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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Rec makes improvements over summer

Students+enjoy+working+out+on+the+cardio+deck.
Students enjoy working out on the cardio deck.

Students looking for a workout at the University Recreation Center this semester are likely to find new equipment.

Over the summer, officials replaced broken equipment and hired new instructors for group exercise classes in response to a user survey done in the spring.

The new equipment includes dumbbells, stretching bands, medicine balls, kettlebells and a new multi-gym unit in the weight room.

The rec center added new dumbbells over summer break.
The rec center added new dumbbells over summer break. (Colleen Mortell / TCU360)
The new multi-gym unit can be found in the weight room.
The new multi-gym unit can be found in the weight room. (Colleen Mortell / TCU360)

It is also adding interactive informational screens displaying ads and schedules for upcoming exercise classes.  

A new interactive screen can be found at the entrance of the rec center. More will be installed by the end of the month.
A new interactive screen can be found at the entrance of the rec center. More will be installed by the end of the month. (Colleen Mortell / TCU360)

“As part of our assessment process, every year we’ll do our general campus recreation survey to reach out to the TCU student body; as well as faculty, staff, and also community and alumni members,” said Jay Iorizzo, director of Campus Recreation.

He said the information from the surveys allow the rec center to “take away things we’re doing well” and “things we can certainly approve on.”

The survey informed the rec center of problems with available equipment.

“A common thing was that we wish there was more availability of machines,” Iorizzo said.

Available equipment can be hard to find during the facility’s busiest hours, 3-7 p.m.

“There’s sometimes, like in the afternoons, when it’s really crowded,” said Jake Siegert, a senior entrepreneurial management major. “But I think that’s just when a lot of people are free.”

Sophomore Grace Lamb said she usually has trouble finding open StairMasters, one of the most popular machines.

“There’s only four of them,” said Lamb, who’s a pre-business major. “I typically come at pretty popular times, right after class in the afternoons, so usually a lot of the machines are taken.”

Some students said they schedule their workouts at other times in the day in order to avoid the high traffic.

Andrea Baumann, a sophomore strategic communication major, said she usually works out late at night when the facility is not busy.

The shortage of available machines is also a result of broken equipment.

“Due to a high demand and high traffic, [StairMasters] take a lot of use. So, therefore, we do see minor repairs that are more frequently needed on those pieces than some other pieces,” Iorizzo said.

Popular demand of the StairMasters leaves some machines in need of repair.
Popular demand of the StairMasters leaves some machines in need of repair. (Colleen Mortell / TCU360)

The rec center has a maintenance company that repairs broken machines on a regular basis.

The rec center is upgrading its equipment.
The rec center is upgrading its equipment.

When the rec center first opened in 2003, there was only one StairMaster. Student Government Association purchased two additional StairMasters due to the popularity of the machines.

The facility is looking into purchasing more StairMaster machines, and even some from other brands, Iorizzo said.

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