The University of Oregon’s Student Recreation Center is one of many aspects of everyday life that the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed. After reopening to the UO community on Sept. 21, the Rec has taken a number of precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, while continuing to serve as a space where patrons can stay active.
These measures include requiring the Rec’s employees and patrons to wear masks at all times — with an exception of when they are in the pool — and maintain six-foot physical distancing, as required by the state of Oregon. PE and Rec Director Lynn Nester said air circulation systems have been set up “to bring in as much outdoor air as possible” and staff have placed equipment upwards of six feet apart.
Nester shared that staff are disinfecting equipment and high-touch surfaces “at a minimum three times a day” in accordance with UO COVID-19 protocols, although it often happens even more frequently. The Rec is also asking that individuals in the strength and cardio areas clean their area before and after use. Staff members have set up a number of signs that detail COVID-19 expectations and cleaning stations, complete with spray bottles of cleaning solution, hand sanitizer and clean towels.
“I just went to feel it out,” Olivia Winter said about her first time at the Rec this fall, “and they’re taking a lot of precautions, so now my comfort level is fine.” Winter has returned a couple times since that initial excursion, a testament to both her sense of safety at the Rec and her love for going to the gym.
“Obviously, I don’t like working out in a mask,” she said, “but other than that it’s basically the same.”
Chelsea Batchelor, a UO senior and lead lifeguard at the Rec, said she feels pretty safe overall. She compared this impression with stories she had heard from friends who are working food service and frequently come into contact with unmasked customers. “Most of the times that I’m interacting with people, they have their mask on,” she said, “and the only times that they don’t have their mask on is in the water.”
The pool area has put limits on the amount of people in a given space to allow for adequate distancing. This is also the case for the rest of the Rec — the number of individuals in a given space are counted and updated online for public reference — but aquatics has taken things a step further by switching entirely to lap swim and instituting a reservation system.
To use the pool, UO community members must first go to the UO Rec page to reserve a time. While this system increases Batchelor’s sense of safety, she acknowledged that it isn’t the clearest process.
“I’ve been working with my bosses a lot in order to just be really kind and be really understanding of the fact that it is confusing and we’re confused and they’re confused,” she said. “At the end of the day, if there is a problem with someone being confused, [I] can usually help them and my boss can help me. It’s definitely a big learning experience, but it’s working for the most part.”
However, there are areas of Batchelor’s job where COVID-19 distancing measures are virtually impossible.
“We have been doing trainings at work,” she said, “and it is really hard to social distance without masks, especially if you’re in the water and you’re trying to train properly when it comes to saving somebody who could be drowning in the pool. That is definitely where my comfort is a little bit iffy.”
On top of the lack of physical distancing during training, Rec employees — like other UO workers — are not required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing if they are not showing symptoms. Nester explained this standard aligns with that of the Oregon Health Authority and that everyone working at UO is required to perform “a daily COVID symptom self-check before coming to campus or leaving their residence hall room.”
Winter acknowledged the potential risks and said that she explained she wouldn’t be going to the Rec if she were living with someone who was high risk for COVID-19 or her roommates were uncomfortable with it. “I have communicated with my roommates,” she explained, “and we’ve agreed that it’s okay. I’m happy to go, and they’re happy to have me go.”
“It’s obviously my fear that some outbreak will occur that — we’re seeing that every day — will result in the Rec being closed, which will then result in me not having a job anymore,” Batchelor said. “That’s something that I talk with my bosses about every day and I think about every day.”
Still, she’s encouraged by what she’s seen so far.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way that the Eugene population or students in general have been able to cope with COVID,” she said. “I think they are being really safe, especially at the gym.”