The school has moved the cardio room from the basement level to the gym level.  As a result of this change, a new wall was added along the north end of the gymnasium to create new storage space for the P.E. equipment.

The changes, completed over winter break, were made in order to create more convenience for student athletes to train compared to the old arrangement, where the cardio room was downstairs.  The cardio room is now next to the weight room, with both looking out onto the gymnasium.

“Imagine having a math teacher teach part of the class in Caswell Hall and the other in a classroom.  Now that the cardio and weight rooms are closer, the students can train in one specific place.”  David Collicutt, athletic director, said.

This plan has always been a part of the Leadership in Learning campaign, and the hiring of Colleen Whalin, athletic trainer, created another reason to make this change happen. The old cardio room is now a dedicated training room for Whalin to work with students.

“I have now organized the room in a way that creates more space to do rehab and offers students training and therapy that they wouldn’t normally have access to,” Whalin said. Director of finance and operations Nick Hernandez said that considering the restraints the school had to deal with, the new arrangement should be a significant improvement.  “The layout is more practical and will hopefully benefit both students and teachers,” he said.

The physical education department and administration are working on getting the new storage space organized.  They plan to move equipment used less frequently out of the Coombs Athletic Center altogether and instead store in areas such as the lower levels of Munger Hall.

“Equipment used often for P.E. classes will be there permanently.  We’ll move the other equipment around according to the sports seasons,” Collicutt said. The P.E. department is eager to hear feedback on the new layout in the gym from the staff and student athletes who work out there.

“Having the cardio and weight rooms on the gym level makes it more convenient to work out and now I can watch the basketball practices, giving me motivation to push myself,” Stephanie’12 said.