I actually thought that the Rec Center was a newer building then what it really is. I feel that the building has been updated pretty regularly in it’s forty year existence. Of course, I have only been in one other university rec center, so I don’t have a lot to compare it to.
Although the main pool hasn’t been updated very much, its design when it was built proved to be a good one. As our book talks about in Chapter 13, our pool isn’t a “box of water”, but has a diving well with two high dives and spring boards. The lap section of the pool is marked on the bottom of pool and is complete with the platforms that racers jump off of. The recreational end of the pool is large enough to accommodate a large crowd for water aerobics and other activities. The only problem I see is that because the pool is one giant basin, if there is a chemical imbalance or body fluid contamination, the entire pool will have to be shut down. I was only able to find one example on the web of a YMCA that had two separated pools for diving and laps.
I thought that the staff did a job installing a climbing tower into a space that originally didn’t have one. According to our book, our wall is right within the average of 20 to 40 feet high. I also remember our guide telling us that the wall could be rented out to small groups. However, I don’t recall him saying that the rec offers a teamwork course or something of that nature to outside groups. When I was searching on the web I noticed that a lot of climbing walls are considerably wider then ours. I think this would allow more variety in routes that climbers can use to go to the top, and also allow more people on the wall at once.