New UH Student Fitness Center Opens
Former Campus Center Board president Michelle Tagorda and current president Matthew Nagata in the New Warrior Recreation Center. Anthony Consillio photo
There’s a new building on the University of Hawaii at Manoa cam pus designed to help its students, faculty and staff be more active and live a healthier lifestyle.
It’s the student-driven, student-funded Warrior Recreation Center (WRC), featuring a multi-purpose gymnasium, three-lane indoor jogging track, a fitness center for cardiovascular and weight training, multi-purpose fitness studios, sports equipment checkout, locker rooms and showers.
There also are fitness classes available, including Box-master, Spin Room, Power-
Plates, TRX Frame, Human-Sport Line and Kettle Bells.
The two-story, approximately 56,000-square-foot facility, located in the UH Campus Center Complex, is part of a $42 million project that includes various other renovations to the Campus Center.
After a little more than three years of construction, a blessing and grand-opening ceremony were held last Friday. For the first two weeks, the WRC is open as a trial period for UH faculty and staff members only. After that, they can choose to purchase a membership with fees starting at $240 annually.
Also after the first two weeks, the WRC will be open to current UH students for free. The public is invited, but only through a buddy-pass system, which allows a student, faculty or staff member to bring a buddy in with them for a $10 daily fee or $20 weekly fee.
“This was a student-driven initiative that started when the Campus Center Board identified, back many years ago, that we needed a recreation facility for our students on campus,” says Matthew Nagata, Campus Center Board president. “That board went to the Legislature to lobby for support and funding, and we were finally able to start construction in December 2010.”
According to state Sen. Brian Taniguchi, lobby efforts by the Campus Center Board started in 2006. At that time, those students were well-aware that they most likely would not be beneficiaries of their vision or efforts, as they all should’ve graduated by now. But that did not deter them from pursuing their dream, which started with notes on a napkin.
The building’s design also has many sustainability features, including energy-efficient mechanical systems, a photovoltaic system, water-saving fixtures, use of permeable material, solar water heating, a green roof and utilization of natural lighting.
Hours of operation are from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 956-9670.
yting@midweek.com
