It’s state-of-the-art. It’s fun. It’s already in your bill. There’s no reason not to use the Student Recreation and Wellness Center to its fullest extent, explained senior finance major Matt Chechak.

The SRWC is a 12-year-old, 153,000-square-foot facility for all things fitness. Weightlifting, basketball, swimming, running, rock climbing, aerobics; it’s all there.

“Use it as often as you can,” said Chechak. “It’s better than going to most gyms. Take advantage of it.”

You’ll only need a Flashcard to get in: the membership fee is tacked on to the bill of all full-time students. Students only need to pay if they sign up for classes like Pilates, yoga, or self-defense, among others.

“The track, the weights, the basketball courts, locker rooms,” senior pre-communications major Giorgio Morgan said about why he goes to the SRWC. “It’s anything you could really ask for.”

The basketball courts and weight rooms tend to draw the most students, especially in the late afternoon and evening when many people are done with class or work for the day.

Morgan, a former quarterback for the Flashes football team, said pickup basketball games start in the evening and attract a lot of people.

“Most of the time, a lot of people get off work and get up here starting around 4:30 or five through seven or eight” to get on the court, he said.

Jenna Krewson, a junior English major, also comes for basketball.

“I’m on the women’s basketball team here, so when none of my teammates are here I come to play with the guys at the open gym,” said Krewson, who sat out last season for Kent State after transferring from Bucknell. “Some of us come here in the fall just to play extra pickup games, but there’s always tons of people here.”

Krewson said the best time for basketball is about 7 p.m., but be prepared to wait for games.

“Usually you have to sit out for a half hour before you can get in on a game,” she said, “there’s a lot of people but there are some good games.”

For people not interested in playing basketball, it’s best to avoid the gym in the evenings (bringing to mind the famous Yogi Berra quote: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too busy”).

“Don’t try and come at night, because you won’t be able to even get next to a machine,” warned senior business management major Jason Beeman.

Steve Degyansky, a junior exercise science major, agrees.

At night, “you can’t even move around at all,” said Degyansky. The best time is from when it opens at 6 a.m. until noon: “everybody is in class, or they’re not up.”

Degyansky said the best thing about using the SRWC is “probably the pool – they have saunas, they have a whirl pool.”

Gretchen Julian, director of Recreational Services, said she reccommends new students pay attention to the dress code.

“Understand you need to have a T-shirt on. The attire here is not what it is at other gyms,” she said. “Besides that, just remember to bring your FlashCard, and if you need help, just ask.”

Contact Doug Brown at [email protected].