SCAD prepares to open SCADfit in Hive
After years of ClubSCAD and SCAD Studio being the university’s main buildings for health and wellness, a new gym, SCADfit, will open in the fall of 2017. According to SCAD Athletics Director Doug Wollenburg, SCADfit will be an almost 10,000 square foot state of the art facility located within the Hive complex.
“It’s going to be housed with a lot of cardio equipment, your ellipticals and [Life Fitness] treadmills [and] rowers,” Wollenburg said. “It’s also going to have nautilus machines. [There will be] few free weights as far as benches and incline presses. We’ll have a few of those in there, but ClubSCAD will still remain as the destination to go for free lifting and lifting those heavier weights.”
According to Wollenburg, SCADfit, which has been under construction since earlier this year, will also have three large rooms designed for various wellness courses from pilates to barre ballet. Wollenburg said he is especially excited for the room devoted to spin classes which includes IC7 and Ciclotte bikes.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a spot where a lot of students are going to want to go because it’s going to be equipped with the state of the art video screens and everything in regards to the spin bikes being able to sync up with students’ heart rate,” Wollenburg said.
In addition to the exercise and fitness amenities, Wollenburg said SCADfit will include a fruit and smoothie bar, called beeFUEL, which will serve healthy food and beverage choices. Wollenburg said almost of all of SCAD’s fitness classes will move to SCADfit, such as Zumba and Glow. SCADfit will also be fully staffed with wellness and fitness teams and will be equipped with both a men’s and women’s locker room with showers, according to Wollenburg. Fitness Coordinator and current ClubSCAD Manager James Ives will serve as the SCADfit manager.
SCADfit will have offices for SCAD Residence Life as well as Wollenburg’s SCADfit team. Wollenburg said he believes the size of SCADfit’s facility speaks to the number of fitness and wellness classes SCAD hosts across the Savannah campus.
“I think it’s a testimony to what we profess as far as wanting our students to be well-rounded,” Wollenburg said. “We want them to make healthy choices. We want them to be active and get exercise, and we think by being healthy and well-rounded student, they will also perform at a higher rate academically in the classroom.”
All services previously offered at SCAD Studio will be moved to SCADfit. With ClubSCAD remaining open, Wollenburg said the University’s intention is to open SCADfit during fall quarter.
With the entire Hive complex completed, Wollenburg said he thinks SCADfit is going to be an ideal, centralized meeting place where students can engage with one another outside of the classroom.
“I think the number one attraction is its location,” Wollenburg said. “We want the very best for our students…but SCADfit is about the cardio and also getting stronger, and being healthy and I think it’s going to be a place that’s designed for that for students to be more well rounded.”
Written by Emilie Kefalas.
