The shiny new Campus Wellness and Recreation Center on the UofI campus has opened it doors and we (the Missus, Mother Dearest, Cousin J and myself) went down there to check it out. First thoughts:
Color me impressed: They have done an excellent job on this building and if I was on the swim team at Iowa I would be freakin' out, because the Swimming and Diving Team has gone from drab to fab overnight. (No offense to the Fieldhouse Pool, which is aquatically historical and all, having given birth to the butterfly, but it was time for an upgrade and they pulled out all the stops for the Swimming and Diving Team and they got a majorly nice upgrade out of it.) I honestly think I will be going to a Swim Meet this year, just for the sheer novelty of it.
The Climbing Wall: Wow. Wow. Wow. If you've seen what passes for a climbing wall up at the Fieldhouse, prepare yourself, because this sucker is impossible to miss and it's 52ft high. Daddy like and Daddy want to rope up and scale that sucker!
The Leisure Pool: makes me wish I was 6 years old again, because with the lazy river, 25 person spa and climbing wall over a chunk of the pool, it's like Chucky Cheese for Swim Fans of all ages. Can't wait to get in there.
The Equipment: I'm sure this place will be a zoo once the students hit campus, but if you think about it, Mayflower and Hillcrest have decent fitness centers of their own that are open if not 24 hours, then certainly close to it. The West Dorms have the Field House right there, so I think the majority of student traffic will eventually be from the East Dorms of Burge, Stanley and Currier (though come to think of it, Currier's got a fitness center too.) It'll be interesting to see how it breaks down, but the equipment looks nice enough. I just don't anticipate arriving at an hour where machines will be readily available.
The One Downside: Parking. I'm not sure how many community members are going to sign up to this, due to lack of nearby parking. After 4.30, there's Lot 11, which would be the logical choice, but not everyone is going to want to work out after 4.30. There's the Court St. Ramp up the hill, but that means walking (which I don't have a problem with, but peeps might.) I don't know- part of the appeal of the Fieldhouse when I used it a lot was that it was an easy walk to and from my apartment at the time. Whether the CWRC will gain my use as much is going to be dependent on how easy it is to get there everyday, especially once school gets going. We'll see, though.
Overall: Wow. Nicely done, peeps. Nicely done.
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