Trying to work the guns in St Andrews

The University of St Andrews’ Sports Centre, the best place to combat your post-Lizard-followed-by-Dervish carnage, which resulted in a sexy beer belly. This is also an ideal hangout for those who are looking to get fit or watch the hottie you spotted in the library work up a sweat… Or at least one would think so.

The first thing one often encounters after entering the Athletic Union building is a queue, especially if you’re looking to go to the fitness suite. There is a wait list at almost all times of the day, and depending on whether you’re there at a peak hour or not, you could be hanging around for 10-20 minutes before exchanging your ID for a beloved rubber “access” band. Not only is there the issue with the queues, but in addition, as soon as you enter the fitness suite, there generally aren’t that many cardio machines available, and the strength and conditioning section is uncomfortably crowded.

‘The sports centre is too crowded, I don’t like being stuck on a machine I don’t really want to use because the one I really want is taken,’ remarks a 4th year student.

So what’s the deal? This is supposed to be a welcoming place to work off stress and get sexy-healthy.

Is there an answer to this problem? Does the Sports Centre need some TLC like the library, with some extra space? Probably. But it’s unlikely this will be occurring in the near future, especially with the recent approval for the funding of the Union’s renovations.

In addition to the the fact that the Sports Centre barely manages to function at over-capacity, the weights room is lacking in quality. In fact, it is in very poor condition. The cheap weights leave black marks all over your hands while chunks of chipped rubber go flying all over the place; the small array of machines means that you will probably be walking around aimlessly for 15 minutes while your machine of choice frees up – and don’t even think about using the Strength & Conditioning room because the rugby team has booked it. 

But don’t be fooled by the disappointing quality of the fitness suite facilities – the Sports Centre does have some notable things going for it. There are many fun, energising classes to take, including Jog Scotland, Boxfit, Sports Conditioning Circuits and Zumba.

4th year Jessica Walker says, ‘Over the past few years the Sports Centre has made a number of improvements towards providing better facilities for students. With the addition of new and exciting classes like Cardio Combat, students now have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of classes that cater to a wide range of abilities’.

So, after all the debate, I encourage you go and take a look for yourself. Regardless of opinion, the Sports Centre does have its positive aspects, and they might just be worth it. After all, where else are you going to stalk your latest Lizard romance in their gym kit?