By Eunice Sung

The closure of all gyms and recreation centers across the state on March 16 due to COVID-19 meant University of Maryland community members were no longer able to physically access the Recreation and Wellness center. But the center’s staff had been preparing online resources for students well before then, according to Mary Kate Crawford, the associate director for programs at the center. 

“We knew that as students are departing campus, that we wanted to make sure we were providing resources that we would want to provide … in person,” Crawford said. “We also knew in these circumstances, our community was going to need a lot of support and a lot of resources so we just started to brainstorm all the different ways we could reach out.”

The recreation center staff compiled several virtual fitness resources on their website in order to provide support in as many areas as possible, depending on users’ circumstances and what is accessible to them.

“If people are out hiking or biking, we want to provide resources. If people can only exercise inside their homes, with or without equipment, we want to provide resources,” Crawford said.

Normally, the center runs just above 100 group fitness classes per week, according to Crawford. But now, fitness instructors are recording workouts and uploading them to the center’s Youtube channel. 

Ryan Jones, a senior economics major, taught four group fitness classes a week at the center, but since its closure, has uploaded two videos to the center’s channel.

“It takes a lot more time than just teaching,” Jones said. “I set up my tripod, I have to check the music volume, my volume. I have to make sure everything’s in frame, I have to check for lighting … the timing is definitely a lot more.”

Although Jones is also uploading fitness videos on his personal social media accounts including this challenge routine on TikTok, he particularly misses the social interaction that comes with teaching classes at the center. He said he spent a majority of his time at the center with his friends and class participants throughout the semester.

“Especially as a group fitness instructor when you’re not able to see the people that you’re teaching every week … you just miss them and it’s harder to check in, it’s harder to really gauge how everyone’s doing,” Jones said. 

Jessica Pickett, Jones’ best friend and fellow group fitness instructor, said she usually feeds off of her participants’ energy during her classes, so teaching in front of a camera has been more challenging.

“It’s definitely a little awkward and takes a lot of getting used to,” Pickett, a fifth year student majoring in family science said. “We just try to give it all we have to make sure that the people at home are still getting the same experience, or as close to the experience as possible, as they would if they were coming to our actual classes.”

For Samuel Dickstein, a sophomore kinesiology major, taking dance fit classes at the center allowed him to gain more self-confidence, explore new ways to be active and meet new friends. Every week, he and his friends follow along with resources provided by the recreation center, which he said has been a good way to keep in touch with people.

“It’s obviously different but it’s still really fun,” Dickstein said.

The recreation center is also catering to students’ social needs, Crawford said, with the intramural sports program now holding esports competitions and virtual trivia games on Kahoot. 

“We know that right now, everyone’s feeling isolated and we wanted to find ways for students to connect with each other, even if it just has to be virtually,” Crawford said.

Thomas Canary, a sophomore marketing and management double major, has been committed to encouraging competition through sports for the past academic year as an intramural supervisor. Canary said he and the other supervisors came up with the idea to hold esports games and virtual trivia competitions in order to keep students engaged despite the state lockdown.

“It’s not necessarily physical activity but it’s still a form of competition we could have,” Canary said. “People can come in every week, see each other, interact with each other and have some fun doing it.”

With the first session of summer classes already scheduled to be online, Crawford and the staff are excited to continue providing more resources for students moving forward.

“Our message right now is keep moving,” Crawford said. “Find ways to keep movement, activity [and] fun in your daily routine.”

Featured photo courtesy of UMD RecWell’s Instagram.