Above photo: USF St. Petersburg students take part in a game of bubble soccer on April 10, 2016. Tamiracle Williams | The Crow’s Nest
By Jonah Hinebaugh
Campus Recreation is hosting Rec Fest Wednesday as a way to introduce students to both their peers and the amenities that Campus Rec has to offer.
Organized by by Fallon Hartig, the competitive sports coordinator, and a student planning committee, the event aims to catch students’ attention before they get too caught up in their day-to-day activities.
“Typically we’ve had Rec Fest in the spring before finals week and we realized that wasn’t the most beneficial thing because [we were] getting the word out about everything we do at the end of the year,” Hartig said.
Previously, the event was run by Harborside Activities Board (HAB) and Campus Rec assisted with the event. This is the first year that Rec Fest will be hosted and staffed by Campus Rec entirely.
The event will offer a range of activities including bubble soccer, rock climbing and glow-in-the-dark laser tag. Hartig said her and the planning committee wanted to go big and bring something that hasn’t been on campus before.
“We decided if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right,” she said. “We don’t want to do all this work just for it to be boring.”
She thinks a big draw will be a dunk tank featuring administration such as Allyson Watson, dean of education and Jacob Diaz, dean of students.
The committee wanted to entice students to mingle with others. Hartig said she wants students to come out and meet other people who have common interests with them to aid in the transition to college life.
“It’s hard coming to college and not knowing anybody If you go to an event and you love to rock climb and see people doing the same thing, you’re going to feel more at home,” Hartig said.
Campus Recreation won’t always offer these particular activities, but Hartig said if people show interest in this event, the organization will set up similar events throughout the year. She said the organization brings the opportunity for students to stay active and relieve stress throughout the semester.
