Hopkins students will receive a late holiday gift from the University when they return to campus for either Intersession or spring semester - a free membership to the new state-of-the-art Student Recreation Center. Located adjacent to the Newton H. White Athletic Center, the new rec center is set to open on Monday, Jan. 7 during Intersession.
Designed by the Boston-based firm Sasaki, which specializes in fitness facilities, the recreation center was funded by donations from Hopkins trustees and by private organizations.
The recreation center has many state-of-the-art features. Walking into the recreation center, the first thing that draws attention is the three-dimensional climbing wall. It is set as the focal point of the building and has a sky-light directly above it.
From the outside of the building there is a view of the 2500 square foot fitness room. This room will be filled with treadmills, cross trainers, bikes, stairmasters, rowing machines and other cardio equipment.
There is also an 18,000 square foot gymnasium. It holds three basketball courts, five volleyball courts and three badminton courts. On the perimeter is a 9/10 of a mile indoor jogging track. In addition, just beyond the gymnasium are four new racquetball and squash courts.
The weight room, located on the bottom floor, is 3000 square feet. It will hold brand new free weights and plate equipment.
The new rec center also houses new men's and women's locker rooms. The locker rooms have showers, towel service and temporary lockers.
There is also a large multipurpose room upstairs. This second floor room features a large view of campus, mirrored walls and special flooring to accommodate group fitness classes and martial arts. It will also be used to host special events and meetings and is equipped with equipment for presentations.
On a recent tour of the Recreation Center, Bill Harrington, the director of recreational sports and the main project coordinator, said that "the Rec Center is the result of years of planning and organizing." According to Harrington, the first serious discussions for improved recreational facilities started years ago when the need for an addition was apparent. Harrington said that the current athletic center was completed in 1964, when the student body was all-male and about one-half its present size.
Although many improvements have been made recently to benefit Hopkins Varsity athletics, such as a new basketball floor, new track surfacing and new Astroturf, the new recreation center is meant to benefit the entire campus and not just the Varsity athletes.
Faith Shearer, associate director of athletics, says "the recreation center is not for Varsity athletics. It is for every student and faculty member on campus."
Shearer explains that, currently, recreational sports share the athletic center with Varsity athletics. This creates a tight schedule with many conflicts. Shearer hopes that by having a facility dedicated totally to rec sports, congestion will be eliminated in the athletic center, and the recreational sports program at Hopkins will continue to increase and improve.
According to Mike Renwick of Recreational Sports, students will have to scan their JCard after entering the front door to gain entrance to the recreation center.
"After you have scanned in, you have free reign of the building," he said.
Renwick said that the Spring semester will be like a test run for the Rec Center.
"To start off, the cardio equipment, weights and the squash and racquetball courts will be on a first come, first serve basis. After we see what sort of demand we have, this could evolve into a sign-up system."
With the completion of the Recreation Center will come many new classes and recreational opportunities for Hopkins students. Students can find out all information about facilities, fitness classes, intramurals, recreational classes and sports clubs on the Recreation Sports Web site, http://www.webapps.jhu.edu/has/recsport.
Starting Jan. 7, the hours for the Recreation Center are Mon. - Fri. 7 a.m.-12 a.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.-8 p.m.
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