Jump in and make a splash with Adult Learn to Swim!

If you’re afraid of the water, Adult Learn to Swim classes are the perfect way to jump in and make a splash.

Adult Learn to Swim accommodates beginner and intermediate level swimmers to help adults with a variety of techniques, from overcoming fears of the water to enhancing current swimming skills.

Ashley Gesseck, a forensic science and chemistry major and instructor for the class, said the class is personalized so that participants can reach their personal goals.

Ankita Patel, who holds a master’s in human genetics and is taking undergraduate courses to prepare for medical school, said the whole idea of swimming was new to her.

“Come on. I’m 24 and I don’t know how to swim?” Ankita said.

Ankita said learning how to swim has helped her gain confidence in other areas of life and the instructors motivate her to improve.

“I like how she pushes us,” Ankita said.

Bijal Vyas, who is studying for her master’s in human genetics, said she wanted to become proficient at swimming again after taking a break from the sport.

“It’s a great way for relaxation,” Bijal said.

Bijal said her main goal is to become proficient at the back stroke, which she has tried to learn for four years.

“I think I’ll get it soon,” Bijal said.

Session II of Adult Learn to Swim classes runs from October 20 to December 4 and registration is open now at the MCV Recreation and Aquatic Center and the Siegel Center.

For more information on Adult Learn to Swim and other Aquatics programs at Recreational Sports, visit the Aquatics section of the Rec Sports website by clicking here.

Mara George and John Kim: Recreational Sports Graduate Assistant Dual Bio

Mara George is a 24-year-old graduate of James Madison University with a BA in political science and a master's degree from VCU in public administration. Mara has been working for Rec Sports for two years as a graduate assistant.

Mara said convenience was one of the reasons she was attracted to working at Rec Sports when she started her job search at VCU.

“I could have a full-time job and still go to class and get all my work done,” she said.

John Kim is a 27-year-old graduate of Georgia Southern University with a BA in political science and English, as well as a master's in public administration. John is now working towards his PhD in public policy at VCU.

John said he gained a liking to being around fitness equipment while working as a graduate assistant at his former university's gym.

“It was just a natural progression,” John said.

As graduate assistants both Mara and John supervise student employees, resolve any issues in the absence of the assistant director and ensures that all paperwork and applications are filled out correctly.

Mara said by working at Rec Sports she has gained experience with budgeting, human resources and cash operations. She also recommended working at Rec Sports, as it is perfect for anyone who wants an on-campus job and one with a level of responsibility.

“You'll gain real life experience with leadership and supervisory skills,” she said.

John said he enjoys working at Rec Sports because of the exciting environment and great student workers.

“You're not going to be pushing paper everyday,” he said.

Intramural Flag Football kicks off on Cary Street Field

Intramural flag football kicked off on September 10th at the Cary Street Field with multiple games and numerous people on the bleachers watching the action.

Jordan Chyrsler, a senior studying electrical engineering, was participating in intramural flag football for the first time, although he has played on an intramural soccer team before.

Chrysler said he did not come up with the team name, The Engineers. His captain, Julian Valencia, did. But he agreed with Valencia’s prediction that they would “go all the way.”

Chrysler said he had a strategy for when he was playing as a receiver.

“Go out for short passes usually,” Chrysler said.

Valencia, a junior studying electrical engineering said he would have participated in intramural flag football before, but he was always too late to register a team. This time he found out about team registrations early enough to participate.

Valencia said his strategy for his role of quarterback was to simply throw the ball to whoever gets open and said the team’s skill as engineers would impact the results.

“We're going to design how you play the game of football.”

Roberto Mejia, a sophomore who has not yet declared his major, is a member of Team Miley. He likes to participate in intramurals because it provides something to look forward to after classes are over.

“[You can] take a break from schoolwork,” Mejia said.

Matt Van Dao, captain of Team Miley and a sophomore in the pre-nursing program, said he named the team as a form of dedication to pop singer Miley Cyrus.

“It's like an infatuation,” Van Dao said.

Van Dao said in order for his team to win, they planned on sticking to “the basics.”

Intramural Flag Football is played Monday through Thursday from 8:00pm to 12:00am on Cary Street Field with more than 60 teams participating during the season. It’s free to come out and cheer on your favorite teams.

The next block of intramural sports is racquetball doubles, table tennis, and tennis singles. Registration runs September 15th through the 23rd at the Siegel Center, MCV Recreation and Aquatic Center and the new Cary Street Field Support Building. Don't miss out on the fun!

Answer to weight lifting spotters question

Here at Rec Sports we've received numerous questions about when or if facility staff will be spotting people who are lifting weights in our fitness centers.

We went and got an answer straight from the Director of Rec Sports himself, Tom Diehl.

Tom said it's not possible to have enough staff to spot all of the patrons in the fitness centers. Patrons may request to be trained to spot for others. Patrons can lift in pairs or ask another lifter for a spot.

The only time staff will be permitted to spot is if there are two staff persons working and only one patron in the entire fitness center, then our staff would spot until a second patron enters the fitness center.

Patrons "flip out" over Capoeira group exercise classes at Siegel Center

A group exercise class that combines martial arts, music and dance held its first class on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center. Capoeira is its name and it originated in Brazil during the 16th century.

Now, patrons can participate in the class every Tuesday and Thursday, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm at the Siegel Center during session one of group exercise classes.

The class is taught by Mestre Panao, a student of capoeira for 26 years. Panao said he started learning capoeira at the age of 12 in Brazil, where it’s considered the number two sport of the nation, second only to soccer.

“Everybody there has access to capoeira,” Panao said.

Panao said he wanted to give the same access to people in Richmond, which is why he leaped at the opportunity to teach his art at the Siegel Center.

Alex Valerio, an 18-year-old biology major and first time taker of the class, said he was planning on attending every class in the future.

“It was really fun,” Valerio said.

Valerio said he liked how the music blended in with the martial arts.

Matt Daniel, a 19-year-old business major, is one of Panao’s assistants during the class and has practiced capoeira for a little over four years. Daniel said that there can be “no capoeira without music” and that it sets the tempo of the martial art.

Daniel has four years of experience under his belt, but he said when starting out he could barely do a cartwheel. With enough practice, he said, anyone can become familiar with capoeira.

“If you practice enough you can do whatever you want to,” Daniel said.

Erin Opseth, a 22-year-old public relations major who was also taking the class for the first time, said it was a great workout and something that would be great to learn.

“I’m definitely tired,” Opseth said.

For a chance to hear some music played when practicing Capoeira and an interview with Mestre Panao, follow the link below and play the story titled "Capoeira" on the right side of the webpage.

http://www.ideastations.org/radio/

Rec Sports Employee Bio of the Week: Justin Wade

Justin Wade is a 21-year-old Business Administration major who hails from Martinsville and is currently a Junior at VCU. Although he has only been working with Rec Sports for about a year, he has already managed to be promoted to the supervisor position at Rec Sports.

Like most students, Wade needed a job that he could handle while he was attending school full-time and a job working at the gym fit what he was looking for.

“Because most jobs you can't work and go to school at the same time,” he said.

Wade said that other than the pay, his favorite part about working at the Rec Sports facilities is the opportunity to network and meet new people.

“I just like talking to people,” he said.

When he's not in class or working out on the benchpress at Siegel Center or MCV Recreation and Aquatic Center, Wade enjoys hanging out with friends or just killing time surfing the Internet.

Sneak peek of things to come now in use at MCV Recreation and Aquatic Center

If you want to get a sneak peek at what kind of improvements the new Cary Street Recreation Complex will have, then you don't have to go any farther than the MCV Campus Aquatic Center locker rooms.

Within the last month, Rec Sports has replaced all of the lockers in the Aquatic Center as well as equipping them with new Digilocks, doing away with the old combination lock setup. Both the men's and women's locker rooms have a number of day use lockers in addition to 40 rentable lockers. So now, instead of having to trek back and forth to the recreation center's locker rooms, you can store your swimming gear in the rentable lockers overnight and get right into the action after checking in with the lifeguards.

The new Digilocks have a keypad with numbers 0-9, a “C” button and a button with a tiny picture of a key. The day use lockers operate on a four-digit code of your choice that you enter to secure the locker and that is cleared once you unlock your locker to make it available for others to use. The rentable lockers also use a numerical code after using the initial unlock code given to you by the front desk, but the rentable lockers remember your code until the locker rental is ended.

With the renovated MCV Recreation and Aquatic Center opening summer 2009 and Cary Street Gym completed in 2010, over the next few months you'll see upgrades such as the new lockers at both the Siegel Center and MCV Recreation Center as they're tested out and incorporated into the new facilities. With these improvements, you can get a taste of what Rec Sports users have to look forward to in the future.