In celebration of National Recreational Sports and Fitness Day today, the Office of Recreational Sports (RecSports) is encouraging students not only to be fit, but also to inform its directors on how they are using campus facilities to accomplish their fitness goals.
Mary Strebinger, communications and marketing coordinator, said RecSports will ask people who use their facilities to fill out sheets of paper with their planned activities or fitness goals for the day.
"They'll see these slips of paper that say 'It's your day, celebrate your way,'" Strebinger said. "We'll post the stories throughout the day to share with our community."
Strebinger said this is RecSports' second year celebrating the day started by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).
"It's our national holiday, not just for RecSports, but for any recreational program [in a] collegiate or university institution," she said. "NIRSA started this initiative about 10 years ago, and it's growing in the community as a day to be recognized."
RecSports is also using the day to promote the activities and programs it provides throughout the year, Strebinger said. Signs around campus athletic and exercise facilities will share statistics about RecSports' events and users.
RecSports offered 372 programs during the 2011-12 school year, according to the office's Year in Review report. Rolfs Sports Recreation Center and Rockne Memorial had 245,676 and 137, 217 recreational users, respectively.
RecSports also raised $8,500 for local charities and partnered with the women's basketball team and the College of Science to sponsor the Pink Zone Spin-A-Thon.
Strebinger said RecSports offers opportunities for all community members, including non-students.
"It's not just for students," she said. "I think they [the community] think we do a lot of intramural sports, competitions, fitness classes," she said, "but we also have family programs, swim lessons and outdoor sports programs."
Strebinger emphasized RecSports is a service-driven business and hopes to better learn its users' goals through National Recreational Sports and Fitness Day.
"We want to know a little bit more about the people who do come in," she said. "I hope people enjoy the day, and even if you can't celebrate on Friday, find another day to celebrate."
