Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center — Attraction in Atlanta

The CRC is one of the few things this school has that's practically perfect, alongside it's academics.

To begin with, since it was built for the 1996 Olympics, it has a legit Olympic competition length pool, which is apparently one of the few around since many swimming meets are held here, and a diving pool right next to it with 3 diving boards besides the floor level one. And if that wasn't enough, there's a whole other side with another big recreational pool with a smaller area for laps, a lazy river, a Jacuzzi and a slide. Yes, a legit Jacuzzi of decent size. And yes, a freakin SLIDE. Can anyone say their school had a slide at their pool? Now you may think that's childish, but when you're faced with 3 exams and you need to take a study break, what better way to release stress is there than this!?

Aquatics aside, there are tons of machines on the ground floor. Basically everything your standard gym would have, except 5 times as much variety and quantity. Not to mention they have dumbbells from 2.5 to 150, good quality ones that don't rust, and multiple ones of each. And what I LOVE about the dumbbell areas is that 90% of the users PUT EVERYTHING BACK WHERE IT GOES. Clearly a sense of community. In the same area you have a long line of treadmills and ellipticals and like 3 other kinds of the same cardio machines, most of which are equipped with cable TV and audio jacks. I don't even like running but sometimes I do so just because I can watch shows while I do!

In the same vicinity you have the 5 racquetball courts fenced off by walls of glass, and a full 3 or 4 story rock climbing wall and a freeclimbing wall. Then upstairs on the 4th floor there are a couple studios, which by the way are practically soundproof, where there are usually classes, such as yoga, breakdancing, salsa, swing, etc. There are also several basketball court areas side by side, and covers from the roof to divide the area into 2 or 3 if need be so that people can play basketball next to volleyball next to badminton. There's also an indoor soccer area in between the studios on the right side, and across from that on the other side, a smaller ping pong area with 3 tables. On the corners there are a few punching bags, and there's an area where the staff lends you equipment if you don't happen to have racquets/basketballs/pingpong balls/etc. Finally, on the top floor, there's a padded running track with 2 large digital clocks visible from any part of the track to keep your time, and some more cardio equipment on the side of the track.

Overall, this huge and spectacularly maintained gym has everything and anything you might want, and even stuff you wouldn't consider. It's basically only for students, and alumni can pay a minimal fee to use it as well, which I will definitely take advantage of in the near future if...

The gym is pretty nice, but there is not enough equipment for the population it serves. Unless you are coming pre-7am or after 10pm, good luck getting dumbbells between 15-35 lbs. There's usually a 15 minute line for power racks and 20-30 minute line for bench presses. It baffles me that the CRC spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading the lobby (which was in fine condition), but will not buy more light-medium weight dumbbells. Whoever is in charge of purchasing should study what equipment is sitting unused even during peak hours (like 90lb dumbbells, of which there are two pairs) and what is in use fully even during slow hours (benches, lighter dumbbells, power racks, certain machines). A simple survey of gym users would suffice. Purchases should go towards equipment needed by students rather than beautifying a functional lobby.

If Georgia Tech intends to keep increasing enrollment at the rate they are, the CRC needs some massive changes (or they need to build another fully featured gym on east or north campus-- or let regular students access athlete gyms hidden in sports facilities during limited hours). Currently there is cardio equipment scattered around the dorms on campus, but the machines are rarely used and cardio equipment is one of the least used amenities in the CRC. Converting some rarely used event spaces in dorms into essentially hotel gyms could be another way of alleviating some crowding by offloading some on-campus residents, although equipment available to all students regardless of residence would certainly...

Great Gym with tons of facilities and the pools from the 1996 Summer Olympics. A lot of sports, clubs, and other activities like yoga are offered. After entering, one can go downstairs to find a gym where they can lift weights or use the rock wall for rock climbing or bouldering. In the same floor (s)he can go into a locker room and change to go swimming. On the upper level there are 6 basketball courts, a track for running, indoor soccer, ping pong, as well as studios for classes like self defense or yoga. Usually nets are rolled out and you can also see people playing badminton or volleyball. As a student, I'm not sure about the prices, but the facilities are definitely great. After a good exercise, there's also a smoothie store that is open during the day. Usually if some equipment cannot be found, you can find it in the equipment rental desks. As for locker rooms, there's men's, women's, and also a family one with a sauna. My biggest complaint is that the weightlifting gym has no kettle bells. They have 4 squat racks and tons of other equipment, but just no...