If you’ve been looking to get active and explore, look no further. From sports clubs to fitness classes to outdoor adventures, Campus Rec is overflowing with opportunities to meet new people and start moving.  

Celeste Torsney, CSUSM’s Outdoor Adventures Coordinator for Campus Recreation, took the time to sit down with the Chronicle and give students more insight into what Campus Rec offers. 

You might be wondering: what is Campus Rec? Thankfully, she gave us some background.  

“We’re located at the Clark Fieldhouse,” she explains, “down by the Sports Center. We were established in 2003…been around for about 20 years…Our department is comprised of sport clubs, intramural sports, outdoor adventures, fitness and wellness, and outreach and marketing.” 

TELL US ABOUT SPORT CLUBS AND INTRAMURALS 

Sports Clubs are recreational without the level of dedication a Division sport requires. If students are interested, Torsney says Campus Rec has several options for students to try out, and “once [they’re] on the team, they go on to do practices, compete locally, statewide and nationwide.” 

But what if you only want to play casually? Torsney says there’s opportunities for you too:  

“We [have intramurals]…where they can play with friends…It’s a great way to meet people.”  

You heard it here; your soulmate is waiting for you at the volleyball courts.  

TELL ME ABOUT FITNESS CLASSES & THE FIELDHOUSE 

This semester, Campus Rec offers group fitness classes such as Zumba, Pilates, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, cardio dance, sculpt, and kickboxing. She specifically mentions all the different times for yoga classes (early morning, mid-morning, and noon). As she described to me, “there’s a lot of opportunities to Zen out.” 

Students can also work out in their own time at the Clarke Field House!  

“There’s quite a few treadmills,” Torsney lists off the top of her head: “StairMaster, free weights, and different areas that they can operate.” 

There’s free space in and outside to bring in your own equipment. You can visit the “Hunter Gym,” which has a half court to play basketball or any other sport, along with the track if something else isn’t going on.  

WHAT ABOUT OUTDOOR ADVENTURES? 

Outdoor adventures “provides students opportunities to get outside…typically at a subsidized rate,” according to Torsney. Students can save anywhere from $30…to $1,000. Torsney explains more: 

“For [the $1000] example, it would be like a trip to Hawaii with airfare included, the food, kayaking, snorkeling with manta rays at night, horseback riding, zip lining, the whole shebang. And we were able to charge students only $1,250. And that included meals as well.” 

The Hawaii trip happened because of student interest after an outdoor leadership conference Campus Rec provided. Torsney encouraged them to do more research and eventually, it took off. 

“They did the whole budget and everything,” Torsney exclaims, “the fact that we were able to take their enthusiasm and [ideas] and actually put that into a super successful trip, that we were able to do it twice, is really awesome.” 

Campus Rec ended up partnering with the University of Hilo, Hawaii, and students and staff got the opportunity to remove invasive species from endangered habitats. 

Outdoor adventures happen very frequently. Students and staff are going to Joshua Tree in November. Apparently, it’s the spot for climbers when it gets colder. Who knew climbers had rock celebrities? As we spoke, only four fall semester trips were still available because the rest sold out (update: only two trips have spots left!).  

Next semester, Campus Rec has three overnights planned: Big Sur (happening over spring break), rafting in Sequoia National Forest, and camping in Yosemite. The full trip list and registration will be released a week before the spring semester starts, usually on a first-come first-serve basis.  

MORE INFORMATION 

Campus Rec’s Instagram and website have all the details about trips, skill levels required for certain trips, and further resources.  

For adventures away from campus, Campus Rec provides all the transportation to and from the location. 

In a nutshell, Campus Rec provides all the group gear for adventures and for overnights, students are completely taken care of. If folks don’t know where to start with getting outdoors, Torsney vouches for Campus Rec: “[we’re] a really good resource for them to just sign up [because] we take care of everything else.” 

ANY HIGHLIGHTS? 

Torsney notes that students seem most excited about the surf trips. She shares that the surf trips appeal to a lot of international students, as many of them come from areas with colder weather. The Ghost Tour excursion is also extremely successful around Halloween.  

“We also have a lot of exchange students who sign up for [them],” she shares, “so it’s really great to have them…. We learn a lot from them as well, especially folks that are coming from… colder parts of Europe that don’t have a sunny coastline. So, a lot of our German students are like ‘this is the ideal trip’…And shockingly, our Ghost Tour trip sold out almost immediately. So, people love Halloween.” 

WHAT DOES WELLNESS MEAN TO CAMPUS REC? 

Torsney says it’s all about “finding different ways to connect.” The wellness workshops take the spotlight; sound meditation, essential oil, nutrition based, and more. According to Torsney, this means “different ways to…get in touch internally with that and [think] about things that you’re grateful for. Because I know we all can get kind of overwhelmed with things that aren’t always as fun to think about. So just finding different ways to reconnect with the positives.” 

WHAT’S NEW? 

Campus Rec plans to let students rent bikes, which is separate from the fee referendum. Students will be able to check them out for up to seven days.  

“We [would] provide them with a helmet and a bike lock,” Torsney explains, “And it’s one way to…reduce our carbon footprint.” 

Whether you’re interested in soothing yoga or navigating the rapids in Sequioa National Park, Campus Rec is there for your next adventure. 

(This article is one of three discussions about what Campus Rec is already doing, what they hope to accomplish with the fee referendum passing and the pros and cons.)