 varsity sports, 28 club teams, close to 3,000 intramural athletes, and the students, faculty, and staff who used the fitness facilities. For the club and intramural teams, the crowded conditions meant that practice times were scheduled at odd hours, large competitions were impossible, and the number of club and intramural sports offered was capped because of limited space. However, the April 1 opening of the John Hancock Student Village Fitness and Recreation Center — also known as FitRec — changes everything, from the number of intramurals offered to the way certain club sports are played. Much as the Agganis Arena signifies a new competitive era for Terrier sports, the neighboring FitRec Center gives the University’s other athletes more opportunities to play and a chance to build BU’s reputation in the regional and national club leagues.
“It’ll make scheduling easier for us, offer the teams a better selection of times, and allow us to create new programs,” says Chris Daigle, the assistant coordinator for intramural sports. “Maybe even more faculty and staff will play.”
“A whole new game” for some athletes
For the majority of club athletes, the most significant parts of the facility are the two gyms, which will be used for basketball, badminton, indoor soccer, inline hockey, volleyball, and other sports. The 27,000-square-foot four-court gymnasium, on the upper level of the center, has retractable basketball backstops and is surrounded by an elevated jogging track. Motorized divider curtains segment the space into four distinct areas, making it possible to hold a pickup basketball game on one end, a badminton practice on the other, and a volleyball tournament in the middle. In the Case Center, fitting more than one group at a time was a challenge.
On a level below is the 18,500-square-foot three-court gymnasium, which can also be divided into separate spaces and has the added features of team benches, glass hockey boards with recessed goals, and plenty of storage space. The floor is constructed of a special resilient linoleum designed for inline skating use — a dramatic change for the inline hockey club team, which has been playing in off-campus gyms.
“It’s going to be a whole new game, almost,” says Tracey Dultz, assistant coordinator for club sports. “They’re going to be playing in an actual rink.”
|
|
Seven courts of gymnasium space, comprising more than 45,000 square feet, are available for basketball, badminton, indoor soccer, inline hockey, volleyball, and other sports. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky |
|
|
|
The increased space will have a similar impact on the students, faculty, and staff who participate in intramural and recreational sports. Hundreds of teams compete in 17 intramural sports at the University, the most popular of which are broomball, a derivative of hockey played on ice in sneakers, and indoor soccer. Like the club sports teams, intramural athletes have had to vie for space and practice at odd hours, and the competition for court time during open recreation hours was equally fierce — on weekends, students frequently had to play in shifts.
“There have always been limits,” says Warin Dexter, the director of the department of physical education, recreation, and dance (PERD). “We’re hoping that isn’t the case anymore, because we are not going to be in direct competition with our intercollegiate athletic program. The waiting list will be a thing of the past.”
Everything from bouldering to water polo
The center also presents PERD with a chance to offer a new set of recreational programs to accompany the new amenities. Six squash and racquetball courts — two for racquetball, two for squash, and two that can be converted for either game — are available for physical education classes, intramural sports teams, and recreational play. Racquets, goggles, and other necessary equipment can be rented or purchased in the center’s pro shop.
The 35-foot climbing wall, with a smaller platform for low-height bouldering exercises, will also be put to good use by several organizations at the University — among them the ROTC program, which will use the wall for training maneuvers, and the rock climbing club, whose members used to travel to a climbing gym in Everett for practices. “One of the things we’re most excited about is to have a community form here,” says member Michelle Kreger (CAS’05).
And the recreational pool, with its lap swim area and “lazy river” water current, will welcome what is expected to be the next addition to the intramural sports repertoire: inner-tube water polo.
The intramural and club sports teams won’t officially move into the FitRec Center until the fall, but the staff of PERD is already planning events and competitions to show off the new space. “We’re hoping to move in there as soon as possible,” says Dultz. “The goal is to get as much activity in that building as we possibly can.” Spring fitness classes, which include aerobics, dance, and swimming — and for the first time, racquetball and squash — began in mid-March.
“I think that every student who comes here this semester is going to get a taste of this facility, without a doubt,” says Dexter. “They’ll know what it’s all about.”
In the meantime, the club and intramural athletes are eagerly awaiting the day they can welcome their opponents into one of the finest college recreation facilities in the country.
“To host regionals here would be incredibly nice,” says Palmore of the volleyball team. “I think people would love to come here.”
1
April 2005
Boston University
Office of University Relations