In honor of its tenth birthday earlier this fall, the Student Recreation Center hosted a huge celebration in conjunction with its annual Day in the Rec event to commemorate this milestone. All GSU students, faculty, and staff were invited to the event, which welcomed over 1,000 excited participants and featured a volleyball tournament, inflatables, and several minute-to-win-it games, among other activities. Party-goers were encouraged to participate in the games to earn points towards free food and other prizes, and everyone in attendance was treated to a birthday party staple – cupcakes!
Eleven teams came out to participate in the annual volleyball tournament, and the competition was fierce. The teams played throughout the day in a single-elimination style tournament before a winner was crowned that afternoon.
Scott Levin, the Director of the Department of Recreational Services, led guests in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” while a live DJ played fun music throughout the building. Guests in attendance mingled and took part in the festivities, and later in the celebration, guests could be seen dancing in a group in the middle of the lobby to the “cupid shuffle” and the “wobble.”
The celebration was a huge success, much like the Student Recreation Center itself. Over the past decade, the SRC has grown into a popular and frequented spot by university students. The facility experienced a 30 percent increase in entrances after the opening of the University Commons in 2006, which is largely due to the freshmen and sophomores who were able to live closer to the facility. In addition, the SRC also celebrated its 4,000,000th entry earlier this year.
The SRC offers over 150 different activities every semester including 14 different fitness classes multiple times throughout the week and a variety of instructional clinics, and many other programs. Intramurals and Sport Clubs continue to be well-received among students, with 14 Intramural activities and 25 different sport clubs being offered during the fall semester, respectively. The SRC hopes to further expand on its success and the growth it has experienced in the last 10 years in the years to come, and the support of students is vital to the continued success of the facility and its many programs and services.