Students looking to exercise in the College's work-out facilities may be in for a surprise if they show up at the old Kresge Fitness Center. Renovations on Alumni Gym have forced the treadmills, ellipticals and weight machines out of the previous location across from Leede Arena and onto the raised track in the West Gym.
The move, which closed the fitness center down from the night of May 17 to the morning of May 20, will only be temporary until a new fitness center has been opened on the upper level of Alumni Gym next winter.
The new fitness center will be much more spacious than the area that was once occupied by Kresge. While the old location contained approximately 4,000 square feet of usable space, the new location will be made up of about 14,000 square feet of usable space.
Until Winter term, however, students will have to make do with the equipment scattered throughout the West Gym, where the indoor running track and basketball courts are located.
So far, students have seemed to enjoy the interim location of the fitness center and no visible reductions in attendance has been noticed, according to director of operations and facilities for athletics and recreation Cynthia Crutchfield.
"It's being well-received now that it's more opened up," Crutchfield said.
The current layout of the interim fitness center has cardiovascular and weight machines placed on the indoor track, so gym patrons are no longer able to utilize the track. Free weights, dumbells and benches are now on one of the basketball courts below, while the other court is still open for use.
According to interviews conducted by The Dartmouth, gym patrons seemed to be satisfied with the location of the interim center; however, one major concern cited was the walk up and down stairs needed to get from weight machines to free weights.
"As for the interim location, it looks like a nice spread-out format for the fitness machines, but it is an inconvenient and annoying setup for lifting weights with the machines and heavier weights split between the two floors, since a lot of lifts involve a mix of free weights and then machines," Adam Rauchut '06 said.
However, not much can be done to remedy this situation according to Sarah Berger, who manages the fitness center.
"It would've been too much weight to put it all on the track, and also, not quite enough room," Berger said.
So far, the transition to the interim location seems to have happened smoothly for students enrolled in PE classes this term.
"We've had to be very creative in our scheduling," Crutchfield said concerning finding new locations in which PE classes can meet. Classes that once met in areas now affected by renovations are meeting in places such as Leede Arena, the Berry classroom and even the Hopkins Center, according to Crutchfield.
The area previously occupied by the Kresge Fitness Center will become the home of the varsity training room while a new training area is built.
