Athletes and coaches focus on training, nutrition and performance statistics, but what about locker room dynamics? Do half-time speeches help propel teams to victory? Can team captains influence teammates鈥� behavior? What鈥檚 the secret to getting elit鈥�
UVic's Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) has had an overwhelming amount of recreation usage and community support since it opened in May 2015. Barely one month into 2016, Vikes Athletics and Recreation are pleased to announce three partnerships in the new naming of CARSA's RBC Blue and Gold Room, the UVic Alumni Association Spirit Section and the Ian and Gillian Stewart Varsity Weight Room.
The Vikes Championship Breakfast is the largest fundraiser for the varsity programs, and this year, the annual event will be hosted in the CARSA performance gym, featuring four-time Olympic triathlete Simon Whitfield as the keynote speaker. The even鈥�
Array
On Aug. 26, UVic unveiled the Lynda and Murray Farmer Walk of Excellence. The new showcase walkway in CARSA honours the legacy of former Chancellor Murray Farmer and his wife, Lynda, and celebrates the talent, history and accomplishments of the Vikes.
Just hours into the community open house for UVic鈥檚 new Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA), every corner of the 190,000 square foot facility was filled with activity.
Array
UVic is proud to open its first new athletics and recreation facility in 40 years as the university鈥檚 centre for active and healthy living, and to support student athletes to train and compete at the highest levels.
Seven years ago, the potential users of the Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) sat down with members of UVic鈥檚 Facilities Management to discuss what they imagined the new facility would look like and do. Now the 17,700-square-metre building is ready to open on May 1 and Vikes Recreation Health and Fitness Programmer Amy Allen can鈥檛 wait. 鈥淚鈥檓 so done with imagining, let鈥檚 just get in there,鈥� she says enthusiastically. 鈥淚t鈥檚 breathtaking. It just has so much going for it.鈥�
Husband and wife coaching legends Kathy and Ken Shields, who led their teams to a combined 15 national basketball titles at the 番茄社区, accepted honorary doctor of laws degrees from the university at a special convocation ceremony on Thursday morning.
When a young person hits their head on the ice, on the field or at the pool it can cause damage to the brain. However, current assessment techniques make it difficult for medical practitioners to diagnose a concussion because the tools currently in use are subjective and difficult to interpret. Thanks to $750,000 in new funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the BC Knowledge Development Fund and UVic鈥檚 Division of Medical Sciences, two of Canada鈥檚 top brain injury experts are on the case.
In the next few months, the Vikes will slam-dunk for the last time in McKinnon gym, Thunder will wave a fuzzy goodbye to its once-sky-blue walls, gymnasts and martial artists will take in the last of the distinctive 1975 scent of the apparatus gym and most other athletics and recreation activities will relocate to their new digs in CARSA鈥攖he Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities. When they do, the 40-year-old McKinnon building will be getting a new lease on life.
CARSA opens in May to replace UVic鈥檚 aging and heavily used recreational facilities, but students, faculty, staff and community members don鈥檛 have to wait until then to purchase memberships to access the centre鈥檚 state-of-the-art workout facilities and climbing wall.
In all honesty, I have never been one to really feel the need to belong to groups. I prefer to do my own thing and sample what I want, when I want to. I have, though, recently begun to see that being part of a community can enrich my own day to day 鈥�
One of the focal points of UVic鈥檚 new Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) is getting a new name even before it opens. Peninsula Co-op was announced as the first corporate partner for CARSA on Nov. 4, sponsoring the colorful 16-metre climbing wall that will now be known as the Peninsula Co-op Climbing Wall.
The university, thanks to support from Peninsula Co-op, is one step closer to fulfilling its vision for its Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities. The climbing tower at CARSA is officially named the Pensinsula Co-op Climbing Wall.
