The Hamilton Rec CENTER

Picture taken by Zach Rodriguez

Zach Rodriguez

November 2018

At Colorado Mesa University students quarrel and complain about a number of policies or building conditions. The Hamilton Recreation Center is one of those things. The building’s directors and other CMU directors have been working diligently to expand and improve the rec center as best they can. Many still think that there is not enough space for everyone that uses the facility, especially during the busy hours.

Monday through Thursday between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. is the rec center’s peak time where students are getting out of class, alumni are getting off work and everyone wants to work out. It is best to avoid going to the re center at this time; If it must be done, it is guaranteed that elbows will be bumped, and people will be forced to wait for the weight machine they want to use. Has it always been this way?

Conditions at the rec center could be worse. The rec center has become much larger in recent years — changes were made in 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In 2010, group exercise rooms, weight lifting and cardio equipment as well as a couple multipurpose courts were added.

In 2014, a rock-climbing wall and a multipurpose court was added to the Maverick Pavilion and an Olympic style lifting area was added to the main rec center building.

2016 was the year where two multipurpose courts were added to the Mav Pav.

During the summer of 2017, 3,600 square feet of classroom space was acquired and converted by the rec center. This new space now features 2,650 lbs. in brand new dumbbells as well as new cable machine with eight adjustable weight pulleys, mats for stretching, plyo-boxes, resistance bands, medicine balls and foam rollers.

In the summer of 2018, one of the rec center’s racquetball courts was renovated to double as a squash court.

Lynn Wilson, the director of campus recreation, explained that she hopes to acquire more space to convert to rec center usage once the health sciences building grows. The board of directors hopes to acquire more classroom space from the east side of the building as the new health sciences building grows. This would draw more academic activities from the rec center to the new health sciences facility and create more room for the rec center to expand its fitness space.

Wilson also said that there are different groups that she has to keep in mind when making accommodations. Between intramural sports, club sports, varsity athletics and public camps, there is a high demand for space and usage in the re center. All these groups want to use the rec center for games and activities, but so does the general student population. If directors at the rec center and CMU were profit driven, they could book out all the extra space in the rec center from open to close and then there would be no space for any of the students. Wilson does a terrific job of balancing activities where she can.

“It’s like a giant sandbox and we all need to be able to play nice,” said Wilson, “our priority is to the students. Our goal is to peak interest in new students and keep them coming over here.”

Wilson is an advocate for everything good that the rec center has to offer. She is devoted to spreading the idea that the rec center is “The happiest place on campus.” The rec center staff knows it, and Wilson hopes that one day, the students will know it too.

The rec center isn’t the biggest facility, and at times there’s no room to play basketball or students have to wait to use the weights. However, the conditions are improving.

Wilson said, “We try to listen to the comments and the feedback and accommodate what we can.” Every so often they send out a survey as well as review feedback from comment boxes placed in the facility. The directors and management staff then consider all options and attempt to plan further expansion of the facility.

CMU’s campus has been growing rapidly. With more that 11,000 students enrolled, the facilities need to grow as well. This takes time and money. Updates and expansions can’t happen at the snap of a finger. Current students will just have to work with what they have and keep Wilson’s “sandbox” mentality in mind.

Michael Hughes, assistant director of campus recreation, said that there are numerous activities for students to participate in. Between intramural sports, club sports and group exercise classes, there’s a little something for everyone. Intramural sports are free for students and have everything from sand volleyball to flag football. For those who are a little more competitive, club sports are the answer. Group exercise classes, also free for students, are a good way to bring different people together that have similar goals — or students can just go to have a good time and try something new.

“Basically, any piece of equipment that you need to use in our facility, is free for students to use,” said Hughes.

The students at CMU are lucky to have an incredible place that acts as a healthy outlet for stress relief and contributes to growth, health and comradery. Their lucky the university doesn’t just provide a 10-by-10-foot room with a treadmill and a bench press for the shared use of 11,000 students.

Instead, students at CMU have an Olympic sized swimming pool, over 70 cardio machines, 30 plus weight machines, six basketball courts, racquetball and squash courts, a 30-foot rock climbing wall, 28 weekly group exercise classes, locker rooms, and a countless amount of free weights — not to mention balls, racquets, locks, climbing gear and storage space all free for students to use Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the weekends.

So, the next time someone complains about the state of the rec center, remind them of how little they could have and to be grateful for what they do have.