Lack of high performance training centre

cambridge

I was in TCD many moons ago and there were great rumours and hope in the brand new, state of the art, no expense spared Sports Centre.

I was in it today and I was actually hugely disappointed. It's basically a leisure centre catering for the recreational and casual gym goer. It's got a nice pool, a nice selection of exercise bikes, rowing machines and thread mills. A couple of dumbbells, 2 power racks, one smith machine and a kiddies/girls green matted play area to do 2kg bicep curls.

I think almost every other university in ireland has a seperate high performance area for people who are either top varsity athletes or in rare occasions olympic or professional hopefuls.

Perhaps there is some better kit out in the boat house for the rowers but I felt it's quite criminal for a university gym to not have any weightlifting platforms, bumper plates or even a facility to deadlift without being surrounded by bicep curlers.

Obviously when they put the gym together, the wigs decided the best thing they could do is make it assessiable as possible to young women who want to run on the thread mill and play with 5kg dumbbells, middle aged men who want to play indoor football and people who do BESS who like to do amateur body building.

It seems they have completely overlooked anyone serious about their training, or expect no more than one of them to train at the same time.

cambridge

You had me up until:

cambridge wrote: »

Obviously when they put the gym together, the wigs decided the best thing they could do is make it assessiable as possible to young women who want to run on the thread mill and play with 5kg dumbbells, middle aged men who want to play indoor football and people who do BESS who like to do amateur body building.

It seems they have completely overlooked anyone serious about their training, or expect no more than one of them to train at the same time.

The gym is cramped. This affects everybody, not just people who are "serious". I don't know what you have against a young woman wanting to use a treadmill or a middle aged man playing football or a BESS student interested in bodybuilding, but the small size of the gym is just as inconvenient for these people. I'd agree with you that there should be separate areas, and more room in general, but I don't agree with the insinuation that athletes are more deserving of gym time than a person who's looking to lose weight or keep fit.

Personally I periodically try to use the gym and then remember why I don't like it. I don't like it because the lack of space, equipment and the presence of what you would describe as "serious" people means I feel unwelcome and I don't feel I have the time or space to figure out how to use the machines. It doesn't help that the gym staff seem resentful of being asked any questions. I also get the feeling that people such as yourself might resent me using the machines because I don't seem as "serious" as them. It leads to a terrible atmosphere where people like me feel in the way, and people like you feel inconvenienced that there are people like me in your way. I know I sound like I'm whinging, but it honestly is a terrible atmosphere, trying to press buttons on the bike while knowing there's someone standing near the machine waiting for it, probably rolling their eyes at my flustered state.

Even if there wasn't a high performance area, more equipment and space would solve a lot of problems. However it has to be borne in mind that space can't be constructed out of nothingness, and the sports centre is not a priority for a lot of students, so I doubt it would be worth the resources to try to fix the issue.

Jammyc

I know like, I've nowhere to pump my guns. Its disgraceful.

TrollHammaren

Sorry to say it, OP, but you're coming across as an elitist snob. true-or-false hit the nail on the head regarding the complete lack of space, the overbearing "serious" people, and where it stands in terms of priority. The gym is for everyone, and young women who want to keep fit shouldn't have to feel intimidated by "serious" people sneering at "2kg bicep-curlers".

I think that if you want people to engage in active dialogue with you about this you'll have to change your attitude.

cambridge

Well thankfully I don't really need much dialogue on this, I'm just telling you how it is. I think the gym is small and badly designed. There is in fact no reason for this, if you look at how much space is used for other things like lockers, the ridiculous amount of changing cubicles, the other floor space usage.

Re: ppl being intimidated by serious types, dunno where that's coming from. I try to ignore everyone else in the gym unless there is some gym etiquette i should adhere to. I really doubt ppl are intimidated by me, but if they are they're silly. Anyway, all the more reason why they should reconvert luce hall into a HPTC.

MrPain

I agree with OP.
I don't see why they ouldn't have modelled the sports centre after most D1 colleges in the US. Have a commercial style fitness centre and have a high performance centre like this:

Multiple racks, lifting platforms and bumper plates with lots of space.

Doing snatches or cleans in the current environment is quite dangerous.
I've had times where I have been waiting over 20mins to get a rack while somebody was using it to do 20 variations of biceps curls.

TrollHammaren

cambridge wrote: »

Well thankfully I don't really need much dialogue on this, I'm just telling you how it is.

Well, thanks for telling us how it is; I feel very well informed now that you've managed to just condescend to all the other gym users.

cambridge wrote: »

I think the gym is small and badly designed. There is in fact no reason for this, if you look at how much space is used for other things like lockers, the ridiculous amount of changing cubicles, the other floor space usage.

The gym houses a number of halls for others sports, which is what the cubicles and lockers are for. The changing rooms are absolutely packed after the various martial arts club training sessions during the week. There's also the Kaiser (??) equipment room that's supposed to be very useful for dynamic sports like Judo and boxing.

cambridge wrote: »

Re: ppl being intimidated by serious types, dunno where that's coming from. I try to ignore everyone else in the gym unless there is some gym etiquette i should adhere to. I really doubt ppl are intimidated by me, but if they are they're silly. Anyway, all the more reason why they should reconvert luce hall into a HPTC.

Maybe you're not one of those guys who sets up his little nest on a weight bench and sits on all the equipment, precluding their use by anyone else, but you're certainly harbouring that prevailing attitude of entitlement that pisses off so many gym users.

I don't use the gym floor very often; I use the pool, I use the Hall for Judo practice, and the odd time I use the treadmills when I'm not arsed running in the park, but a good chunk of my female friends have complained about the "serious" people sneering at their training sessions, which isn't much in line with good gym etiquette.

If you're just here to bitch about the gym, then go for it, but don't expect a whole lot of agreement from people if you're just going to sneer at people, particularly women, who use the treadmills or light weights. As I said, the gym is for everyone.

whendovescry

If you are a 'serious' athlete you are most probably linked with a sporting body that oversees your training, nutrition, recovery, events etc. I think the difficulty here is discerning a gym rat who has a high opinion of himself and a real performance athlete. Trinity is primarily an academic instutution, and in Ireland in general there are very few performance institutions. If you really want the best of both worlds you have to go stateside unfortunately.

My friend went here on a sports scholarship, mighty impressive!


http://youtu.be/SLWagEGQvEE

Actor

In fairness to cambridge, he has a point.

Trinity is fast falling behind UCD in terms of student facilities. UCD is creeping up the world rankings relative to Trinity and it's only a matter of time IMO before Trinity falls behind UCD. Were it not for the fact that Trinity has historic Nobel Prize winners, Trinity would be much further down the list. The Trinity of today is totally different to the Trinity of the Nobel Prize -winning era -- in fact the college's culture has undergone radical change since the 1960s and now all Trinity is is a dependent, homogenised college under a State-run FETAC umbrella body. Back in the day, true academic freedom was possible when the college was independently financed from her trust funds (now depleted) and current income (i.e. student fees).

The UCD sports facilities are nothing short of magnificent - on a par with the facilities available at top US universities.

It's for a reason that UCD has:

- a league of Ireland soccer team
- a first division rugby club
- senior championship-winning women's hockey
- attractive sports scholarship scheme
- etc.

This all didn't happen randomly -- there has been years of investment and planning to make UCD Ireland's premier sporting university.

Trinity had a wonderful opportunity to build a world-class sports centre, but they failed miserably. We are left with second-rate rugby and a sports facility at Santry that is nothing short of a joke -- a vicious circle that only gets worse as the talent is attracted elsewhere. The 25m pool at Trinity compares miserably to UCD's 50m pool and the gym is a bit of a joke considering how much use it gets by both athletes and recreational users.

Some might say that a university is primarily academic in nature - so be it, but then why spend taxpayers' money on a glorified health and fitness spa for staff and students? Why not spend this money on a centre of excellence in the national interest as UCD have done?

cambridge

some post actor well done.

ucd just opened another training centre with a 50m swimming pool.

Actor

cambridge wrote: »

some post actor well done.

ucd just opened another training centre with a 50m swimming pool.

Was in it the other day -- pretty impressive stuff. The focus is on high-performance training. The sports and recreation aspect of the facility is a secondary benefit.

Also, Trinity's rugby pitch is an out-and-out disgrace.

g'em

MrPain wrote: »

I agree with OP.
I don't see why they ouldn't have modelled the sports centre after most D1 colleges in the US. Have a commercial style fitness centre and have a high performance centre like this:

Multiple racks, lifting platforms and bumper plates with lots of space.

Doing snatches or cleans in the current environment is quite dangerous.
I've had times where I have been waiting over 20mins to get a rack while somebody was using it to do 20 variations of biceps curls.

As much as I would love to see something like this have you any idea how much a centre like this would cost? Collegiate athletics/ football is a huge industory in the States, nevermind the massive fees all their students pay. There's no hope for us to compare.

We can look closer to home though - has anyone seen the Jordanstown gym complex. It's amazing - indoor sprint track, incredible sports halls, the HPSC would make you drool, it's not entirely unlike the set-up in the picture above, but only two hours up the road.

The internal politics behind the TCD Sports Centre are... interesting to say the least.

Actor

g'em wrote: »

As much as I would love to see something like this have you any idea how much a centre like this would cost? Collegiate athletics/ football is a huge industory in the States, nevermind the massive fees all their students pay. There's no hope for us to compare.

We can look closer to home though - has anyone seen the Jordanstown gym complex. It's amazing - indoor sprint track, incredible sports halls, the HPSC would make you drool, it's not entirely unlike the set-up in the picture above, but only two hours up the road.

The internal politics behind the TCD Sports Centre are... interesting to say the least.

We had the chance, we had the money and we blew it. The original plan was to build a 50m pool. But "because of Elan", that never happened. What we have is a glorified health and fitness spa.

If a health club is what was envisaged, wouldn't outsourcing a Jackie Skelly's franchise have been more cost-effective?

Personaly, I blame a culture of mediocrity that permeates throughout the college. Any rays of light that can and do emerge are totally nullified by the sheer volume of drift wood who contribute nothing (both staff and students). It's unfortunate to witness what's happening at Trinity - it's like watching a very, very slow car crash.

whendovescry

Actor wrote: »

In fairness to cambridge, he has a point.

Trinity is fast falling behind UCD in terms of student facilities. UCD is creeping up the world rankings relative to Trinity and it's only a matter of time IMO before Trinity falls behind UCD. Were it not for the fact that Trinity has historic Nobel Prize winners, Trinity would be much further down the list. The Trinity of today is totally different to the Trinity of the Nobel Prize -winning era -- in fact the college's culture has undergone radical change since the 1960s and now all Trinity is is a dependent, homogenised college under a State-run FETAC umbrella body. Back in the day, true academic freedom was possible when the college was independently financed from her trust funds (now depleted) and current income (i.e. student fees).

The UCD sports facilities are nothing short of magnificent - on a par with the facilities available at top US universities.

It's for a reason that UCD has:

- a league of Ireland soccer team
- a first division rugby club
- senior championship-winning women's hockey
- attractive sports scholarship scheme
- etc.

This all didn't happen randomly -- there has been years of investment and planning to make UCD Ireland's premier sporting university.

Trinity had a wonderful opportunity to build a world-class sports centre, but they failed miserably. We are left with second-rate rugby and a sports facility at Santry that is nothing short of a joke -- a vicious circle that only gets worse as the talent is attracted elsewhere. The 25m pool at Trinity compares miserably to UCD's 50m pool and the gym is a bit of a joke considering how much use it gets by both athletes and recreational users.

Some might say that a university is primarily academic in nature - so be it, but then why spend taxpayers' money on a glorified health and fitness spa for staff and students? Why not spend this money on a centre of excellence in the national interest as UCD have done?

Do you not think the investment in UCD's sporting facilities were helped by the fact that it is the size of a small town? While I agree that the sporting facilities in Trinity are substandard for any serious athlete, we are seriously confined by space.

UCD has football, rugby,hockey, GAA pitches that roll into the horizon. Trinity has one rugby pitch and a cricket ground that seems primarily to be used by ultimate frisbee and octogenarian runners.

If you think slapping on an extra 25 meters of pool out onto Pearse street or adding a few power racks will raise the standards of Trinity's sporting culture you are mistaken. The sports hall seems to be overflowing with students every weekday during term and 99% of them are there for the fun of it. The current facilities meet those requirements and I think that's all that the investors were interested in.

I don't think Trinity will ever be a sporting superpower, and unfortunately it looks like UCD will leave us in the dust in terms of churning out sports stars. But to blame this on the current facilities is ridiculous imo. What would be required is a total relocation of sporting facilities to a much larger site and an investment 5 times greater than the cost of the sports center. Unfortunately, this is not going to happen.

cambridge

g'em wrote: »

As much as I would love to see something like this have you any idea how much a centre like this would cost? Collegiate athletics/ football is a huge industory in the States, nevermind the massive fees all their students pay. There's no hope for us to compare.

We can look closer to home though - has anyone seen the Jordanstown gym complex. It's amazing - indoor sprint track, incredible sports halls, the HPSC would make you drool, it's not entirely unlike the set-up in the picture above, but only two hours up the road.

The internal politics behind the TCD Sports Centre are... interesting to say the least.

terry, geraldine, michelle, all that old ducac and sports centre crowd have held sport in trinity back for years. it's a genuine shame, they should have been turfed out years ago and someone with actual experience of running this type of facility should have been brought. it's tragic that someone who's strongest selling point on her cv is playing volleyball for the irish u19s is calling the shots.

gavmcg92

Actor wrote: »

In fairness to cambridge, he has a point.

Trinity is fast falling behind UCD in terms of student facilities.

And where do you suggest we put all of these things. Trinity is a city centre college and thus space is limited. Not to mention that Trinity is not trying to cater to the athlete. Trinity is an academic facility with sports facilities that more than cater to the average student.

Anita Blow

Actor wrote: »

In fairness to cambridge, he has a point.

Trinity is fast falling behind UCD in terms of student facilities. UCD is creeping up the world rankings relative to Trinity and it's only a matter of time IMO before Trinity falls behind UCD

Not to get into the whole trinity & ucd debate, but this just appears to be a point you stuck in to make your argument sound better without actually looking at the facts. Between 2010 and 2011, Trinity fell 13 places in the QS Rankings compared to UCD which fell 20. So no, it's not "creeping up the world rankings relative to Trinity"

Actor wrote: »

Were it not for the fact that Trinity has historic Nobel Prize winners, Trinity would be much further down the list. The Trinity of today is totally different to the Trinity of the Nobel Prize -winning era -- in fact the college's culture has undergone radical change since the 1960s and now all Trinity is is a dependent, homogenised college under a State-run FETAC umbrella body. Back in the day, true academic freedom was possible when the college was independently financed from her trust funds (now depleted) and current income (i.e. student fees).

I don't see what any of this has to do with a high performance training centre? There's always going to be a conflict between being a fee-paying college which is only available to a few, or a non-fee paying which doesn't have as much income available to it. I don't think the college has suffered hugely as a result though, it's still in the top 100 however the fee question has to be addressed if it wants to remain there as it's pretty clear it won't stay there for long without a larger income. That's a problem facing all the Universities here though.

The UCD sports facilities are nothing short of magnificent - on a par with the facilities available at top US universities.

It's for a reason that UCD has:

- a league of Ireland soccer team
- a first division rugby club
- senior championship-winning women's hockey
- attractive sports scholarship scheme
- etc.

This all didn't happen randomly -- there has been years of investment and planning to make UCD Ireland's premier sporting university.

Trinity had a wonderful opportunity to build a world-class sports centre, but they failed miserably. We are left with second-rate rugby and a sports facility at Santry that is nothing short of a joke -- a vicious circle that only gets worse as the talent is attracted elsewhere. The 25m pool at Trinity compares miserably to UCD's 50m pool and the gym is a bit of a joke considering how much use it gets by both athletes and recreational users.

Fair play to them. They are the university to go to for those involved in national sports. However the new sports centre you're praising came at a great financial cost to students who had to pay a €150 levy for 5 years in order to finance it. Many of these students have now graduated and might never get to use the sports facilities that some of them paid more than €500 for.
The 50m pool that UCD has that has been referred to is only available to students that pay €100 a year for access, on top of the fee for the gym facilities included in the Student Contribution.
Now you might argue that this will ensure only competitive or serious swimmers make use of it, instead of casual swimmers taking up lanes (since casual users getting in the way of more serious users seems to be the theme of this thread) but if I was a student there and had been paying €150 a year to build that pool, I'd expect to be able to use it as long as I pay my student facilities fee.

Some might say that a university is primarily academic in nature - so be it, but then why spend taxpayers' money on a glorified health and fitness spa for staff and students? Why not spend this money on a centre of excellence in the national interest as UCD have done?

I'm fairly sure everyone would say that a university is primarily academic in nature. But there's a few reasons:

-Trinity has nowhere near the space for it. UCD is lucky enough to be on a greenfield site outside of the city. Trinity on the other hand would probably have to spend millions just buying some land surrounding the college to expand into.

-The referendum last year to build a student centre on the site of Luce Hall was shot down as students didn't want to pay a €70 levy to fund it. Now you can say that the students should take a hit for the betterment of the college, but the reality is that people are cash-strapped as it is and fees are only on the increase each year. People can't afford it.

-With things like this there is always going to be an opportunity cost. As much as you try to play up the importance of sport in college (I understand it plays a big part, but academia is the college's primary role), education is always going to come before it. That €150 levied against students for the student centre could have been used to fund the Science hub that UCD wants so much which would have played a far bigger role of "national importance" than a few extra treadmills and weightlifting areas. Looking at TCD's website, the funding priority for them has been the Biomedical Building over the past few years.

My personal opinion is that TCD got the right balance without burdening students with paying for it. If you're that interested in a high performance training centre, then you shouldn't be relying on a college gym for it.

Once again this isn't a "omg trinity better than ucd lol" post, just a reply to what I feel is unjustified criticism and comparison to a centre which had the advantage of passing on the bill to the students instead. I don't see any problem with having just one sports-centric university in the city or why any more funds should be diverted from academic initiatives to fund sports initiatives which aren't apart of the college's core role in education.

Actor

Anita Blow wrote: »

Not to get into the whole trinity & ucd debate, but this just appears to be a point you stuck in to make your argument sound better without actually looking at the facts. Between 2010 and 2011, Trinity fell 13 places in the QS Rankings compared to UCD which fell 20. So no, it's not "creeping up the world rankings relative to Trinity"

I don't see what any of this has to do with a high performance training centre? There's always going to be a conflict between being a fee-paying college which is only available to a few, or a non-fee paying which doesn't have as much income available to it. I don't think the college has suffered hugely as a result though, it's still in the top 100 however the fee question has to be addressed if it wants to remain there as it's pretty clear it won't stay there for long without a larger income. That's a problem facing all the Universities here though.

Fair play to them. They are the university to go to for those involved in national sports. However the new sports centre you're praising came at a great financial cost to students who had to pay a €150 levy for 5 years in order to finance it. Many of these students have now graduated and might never get to use the sports facilities that some of them paid more than €500 for.
The 50m pool that UCD has that has been referred to is only available to students that pay €100 a year for access, on top of the fee for the gym facilities included in the Student Contribution.
Now you might argue that this will ensure only competitive or serious swimmers make use of it, instead of casual swimmers taking up lanes (since casual users getting in the way of more serious users seems to be the theme of this thread) but if I was a student there and had been paying €150 a year to build that pool, I'd expect to be able to use it as long as I pay my student facilities fee.

I'm fairly sure everyone would say that a university is primarily academic in nature. But there's a few reasons:

-Trinity has nowhere near the space for it. UCD is lucky enough to be on a greenfield site outside of the city. Trinity on the other hand would probably have to spend millions just buying some land surrounding the college to expand into.

-The referendum last year to build a student centre on the site of Luce Hall was shot down as students didn't want to pay a €70 levy to fund it. Now you can say that the students should take a hit for the betterment of the college, but the reality is that people are cash-strapped as it is and fees are only on the increase each year. People can't afford it.

-With things like this there is always going to be an opportunity cost. As much as you try to play up the importance of sport in college (I understand it plays a big part, but academia is the college's primary role), education is always going to come before it. That €150 levied against students for the student centre could have been used to fund the Science hub that UCD wants so much which would have played a far bigger role of "national importance" than a few extra treadmills and weightlifting areas. Looking at TCD's website, the funding priority for them has been the Biomedical Building over the past few years.

My personal opinion is that TCD got the right balance without burdening students with paying for it. If you're that interested in a high performance training centre, then you shouldn't be relying on a college gym for it.

Once again this isn't a "omg trinity better than ucd lol" post, just a reply to what I feel is unjustified criticism and comparison to a centre which had the advantage of passing on the bill to the students instead. I don't see any problem with having just one sports-centric university in the city or why any more funds should be diverted from academic initiatives to fund sports initiatives which aren't apart of the college's core role in education.

Trinity is in the business of educational and research excellence. I don't see how a second rate gym contributes to this goal. A high performance facility does, however.

Anyway, the mediocrity gang got what they wanted and the taxpayer picked up the tab.

Victor

Actor wrote: »

Some might say that a university is primarily academic in nature - so be it, but then why spend taxpayers' money on a glorified health and fitness spa for staff and students?

Um, isn't it primarily paid for by students and other funding? If you want to fund your Olympic training, get your money form the OCI, not 17 year old college students. If you want sports scholarships, get someone to fund them.

Actor wrote: »

Why not spend this money on a centre of excellence in the national interest as UCD have done?

You mean a third national centre of excellence? Is that you Bertie?

Someone bemoaned the loss of the Nobel era. When did they start the Nobel prize for sport?

Anita Blow

Actor wrote: »

Trinity is in the business of educational and research excellence. I don't see how a second rate gym contributes to this goal. A high performance facility does, however.

Anyway, the mediocrity gang got what they wanted and the taxpayer picked up the tab.

How does a high performance facility like UCD's contribute to Trinity's business of educational and research excellence?

Suppose there's always going to be people that will jump at the chance to complain

Actor

Anita Blow wrote: »

How does a high performance facility like UCD's contribute to Trinity's business of educational and research excellence?

Suppose there's always going to be people that will jump at the chance to complain

Did you see the proposal on the new sports centre? About how it was going to bring sport at Trinity into the 21st century? Unfortunately, none of these goals have been achieved. In fact, the reverse is the case. It's awful that the world's oldest rugby club has been relegated into the lower divisions.

I don't know why the college bothered in the first place.

But then, the mediocrity gang are always happy with their lot and can't envisage bigger and greater things.

Oh, and best of luck with the zumba classes.

Actor

Victor wrote: »

When did they start the Nobel prize for sport?

It's called the Olympic games.

The last Trinity Olympian IIRC was James Lydsay-Fynn (2008). A man who went through the boat club system.

Anita Blow

Actor wrote: »

Did you see the proposal on the new sports centre? About how it was going to bring sport at Trinity into the 21st century? Unfortunately, none of these goals have been achieved. In fact, the reverse is the case. It's awful that the world's oldest rugby club has been relegated into the lower divisions.

I don't know why the college bothered in the first place.

But then, the mediocrity gang are always happy with their lot and can't envisage bigger and greater things.

Oh, and best of luck with the zumba classes.

Once again you complain and go on about these ideals without thinking of the reality. The reality is that space is limited, it'd be far more expensive to build a bigger facility in the middle of a capital city and that Trinity has far more important projects than expanding the gym.

Yes it'd be great to have bigger facilities, but at the end of the day I much rather that new Biomedical building, or the Long Room Hub or any of the other capital projects that the college has been doing in recent years, because they will be of far bigger "national importance" than an expanded gym.

You go on about Trinity being a shadow of it's former self when it bred nobel laureates, and yet you fail to explain how a 50m swimming pool and extra weightlifting areas contributes anything to that, and especially how it could possibly contribute anything to that return to academic greatness over new facilities for the Health Sciences faculty.

Education is the college's primary role, student fitness/wellbeing is secondary to that. At the moment, the current gym caters to that. "Zumba classes" wouldn't be run if there wasn't demand for them. Once again, if a person takes their fitness that serious, then they shouldn't be relying on a college gym.

Actor wrote: »

It's called the Olympic games.

The last Trinity Olympian IIRC was James Lydsay-Fynn (2008). A man who went through the boat club system.

2 Trinity Students are heading to the London 2012 Olympics

Amirani

Actor wrote: »

It's awful that the world's oldest rugby club has been relegated into the lower divisions.

Is it really? I honestly couldn't give a toss.

What I also couldn't give a toss about is people who moan about Trinity's sporting facilities not being to their liking. I'm a regular user of the gym and have had to endure the trek to Santry many times so I would benefit if improvements were to be made. These improvements certainly aren't worthwhile though if the opportunity cost is investment in some academic facility.

At least 70% of people in my course have never used the gym. Why should they have to fund other people's hobbies?

gavmcg92

Actor wrote: »

It's called the Olympic games.

The last Trinity Olympian IIRC was James Lydsay-Fynn (2008). A man who went through the boat club system.

We have Natalya Coyle going to the Olympics this year. She is a BESS student.

I also agree with Anita. Buildings of educational importance, to me and to the country, are of more importance. Be it the new state of the art Biomedical building on Pearse street or the proposed Engineering building. These projects are of more importance than a high performance centre that is being called for by a select few.

I think the mediocrity gang and myself will get back to enjoying our experience in this college and continue to allow you to complain about issues that, to most people in the college, are not really that important.

What coarse do you do in Trinity Actor? Is it based around the health science industry?

Victor

Actor wrote: »

It's called the Olympic games.

The last Trinity Olympian IIRC was James Lydsay-Fynn (2008). A man who went through the boat club system.

So, there are actually people going to the Olympics, but no Nobel prizes recently. As an educational organisation, shouldn't the emphasis be on getting another Nobel?

Socially and economically, we need to get ordinary people into active lifestyles to combat obesity and other ills. A high performance training centre won't achieve that.

languagenerd

I don't see why Trinity needs a high-performance training centre. Yes, some universities (especially in the U.S.) are big on sports, but that doesn't mean that every university has to be. The Sports Centre is adequate for what it's needed (although I agree the gym is cramped): housing the various sports clubs in the university and providing a place for students to work on their fitness.

Yes, for people who would use a HPTC, it would be very handy if TCD had one. But it's a perk, not a strict necessity. What percentage of students would use it?

And there was no need for the condescending tone in the OP. The girls on the treadmills, the middle-aged footballers and the weight-lifting BESS students have as much right to be there as anyone else. Anyone who is really serious about their sport would not rely on a college sports centre for all their training needs.

tringrin

I don't see the point in gearing it towards serious athletes. From what I can see there are 2 girls who are serious about weights and about 10 guys. Most people in the weights section, like myself, are casual users. They go regularly, have a decent program, know what they are doing, but are not entering bodybuilding contests or the olympics.

The main problem I have with the facility, apart from the weights area being too small is the constant repairs that are needed. I think thay they either went with the cheapest tender, or they were swindled.

The bad attitude towards people who use the weights area really irritates me. Let me be clear to new users: NOBODY IS WATCHING YOU AND SNIGGERING BEHIND YOUR BACK. If you feel this way, then you have a confidence issue. Turning this into anger at people who have some experience with weights is pretty rude. I've actually seen a group of cardio users laughing at the weights users and calling them vain. I've never seen the opposite.

Seannew1

Apologies but a bit off topic,how busy does the gym be around 6pm during the week??