This picture was taken from Flickr. Photo Credit: Ginny Winblad
So, the last article I wrote was about recreation, intramural and sports life on campus; with a specific focus on soccer (refer to my previous article for details and deadlines to sign up for sports activities). This week I want to go into a little more detail about some of the other sports and activities that UCSC has to offer and this thing called CruzFit as well. As stated in my previous article, school can be extremely stressful at times and can have detrimental effects if one is not sufficiently prepared to handle the (at times) rigorous nature of university life. Sports and exercise are of course a great way to maintain a balance, feel good about yourself, maintain a healthy lifestyle and find peace of mind in times of extreme mental pressure. Always remember however – you are not alone and that there are many ways to cope with stress. Exercise is simply one way!
Santa Cruz has a beautiful, modern gym and field which are located on the east side of campus surrounded by beautiful redwoods and modern architecture; this place is known as East Field House and is one of my favorite places on campus. The field overlooks the city of Santa Cruz, and all along the coast. To me this place is pure bliss. There’s no feeling like running along the track in the cool, crisp Santa Cruz air on a sunny day or chill night, looking over all of Santa Cruz and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean; you can’t help but to feel alive, motivated and as if you can accomplish anything in the universe (you really can). There’s almost no better way to clear your mind. East Field House offers all sorts of fun activities from tennis courts, a pool, racquetball courts, a boxing room, fencing classes, tai chi classes, yoga, bootcamp classes, dance and much much more. Opers (Office of Physical Education and Recreation and Sports) as the gym office is called is also great because they loan out tons of equipment such as racquets and balls for tennis, soccer balls, basketballs, racquets and balls for racquetball, hiking gear and probably a whole slew of activities that I haven’t even figured out yet but you definitely should explore. East Field House is also equipped with a multi purpose room, and of course the gym with all the equipment necessary to get that smexy body that you’ve always wanted. On the other side of campus, there is also Westfield gym which is a bit smaller, mainly used by the school’s basketball team, but also functions as a futsal court, badminton courts and probably other activities go on there as well which I don’t know about, just ask. Inside of College 8 there’s a smaller field right behind the dining hall with an outdoor basketball court, tennis courts, and outdoor volleyball court inside of a sand box.
Another one of my favorite programs at UCSC is known as CruzFit which is hosted by the Wellness Center inside of East Field House. Last year CruzFit ran during winter quarter from January through March. CruzFit is an 8 week long program, not sure when it’s running this coming year but again, you can go to the Wellness Center or OPERS to find out for yourselves. The stated goal of CruzFit is basically to promote exercise with friends. Teams of two, three or four (you choose your own friends) participate in wellness or any exercises of your choice, anytime or anywhere and all you have to do is log your hours on a Google Docs spreadsheet. You can choose any goal from easy, moderate to hard workouts and are required to reach the minimum amount of hours for your stated goal in order for you and your team to receive an awesome CruzFit t-shirt at the end! It’s worth it, I promise. The shirts are really cool and there’s definitely a feeling of pride you get from wearing that shirt around campus showing off your hard work and achievement. Again, I really hope that you guys take advantage of all these resources on campus because after all we are paying for them and they are a fun time. Now get out there and get fit!