With the school year underway, Notre Dame students have returned to newly refreshed campus fitness centers. From mid-May to August, RecSports completed several facility updates in both the Smith Center for Recreational Sports and the Rockne Memorial.
In the Smith Center, upgrades consist of new cardio machines, new equipment padding and the addition of leg extension, hip adduction, hip abduction and lying leg curl machines.
Rockne similarly gained equipment, including a leg extension, leg curl, leg press, assisted chin dip and a cable machine.
According to Veronica Ballinger, assistant director of RecSports, the University’s work went beyond adding these new machines, including updates to and replacement of already present equipment.
“The decision to expand equipment offerings was guided by rising demand on campus for more equipment availability and our commitment to keeping what we offer aligned with current industry standards and participant needs,” Ballinger wrote in a statement to The Observer. “Student Government played an important role, working with us after the summer 2024 upgrades to identify what would best support the student body. Their partnership, along with feedback from fitness surveys and informal conversations with students, helped ensure these changes were responsive and practical.”
“It's been nice,” Siegfried Hall sophomore Alexander Rweyemamu said of the changes. “The extra equipment has allowed for shorter wait times for most of the leg movements. I think having the added equipment, even though a lot of it is repetitive … makes workouts a lot faster for any person.”
Grace DeCroix, director of university policy under Student Body President emeritus Dawson Kiser’s administration, advocated very strongly for bringing more machines to Rockne Memorial.
In a written statement to The Observer, DeCroix recalled the role of student government on the issue. “Our conversations with RecSports started because of clear student feedback, and with data collected through our Campus Life survey, we were able to show a pretty clear picture of what students wanted,” DeCroix wrote. “We communicated that to RecSports and talked with them throughout the year, and we were thrilled to learn towards the end of our term that new equipment was coming!”
Despite the upgrades, some students insisted more needed to be done to improve the gym experience. In particular, crowded gym spaces and long lines remained prominent concerns for Coyle Hall sophomore Hung Vo.
“I would say it's progress, but it doesn't solve the overarching problem that Notre Dame has with fitness in terms of equipment,” he said. “We have … over 8,000 students here at Notre Dame, and assuming a fair portion of them go to the gym … we need to worry about space and equipment. And while in Duncan and Rockne … adding a couple more machines is progress, we're just not there yet in terms of a commercial gym.”
Rweyemamu suggested that improving the quality of these localized hall facilities might take off strain and decrease crowding at Rockne and the Smith Center.
“It'd be nice if Notre Dame could give halls the funding to improve the equipment quality in their gyms and make the space nicer,” Rweyemamu said. “Because if your hall’s gym … has the equipment that you need to work out, you're more likely to go there. Then you don't have the problem at Smith and Rockne waiting for … equipment. If Notre Dame really is committed to health and wellness, I think they should be supplementing the hall’s funding for these facilities.”
