Campus Recreation News

On Tuesday, August 17th, West Virginia University celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Student Recreation Center and hosted a dedication of new outdoor fitness courts. 

Snacks and refreshments were provided, along with special anniversary t-shirts and photo ops with the Mountaineer. We heard public remarks from University and Campus Recreation leadership, including President E. Gordon Gee, Dean of Students, Corey Farris, Campus Recreation Director, Andy Darling, and student operations supervisor, Matt Stahl. Afterward, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to dedicate the recently-opened Towers Rec and Fitness Courts, which have been under construction for the past year.

Bretman Rock is an internet personality who grew to fame on YouTube and Vine while a teenager. Now 22 years old, Rock has over 17 million followers on Instagram alone. Mostly known for his makeup looks and humor, there is something else that people are talking about now.

The Bretman Rock Absolutely Not workout. The workout was included in this video titled “ 3 EASY Workouts to look Cute”. In the video, there were other workouts included, but the ab workout caught the internet by fire. In the video, Bretman Rock states that he is not a professional trainer, but was an athlete and has trained before.

This summer, Campus Recreation welcomed two new professional team members dedicated to helping you find your fit.

How can students focus on their physical and emotional wellbeing? WVU holds retreats to do just that!

At the conclusion of a rigorous and unprecedented academic year, many students looked for a way to focus on self-care. A free retreat was held in the Fall and additional wellness retreats were held during the Spring 2021 semester. The purpose of these retreats was to encourage students to focus on their holistic well-being, while emphasizing relationship building with other students. With online classes and limited interactions becoming a norm on our campus, these retreats provided opportunities to meet fellow mountaineers.  

Intramural Sports has plenty of offerings coming this summer. Registration is already open for the first round of activities. Sign Up Today!

The Mountaineers placed first in two divisions at the virtual championships, and did it in style!

The WVU Dance Team took home the championship title at the 2021 NDA D1A Virtual National Championships last week, winning their first title in over a decade! Despite CDC restrictions, an all-virtual competition, and choreography that has been put on hold for over a year, these dancers were able to pour their hearts into their performance and come out on top.

The team consists of 28 dancers, each with years of dance experience under their belt. With 16 veterans and 12 rookies, this well-balanced team was more than capable of pulling off a win. The choreography for the dances performed at Nationals was crafted during the Fall 2019 semester. With the sudden occurrence of lockdown in Spring 2020 and further restrictions to be put into place from that point on, the dances were put on hold. It wasn’t until March 1st of this year that the team was allowed to meet in person, and even then the looming threat of the pandemic made its way onto the dance floor. The two dances, on top of needing to be taught to rookies and re-learned by veterans, could now only consist of ten socially distanced dancers. These restrictions prevented the team from performing as they typically would, forcing them to make many adjustments in a short amount of time. But despite these challenges, the girls were more committed than ever. Practicing for 2-3 hours on multiple days a week, the team worked hard to make their dances competition ready. Fourth-year veteran Gillian Wanosky spoke highly of the team’s efforts, saying “each dancer gave 100% commitment at practices to make up for lost time, and our coaching staff put in countless hours outside of practice so that we could be productive when fixing the dance.”

Through balancing coursework, jobs and extracurriculars, being a tired college student is seemingly inevitable. All too often, students turn to sugary caffeinated beverages to combat their case of fatigue. Though, developing a dependence on caffeine is not without its drawbacks. Luckily, there are a variety of healthy habits students can implement to kick their caffeine fix to the curb.

Our Mountaineer faculty, staff and students are capable of wonderful things, and Stephanie Calhoun, the WVU Campus Rec Coordinator of Competitive Sports, as well as Gabriela Jasek, the WVU Campus Rec Graduate Assistant for Operations and Events, are proof of that. Through their hard work and vigorous election process, they were both elected to NIRSA, a “nonprofit membership organization that provides resources and education for advancing campus recreation.” This is a huge achievement, and we can trust that Calhoun and Jasek will make WVU and West Virginia proud.

Stephanie Calhoun has been elected to NIRSA’s West Virginia State Director, where she will connect NIRSA members of West Virginia as well as connect West Virginia to other states in Region II. She will also help coordinate the WV State Workshop, lead state check-ins and provide opportunities for members to be involved in the association. When asked how her role as Coordinator of Competitive Sports here at WVU has prepared her for this position, she answered, “I believe that my role has helped me learn to coordinate and collaborate with others, especially large groups of people. I think that is a skill that will translate well...Our state has a lot to offer and I am excited to help facilitate that. I hope to continue the growth and momentum that has been brought to the state association over the past few years.”

Have you ever wanted to go mountain biking or kayaking but don’t have the equipment? Mobile-Try It has that covered.

Morgantown is a great place for adventure. West Virginia is full of mountains, trails and water and we have it all right here. Some of the best ways to enjoy these things are mountain biking or kayaking. But as a student here at WVU, these things can be difficult to obtain. The equipment can get pricey and dorms and apartments can be too small to store them away.

Make 2021 your year to have some wild and wonderful fun outdoors. Adventure awaits you this Spring and Summer. After a long, hard Winter inside, there is no better time to plan thrilling journeys outside, where you can stay socially distant while still having the time of your life. While hiking is always fun, why not make these adventures more interesting by picking up a new and exciting hobby? Don’t learn by trial and error; instead, attend an Adventure WV Workshop to learn the basics and find the recreational activity perfect for you.