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IMA Celebrates 50th Anniversary

IMA at 50

By Sean Harding, UW Recreation

The University of Washington Intramural Activities Building celebrated its 50th anniversary last week by staying open until midnight and hosting five hours, marking five decades, of special activities including giant glow volleyball, dodgeball, archery and glow Zumba. Crags Climbing Center stayed open late and offered free admission while Huskies scrambled, rappelled and belayed on through the night. About 825 guests attended the event.

Students ferociously challenged each other in ping pong, while others gathered in the lounge watching the Huskies beat the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Championship. There were healthy snacks aplenty, including cheese sticks, apples, grapes, oranges, bananas hummus and goldfish, as well a gourmet smoothie bar with wholesome ingredients. The smoothies being be a crowd favorite.

“It’s healthy because of all the stuff they put in it,” said one student. “All the nutrients. Spinach. They have the blueberries, strawberries, dates … it was amazing!”

“Health is a lifestyle,” said another student who said she eats healthy at home as well but does not yet have a blender in her dorm.

“If you eat healthy, you function better,” said the first student in response.

Many of the IMA’s typical Friday night activities went on throughout the night, including archery, roller skating and rock climbing, and people could still work out in the gym facilities, many of whom did. Students feeling adventurous challenged each other in “Battleship,” a game where two teams challenge each other in canoes equipped with splash buckets to sink the other. “Glowga” had students practicing their yoga moves in the dark, while “Glow Cycle” left others breathless.

“Everyone’s having a good time,” said Michael Cha, an IMA student employee. “People seem happier, being here. You [might] want to mention the free food, at least. That was a big drawing point.”

“Free food, free shirts, free activities,” nodded Shiina Yasukau, another student worker.

Some IMA regulars seemed surprised by the festivities but were pleased by the free food, including said Ken Suzuki, an exchange student from Japan.

“Maintaining good health means a good life.” Suzuki said. “… Maybe just taking four hours in the gym per week might be a big deal. But four hours per week for better health is pretty much [worth it].”

Not only is health a path to a healthier lifestyle, it can also help create social bonds.

“I think it’s just a really nice way to get out for your studies, you know, and spend some time with friends,” Jeannyffer Campos, a guest at the celebration.

Having healthy snacks around also helped.

“If you’re going to play badminton or going to play volleyball, it’s nice to have a carrot that is not heavy,” Campos said. Other places might let you “have a cookie and feel not right, or have a pizza and feel tired. So that’s nice.”

The 50-year milestone is a recognition of not only the first 50 years of the IMA’s history, it’s also the start of the conversation for the next 50 years.

“In 1968, the IMA opened,” said UW Recreation Director Matt Newman. “And I’m sure for the time, it was the cream of the crop.”

The then-new facility housed four gymnasiums and 16 racquetball courts, a pool, and appeared to some to be future of collegiate recreation. Fifty years later, UW Recreation is thinking about what’s next.

UW Recreation’s vision is that it will be more than a gym. One of the priorities going forward is to make fitness more inviting for people of all backgrounds and body types to find their fitness.

“I don’t think anybody was actively against being accessible to students,” Newman said. “But there was never a concerted effort [to reach out].”

The department made some small changes in recent years, including changing to its name to Recreation, opening up mindfulness courses, UWild Adventures, events like Queer Swim and Muslim Women Swim, and celebrating Pride in June.

“I like to say that we’re always good at the meat and potatoes part of recreation,” said Newman. “Like flag football, or open gym or having a pool. We’re really good at that, and we’ll always be good at that. But that’s intramural activities, or that’s rec sports. That’s the past. We’re talking about all those things and much more in the future.”

 

ASUW Shell House commemorates Armistice Day

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By: Sean Harding

Two bald eagles were perched over the shores of Lake Washington Sunday, overlooking a sunny autumn afternoon at the ASUW Shell House on Veterans Day. It was a little crisp inside Shell House, but the 100-year-old structure also had a rich, historical essence that kept it feeling cozy – the two heat lamps inside, and the treats from the gyros truck parked outside, might have helped too. The light chatter and slow blues coming from the radio and the light coming enormous skylights served as an ideal backdrop for the exhibits from UW Libraries and the Museum of History and Industry on display on the floor.

UW Recreation, in partnership with UW Libraries and Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry, held an Armistice Day Centennial Commemoration at the ASUW Shell House Sunday, recognizing the deep history and important role the ASUW Shell House and the University played in World War I. Fifty-eight UW students, alumni and faculty members were killed in the “war to end all wars.”

“You only get a 100th anniversary of something one time,” said UW Recreation director Matt Newman. “I think UW played a pretty big role in military training for WWI.”

Inside the Shell House, the Museum of History and Industry had a “pop-up” version of the World War I exhibit on display at its South Lake Union location covering the last 100 years of history of the Shell House. UW Libraries also had exhibits covering World War I on display from its special collections. After visitors watched saw the exhibits in the Shell House, they could board a free ferry run by Argosy cruises through the Montlake Cut and Lake Union to the Museum of History and Industry for an exhibit that charged no admission for active duty military members and veterans.

As these projects gained momentum, UW staff grew increasingly aware of the Shell House’s duty during World War I. The Navy constructed the Shell House as a seaplane hangar as part of the Naval training station established on UW’s campus in 1917. Once the armistice ended the war in 1918, the Navy returned the land to the UW the following year. The Shell House is one of the last visible reminders of the University’s wartime role.

“All of that feels really good. And rich and important for UW’s history,” Newman said.

The Shell House’s history runs deeper and encompasses more than just World War I. Long before the University was established and the Montlake Cut was formed, the Duwamish people used the lake as a source of transport and food. The land where the Shell House sits today wasn’t accessible until the Montlake cut first connected Lake Union and Lake Washington in 1917, dropping Lake Washington’s water level by nearly nine feet.

The Shell House also played a central role in the UW men’s rowing team featured in the New York Times bestseller “The Boys in the Boat,” who headed to the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 to beat Adolf Hitler’s elite German rowers and take home gold. But it took years for the University to get to that point.

Before the war, the UW was “basically a farm” and didn’t have much national acclaim, said Lisa Oberg, associate director of Special Collections at UW Libraries. That began to change when UW President Henry Suzzallo began his term with a different a vision for what he thought the UW could be. The Navy training center at UW, which included the ASUW Shell House, helped to raise the profile of the UW.

“Suzzallo volunteered the campus for everything,” Oberg said. “There’s a map over there of all of the military training that was happening on campus. We were one of the few schools in the United States that had then all branches of military training. Army, Navy and Marines.”

The ASUW Shell House is also the subject of a $10 million UW Recreation capital campaign and restoration project. The Restoration Project is the beginning of what is envisioned by UW Recreation as next 100 years for the ASUW Shell House.

 

First and foremost, the restored Shell House will be a student space on the water. In addition to structural upgrades, a classroom is planned within the walls of the old locker room. It will also be a heritage center for students and the public to enjoy and reflect upon, with timelines and UW master racing-shell builder George Pocock’s workshop restored (with Port Townsend boat builder Steve Chapin working inside it). UW Recreation’s vision is that the waterfront location will also one day be open for meetings, conferences, alumni events, weddings, football and regatta events, and more, for everyone: UW students, faculty, staff and the public alike. Newman also stated that he would like to see the Shell House incorporated into UWild’s programs.

“We can make this building a regular part of campus life,” Newman said. “Bring campus back to the water. Give students a reason to interact with the water. This is a pretty amazing asset that we have.”

There has even been talk of putting up a café inside the Shell House.

“We’ve had a great 100 years. And we need to get this thing ready for at least 100 more,” Newman said.

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To learn more about the University of Washington’s involvement in World War I, click here.

For more information about the ASUW Shell House restoration project, visit this link.

 

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Equipment Updates

STF Funded Accessible Equipment

New cardio equipment has arrived. This includes 2 NuStep cross trainers, 2 Concept2 rowing ergs with tractor seats, and 2 Krankcyle arm cycles. Additional equipment is being purchased this quarter so check back for more updates as they arrive. A HUGE thank you to STF for funding the replacement of these older pieces of accessible equipment.

STF Funded Cardio

New cardio equipment has arrived. This includes 5 StairMaster FreeClimbers, 26 Precor ellipticals, 5 Life Fitness bikes, 5 Life Fitness ellipticals, and 8 Concept2 rowing ergs. A HUGE thank you to STF for funding the replacement of these outdated cardio machines.

Weight Room Updates

We continue with the weight room refresh as budgets allow. Replacement of dumbbells, the linear hack squat, flat benches, and additional squat racks with landmine attachments arrived this summer. Next up will be the purchase of additional weight plates. Check back for more updates in fall.