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Gym Renovations Begin with New Equipment
By Eugenia Hannon '10
STAFF WRITER

Renovations to the Daisy Williams Gymnasium have been discussed for over seven years, and finally there is something really happening. The entire student body is excited about the plans for the new gym, which includes a café area and racquetball courts. Sweet Briar’s gym, which was state of the art in 1931 but is now painfully antiquated in comparison to most other schools, is being modernized.

Kelly Morrison, the Athletic Director, is extremely enthusiastic about the new gym. The plans took “…a lot of foresight and work,” and Morrison and others recently went to other colleges in the area to look at their gyms for ideas. The addition of a café seems to bring a lot of students to the gym, making it very social and active—not just a place for activity. In addition to drawing in current students, it is presumed that the improved gym will encourage prospective students to chose Sweet Briar, once we have athletic facilities that equal or perhaps eclipse our rival schools.

The new gym is really an answer to the needs and desires of the women on campus. Students have been involved in the creation of the plans for the new gym, and many are waiting anxiously for opening day. Kara Evans, a senior, is happy about the new gym, but is jealous that she will not get to enjoy the new facilities. “A racquetball court?? You guys are so lucky!”

Small changes are being made already, like the addition of the new wellness room. Formerly a dance studio, this room is now full of elliptical machines, treadmills, stationary bikes and weight machines. There is also a free weight room, where all of the exercise equipment used to be. These new rooms make it much easier for students to work, because there are more machines and more seclusion.

The exact date of the beginning of construction is not yet known. The new gym plans are going to be presented to the Building and Grounds committee in November, and the project will move on from there. Everyone involved is very energized about the project, and the recent SGA meeting where the plans were shown has gotten even more students keyed up about the project.

The new gym would create not only an amazing facility for the varsity athletes of Sweet Briar, but also the general population. This is one more step in the direction of wellness for the school. Spinning classes, as well as a number of others, will draw students who had no interest in the gym to working out on a regular basis. Swebop is also planning on putting in a climbing wall, something that will allow that group to grow even bigger than it already is.

Once a few technical hurdles are overcome, the new gym building should be on its way here. Over ten years of hard work and patience from faculty and students will be embodied in the new building, and it will be enjoyed for many years to come.