Campus Recreation provides students a way to stay fit, healthy and active on campus
Students gathered at the Forum Plaza for Rec Fest to learn and experience how they could be involved with Campus Recreation on Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The outdoor event felt unpleasant with the summer heat, but that did not stop over 200 students from participating in the event.
The festivities began at 11:15 a.m., as students signed in to enter the grounds. Upon checking in, each student was given a free shirt and was encouraged to take part in the games which gave students the chance to win tickets.
These tickets served as both an incentive and currency for the event. The tickets provided trade in value for prizes and proof of participation to receive free food. The games were separated into stations, and were each supervised by a representative from various departments of Campus Recreation.
The first station was led by Madison Conte, a student coordinator for the Sports Clubs on campus, and fellow member Alexis Ferro.
At this station, each student played a game of tic tac toe. Encouragement and support for sports club involvement was also provided upon finishing the game.
“I feel like it’s a great way to meet people, and if you are already interested in the same sport then that’s something in common… You get to go and meet people from other schools who are also interested in the same sport,” said Ferro.
The positives of team sports were also emphasized at the second station, super- vised by Brett Zastrow, a representative of Intramurals. Students were able to take part in a casual game of golf ball toss to win tickets. Information of what services the Intramurals department has to offer was given as well.
“For Intramurals we have… basketball, football, futsal, volleyball and softball. You can sign up with friends and make a team… there’s a season and playoffs… If you don’t have a full team, you can sign up as a free agent and teams can pick you up,” said Zastrow.
The last station consisted of a rock climbing wall and competitive cup stacking as another opportunity to win tickets.
Suzie Tygart, a representative of Outdoor Adventures, helped students into safety gear and provided direction as students rock climbed to the top.
The course provided an example as to what other services REC’s Outdoor Adventures has to offer in terms of activities and benefits.
“What we do is help students to go on more outdoor adventures. For this semester we have kayaking, snorkeling, rock climbing and hiking… It has a lot of benefits, mental and physical as well. It’s a great way to get away from studies and interact with people,” said Tygart.
Fellow Outdoor Adventures representative, Pablo Tolossa, led the competitive cup stacking and stated that there is a campus wide initiative to get more people outdoors. Students can sign up by downloading and registering onto the app, AORE Campus Challenge, an application where students can win points for CSUSM and win prizes themselves.
“There are easy ways to participate. You can log your points by walking to school, walking to class… that way students can, ultimately, lead a health and wellness lifestyle while they’re on cam- pus,” said Tolossa.
Registration to participate in the app challenge is avail- able from Sept. 16 to Oct. 13.
For more information about the challenge or other services that Campus Recreation offers, visit their web- site at: https://www.csusm. edu/rec/index.html.