The Physical Activities Center (PAC) reopened to students on Monday, Aug. 30. The PAC has been at Sinclair since 1974 and has always been available to students and staff.
Access to the PAC is free for the fall semester as all a student needs is their Tartan ID; if a student doesn’t have one, they need to go to the Welcome Center to receive one, then go to the PAC equipment room to fill out the necessary forms.
While the PAC has multiple places to work out such as a pool, weight room, multipurpose field house, and gymnasium, only a few of those places have been able to reopen. The weight room and Pickle Ball courts will be open free of charge during the Fall semester. The weight room is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. The Pickle Ball courts are open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It is still unknown when the pool and multipurpose field house will be reopened.
While hours are limited at the weight room, students and staff may want to check out the Non-Credit Activity Classes or the PAC Activity Class Pass. The pass allows students and staff to attend a certain class or try out different classes that are given here at Sinclair.
“Students and staff may purchase a $25 PAC Activity Class Pass online, they will be given a physical punch card,” Beetley said. “You get 10 punches, and if you do not use all of the punches this semester the punches can roll over to spring semester,” said Travis Beetley, PAC Manager.
With Covid-19 being a constant in our daily lives updated procedures and rules are constantly coming out. This does not exclude the locker room protocols in the PAC center.
“Locker rooms are now unstaffed, and we no longer have a towel service. Guests must bring their own lock and towel. Lockers may only be used while using the PAC facilities,” said Beetley.
A few things have also changed in the weight room since guests have been allowed in. Not only is there a new piece of equipment, but the entire layout has been shifted around for safety due to Covid-19.
“There is now room for more personal space not only while using the equipment but also for guests to do stretches, push-ups, or other activities,” Beetly said. “We also brought in the new Hoist Motion Cage. It is a multi-workout station. To help slow the spread of Covid-19, we hope everyone uses a personal bubble as we now have the space for it. We did tape off every other treadmill and created a grid for yoga classes that gives 6 feet of workout space with 6 feet of space between each person. We also now use the same disinfectant as Sinclair uses campus-wide which has a quicker kill rate and provides it to guests so they may disinfect before and after they use the equipment.”
Beetley is hopeful to bring back tournaments this fall along with Rec Breaks that occur once a month. Rec Breaks are things like playing HORSE in the gymnasium and other special activities. To bring back the excitement of Rec Breaks, the PAC will need to hire additional student staff. If a student is interested in working in the PAC, please contact mary.coleman@sinclair.edu or call 937-512-2968. Additional information about the Physical Activity Center may be found on their website www.sinclair.edu/pac.
Sara Collins
Reporter