Gibbs Recreation Center proves to be a popular campus offering

BY JENNIFER EVANS
Rice News staff

From points scored and reps performed to laps completed and pounds lost, success is often measured in numbers at Rice’s Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center. One number — 5,214 — is an indicator of the success of the recreation center itself. That’s how many people have joined the Gibbs Recreation Center in its first year of operation and made it their campus destination for fitness, fellowship and fun.

	The Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center offers brand new equipment and pools, multiple training and exercise options, no joining fee and a lower monthly rate than other nearby fitness centers.

About 29 percent of Rice faculty, 25 percent of the staff, 47 percent of Rice graduate students and 100 percent of the undergraduates have memberships to the facility that opened in September 2009.

With brand new equipment and pools, multiple training and exercise options, no joining fee and a lower monthly rate than other nearby fitness centers, it’s no surprise membership at the Gibbs Recreation Center is considered by so many to be too good to pass up.

The number of people actually using the facility is impressive too. A comparison of average unique visitors per day as measured by ID card swipes showed that usage of the new rec center is up by almost 95 percent over the old recreation facility it replaced last year, and up by more than 25 percent just from spring 2010.

“I have always been a sport and exercise enthusiast, as is evident from my educational background,” said Brian Gibson, a lecturer in kinesiology, “but even I have increased my exercise activity as a result of the new recreation center. I have been attending daily, which I had stopped doing for a couple of years, and I even started trying sports activities that I have tried in a decade or longer. It has definitely improved my fitness … and sleep!”

About 29 percent of Rice faculty, 25 percent of the staff, 47 percent of Rice graduate students and 100 percent of the undergraduates have memberships to the Gibbs Recreation Center, which opened in September 2009.

The offerings at the two-story, 103,000-square-foot recreation center are among the best anywhere, said Rick Greenspan, Rice’s director of athletics. The center features a 9,000-square-foot weight and cardio workout room, four multipurpose rooms for fitness and dance classes, two indoor and two outdoor basketball courts, an indoor soccer and hockey arena, four racquetball courts, two squash courts, a 2,400-square-foot recreation pool bedecked with a row of palm trees, a 50-meter competition pool, table tennis and billiards, an outdoor adventure center with equipment rentals, sports leagues, personal trainers and free Wi-Fi.

Art adds to the vibrancy of the space. “Lift,” Aurora Robson’s huge spherical sculpture made of more than 9,000 discarded plastic bottles is suspended from the ceiling in the entryway. The five pieces embody the qualities of energy, light and dynamism of a solar system and are also associated with the physical activity and recreation occurring in the center itself.

Graduate student and Rice alumnus Dylan Hedrick ’04 worked out several times a week at the old facility, which is now used by Athletics and Club Sports, as an undergrad: “I was still fighting the ‘freshman 15’ all the way up to senior year — servery cookies were just too good.”

The new center “provides a space for people to work out in an environment that is conducive to exercise,” he said. “The new facility has lots of windows to let in light — and provides a perfect place for me to do curls right in front of the windows to impress the ladies!”

The recreation center features a 9,000-square-foot weight and cardio workout room, four multipurpose rooms for fitness and dance classes, two indoor and two outdoor basketball courts, an indoor soccer and hockey arena, four racquetball courts, two squash courts, a 2,400-square-foot recreation pool bedecked with a row of palm trees, a 50-meter competition pool, table tennis and billiards, an outdoor adventure center with equipment rentals, sports leagues, personal trainers and free Wi-Fi.

The center has proven healthy not only for bodies but for community spirit as well. John Hutchinson, dean of undergraduates and longtime rec center user, observed that the center provides open, sunlit spaces for people to interact and beautiful and inviting spaces that encourage the use of the equipment.

“During the less busy times, the atmosphere is relaxed, and it is easy to enjoy a workout in quiet,” Hutchinson said. “During the busy times, the center is vibrant and exciting. I enjoy running into my students and colleagues there and having conversations. The rec center is now much more than a place to simply get on a treadmill or StairMaster for a solitary workout. It is a campus community center.”

Hutchinson credited Boyd Beckwith, former director of the rec center and current director of the student center, for building programs and resources in the old facility. “By building up both improved facilities (such as the original Isgren Cardio Room) and improved student-oriented programming, and by documenting the flow of people to these facilities and programs, Boyd demonstrated the very strong demand on campus for access to a state-of-the-art recreation center,” he said.

Tina Villard became director of the recreation center in 2007 during the peak of the design phase of the new facility and was involved throughout the building process, especially with regard to what spaces and amenities ended up in the facility.

“With the completion of the building came spaces that complemented the outstanding programs offered at the recreation center and that are allowing them to grow with our student population and campus needs,” Villard said. “I am continually told what a great addition it has been to the campus and am proud to be part of the excitement.”

Students, staff and faculty alike will find activities at the Gibbs Recreation Center to suit every person’s taste or level of fitness.

Gibson said the new facility, equipment and programming definitely attracts Rice faculty members, staff and students. “The design of the new recreation center definitely allows much better gathering places and a stronger sense of community,” he said. “Exercise enthusiasts consistently comment on how much it has changed their quality of life and happiness at Rice, and new participants are benefiting from the state-of-the-art facilities and programming.”

In fact, Hutchinson said he and his wife, Paula, have started playing racquetball again, something they hadn’t done in many years. “We decided on the spur of the moment one day when we were admiring the new courts, which are very inviting,” he said.

Marian Saldivar, payroll specialist in the Controller’s Office, has worked at Rice for almost 10 years and uses the new center more frequently than she did the old. “I alternate days doing cardio and weights. My boyfriend and I use the basketball courts (inside and out) and take group fitness classes regularly, like spin and occasionally sessions of boot camp,” she said. ”I am very impressed with the large open space and awesome new equipment. I also love that most of the group fitness classes are included with membership.”

Duncan College junior Roni Deitz, an avid runner, is training for a marathon in January and takes advantage of the rec center to do her cross-training. “We are really fortunate to have an Olympic-size heated lap pool that is open for so many hours a day,” she said. “It makes aquatic fitness very accessible.” Deitz is also a fan of the center’s exercise machines. “It has the treadmills that are scientifically proven to simulate running better, and the exercise bikes have the capability to race against each other, which makes for a fun workout.”

Hedrick said he tells other grad students that there are plenty of activities for every person’s taste or level of fitness. “Not enough Ph.D. students take time to get away from their computers and do something physical,” he observed. ” But there are bikes with screens like video games that let you play games as you ride and get a workout. There is always a basketball game going on upstairs, and I will challenge anyone to pingpong downstairs.”

For a virtual tour of the Gibbs Recreation Center, visit www.rice.edu/virtualtours. For more information on the center or memberships, visit recreation.rice.edu. Over the Thanksgiving break, the center will close at 9 p.m. Nov. 24 and be closed Nov. 25 and 26. The center will be open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 27 and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 28.