Bellarmine’s Student Recreation and Fitness (SuRF) center offers a place for students to get active and make friends. The SuRF is one of the few spots on campus for student’s entertainment. The SuRF offers a weight room, treadmills and ellipticals, locker rooms, two basketball courts, three tennis courts and two ping-pong tables.
The most-used section of the SuRF is the weight room. Director of Campus Recreation Shawn Newton said there is a long list of updates for the weight room that he would love to do, but the operational budget is thin.
The SuRF’s budget comes from student fees, university funds, and funding from the Student Government Association. It has a total budget of $230,000, with $140,000 used for group fitness, staff salaries, equipment repairs, intramural sports and SuRF upgrades. The other $90,000 is allocated for club sports.
Newton said: “The plan to get the heavily requested hack squat machine is looking good. We should have it ready by the end of March. The upgraded flooring should be the next project, but not sure that will be anytime soon.”
Undergraduate student Brett Tully is a consistent SuRF user. Tully said: “I use the SuRF because of the good hours. It is never really packed either which helps as well. I am happy about the hack squat machine being added and I am looking forward to seeing what is next.”
The SuRF’s equipment is all owned, while to most universities rent equipment. This plays to the SuRF’s advantage because older equipment becomes sellable when they upgrade.
The SuRF recently purchased new free weights. The new weights feature larger weight selections ranging from 5 to 120 pounds.
Although the athletes on campus have their scheduled team lifts in Knights’ Hall, most still use the SuRF to get in extra work.
Graduate student Jon Robbins said: “The SuRF is a great place for my teammates and I to get an extra lift. While I wish it had more space for exercises, it gets the job done.”
The SuRF is used by more than just the students. Recent Alumnus Bryce Vaxman said he still uses the SuRF. “I appreciate the new weights, but I know Bellarmine can do better.” He said, “A lot of upgrades need to be made in order be on par with other Division 1 schools.”
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