New semester brings more people to SRSC

The motto of the Student Recreational Sports Center is “we connect, inform and inspire people to lead active, healthy lifestyles.”

The SRSC is one of the most popular venues for IU students to exercise in, and just as the new year has begun, so have the first-time gym-goers.

Program Director Emily Ward has been working for the SRSC for 11 years. Throughout this time, she’s always seen a rush of people coming in during the beginning of the spring semester.

For employees, this means more preparation is required so that students can still have a good experience when they go to the gym. The week prior to school starting, they have staff training with a focus on relational service and risk management.

“It’s drastically different during fall semester. Everyone is here to blow off steam,” Informal Sports Supervisor Amanda Dorsey said. “In the spring, girls come in early to get ready for spring break. There’s more accidents.”

Her main goal is to keep the facility safe, as she is responsible for the
participants.

Along with the increase of new participants for the new year, because the Ora L. Wildermuth Center in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation is closed, they’ve had to deal with those people, too. At one point, Ward said, 180 people were waiting to use one of the SRSC’s five basketball courts.

“This is a new challenge for us this semester,” Ward said.

The staff of the SRSC aren’t the only ones who are seeing an increase of people at the gym. The regular gym-goers are noticing it, too.

“There were definitely more people,” sophomore Maggie Birnbach said. “Usually I can just go right in and start running, but now I have to sometimes use the sign-up board outside and wait.”

The two areas that reach capacity the fastest are the cardio equipment and weight room. As a result, the SRSC staff developed the “one in, one out” method so that people aren’t standing in the way of others who are on the machines.

The pool and group exercise area, which includes yoga and pilates, are also very popular, Ward said.

While it can be frustrating for people who regularly go to the gym to now have to wait to use the equipment, Franco Mercado, an SRSC consultant for the cardio and weight room, revealed the best times to come to the gym. He said that in the mornings, the consultants don’t see a huge number of people coming in at once, but in the afternoon, those two rooms start filling quickly.

Dealing with so many people at once can be stressful but not unexpected, Ward said.  
“We prepare for people across the board,” she said. “In every area, our capacity has been maximized. It’s exciting. That’s what we want to do.”