The Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center has made a push toward student engagement as more renovations within the facility are taking place.

The recreation center is a place where any student can come and work out, take classes or participate in intramurals. In recent years, it has gained popularity as student involvement in intramurals has grown. Because of this, the staff renovated the facility to add new machines and new pickleball courts.

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S. and on ACU’s campus. Last year, students could play pickleball on the indoor courts. Because of the demand for pickleball and other sports being played on these courts, the center decided to build outdoor courts. These courts are a replacement for the outdoor basketball courts. On the indoor courts, students can play volleyball, basketball and indoor soccer. Pickleball will still be offered as an indoor sport as well.

“It’s not only a great place to play pickleball, but a great place to build community and hang out with friends,” said Joel Swedlund, the executive director of the Royce and Pam Money Recreation and Wellness Center.

Activities like sports and workouts are a great opportunity to get to know other students while doing something fun. Many students enjoy being able to meet with friends and play a sport that they enjoy. The recreation center supports this involvement and the opportunity for students to stay healthy and keep up with their wellness.

“Community is a big part of the rec.,” said Kyle Pinson, director of facility operations. “We are always trying to foster the community aspect through all the reservations we have, intramurals and group exercise.”

The recreation center is constantly trying to build community and help in the efforts of facilitating the intramural sports that they can provide. This push towards renovations and intramurals helps students have a place where they can meet each other or catch up while also participating  in an activity of their choice. Students have the option of participating in the intramural sport or attending the event to cheer on friends.

“Every year we have been increasing. I think part of it is that we are adding more activities and part of it is people are getting back to normal from COVID,” said Matthew Ferreira, director of intramural and club sports. “We have had more flag football teams this year than we had last year.”

The renovations were in response to the staff noticing changes in student involvement and students reaching out with their suggestions to the facility The recreation center pushes for students to become involved, not only in activities, but in relaying their opinions to the staff.

“Where there’s a demand, we try to accommodate it,” Swedlund said. “Yes, we really want to hear from students. We want to know where we’re doing great, and we want help identifying areas where we can improve.”

With the recreation center listening to student’s opinions of the facility to make it better for students and staff, why not go and participate?