Cailla Prisco
Sports Editor
For most students, the Spaulding Gymnasium is a place to burn off a few hundred calories on the treadmill after after a long weekend of binging on their favorite snacks. But what they may not know is that there are so many other things to do.
The Spaulding gym is home to exercise science majors, P.E. majors, hard-core gym enthusiasts and recreational sports. People spend their time playing in organized games like basketball and soccer, as well as learning the rules for floor hockey and dodgeball.
The gym is more than just a room full of ellipticals, treadmills, and weights. It is a place where students come together, team up, and play a game.
Lynne Andrews is the Director of Recreational Sports at the gym, where she oversees all of the programs in recreational sports as well as the professional staff, club sports and the facility itself.
With so many activities, sports teams, rec sports and programs offered at the same place, Andrews says, “We do a really great job of sharing facilities and working around schedules as much as we can, given that we are limited in space.”
In the spring semesters, baseball and softball use the rec gym with the rubber court and the batting cages. “We allocate a lot of time for them because that is their main practice space,” Andrews said.
“When the building was built, the area that they used to have available to [the baseball and softball teams] was taken over for mechanical purposes, so that’s why we made that space in the rec gym for that. We accommodate many teams, but obviously when there is a team in season, they take priority,” Andrews said.
Athletic teams are not the only ones taking up time in the Spaulding gym, there are also academic classes for exercise science and physical education majors.
Andrews said that it is sort of “like a balancing game.”
“We try really hard to work together and accommodate everybody as well as we can, given the nature of the facilities and Mother Nature of England,” Andrews said.
Senior and physical education major Tucker Johnson said that he “spends most of his time at the gym” because of classes, exercising, and rec sports.
“Most of my days during this past semester started and ended in the gym, and it was great because I could just end class in the main gym and then head over to the rec court and play a game of pick-up or three on three,” said Johnson.
The Spaulding gymnasium also offers yoga, workout, Zumba and cycling classes.
Andrews said that though Intramural sports participation has been declining due to lack of incoming students, the club sports are prosperous and steady.
“During admitted students day and open houses, we really have a strong connection to students who are interested in club sports because they either aren’t sure they want the commitment of a varsity sport, or they just want to keep up with something they love,” Andrews said.
There is something for everyone at the gym, whether you want to run on a treadmill, play a game of five-on-five basketball or a friendly game of badminton.
Cailla Prisco can be contacted at
cprisco@kscequinox.com
