Ohio University has more than 400 clubs and campus recreation for students to get involved in.
Outside of the classroom, students have an array of options to choose from to keep busy when they are not hitting the books.
Students have access to more than 400 student organizations along with options from the Ohio University Campus Recreation, which includes the Aquatic Center, Bird Ice Arena, club and intramural sports, the Golf and Tennis Center, Outdoor Pursuits, the Ping Center and Walter Fieldhouse.
The student organizations encompass a wide variety of topics, ranging from Greek life, academics, politics and service. Options for involvement include anything from Student Senate to the Doctor Who Club, among hundreds of others.
The Ping Center, which opened in 1996, is free for all OU students to use with their student IDs. Spanning three floors, the Ping Center includes a climbing wall, five basketball courts, two multipurpose courts, an elevated four-lane indoor running track and eight racquetball courts.
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The multipurpose courts can be used for floor hockey or indoor soccer, said Larrissa Keiser, assistant director for marketing and communication of OU Campus Recreation.
The Ping Center offers classes in yoga, zumba, cardio dance, boot camp, cycling, kickboxing and ballet dance class, said Meagan Wain, the assistant director of Walter Fieldhouse.
“We have the free fitness classes for students; we have personal training programs, and then they are also going to start a yoga program called ‘Yoga on the Lawn,’ so it will be out on the front lawn of Ping,” Wain said.
Outdoor Pursuits is another venue that students can get involved in adventures in Southeast Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
“We encourage the students to try the facilities other than the Ping Center, and we offer a lot of trips and clinics with Outdoor Pursuits at discounted rates for students, so there’s a lot for them to get involved with here,” Keiser said.
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OU also offers club and intramural sports.
“In the first month of school, we’ll be doing a club sports showcase, and they’ll be hosting that at the Walter Fieldhouse, and students will have the opportunity to come in and met with each club and get information on how to sign up, tryouts and then how to participate in the club as well,” Keiser said.
There are 32 club sports, and the cost to participate varies depending on the sport.
“We usually do two (intramural sports) sessions a semester,” Wain said. “So in the fall, right when school kicks off, we do softball; we have mini soccer, sand volleyball and tennis.”
OU Campus Recreation’s newest facility, the Walter Fieldhouse, is home to a 100-yard AstroTurf football field and a track with long jump and pole vault pits.
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“We’ve been encouraging students, as of lately, to try the new facility, the Walter Fieldhouse, which they can go in and use the turf during ‘open rec’, if it’s available, and then we have the running track inside as well,” Keiser said.
The Walter Fieldhouse is a shared facility between academics, OU recreation and Athletics.
“Anytime when we are not having an academic class on the field or athletics is practicing, it’s available for open recreation. … Students can come in and run the track, or they can bring in their own footballs and soccer balls and play in the turf field, if it’s available,” Keiser said.
Students have access to use both Bird Ice Arena and the Aquatic Center.
“At the ice rink, they don't have to pay for recreational skate, and there are skates available to rent, if they don't have their own, for a discounted rate,” Keiser said.
The Aquatic Center has one pool, and during a recreational swim period the lap lanes are available for use.
“We do have a welcome event at the beginning of the year; it’s called Party at Ping … that’s for all incoming freshmen and all incoming students,” Wain said. “They can just come to Ping (during) move-in weekend.”
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