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Sports

Koret: Your Answer to Fighting Inactivity

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Nicholas Welsh

Staff Writer

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Once again, we all face the start of another school year. By now, many have turned to sharpening their minds for their upcoming classes, looking to shed off the summer rust that has built up in their brain. You can kiss goodbye to that rock-hard summer body, now it’s time to binge eat after you bomb your first midterm that you forget to study for, or gain the “Freshman 15″ like everyone says you will. Midnight pizza will become a food staple in the dorms, as well as the delicious snickerdoodle cookies baked fresh in the cafeteria. With the independent college lifestyle comes the overzealous caloric intake. Many are unprepared for the sudden change college brings, but there is a solution: USF’s gym, the Koret Health and Recreation Center.

Located a block away from campus, the Koret Center is just close enough to not have an excuse to not exercise. Koret is fully equipped; from a state of the art weight room to a 50-meter by 25-yard pool. If lifting or swimming is not your thing, rows of treadmills and other exercise machines line the second and third floors. Swig Pavilion and Hagan Gym provide multiple basketball courts, and there is also an equipment check-out area which stores basketballs, towels, locks, and other items. Access to these items is granted through your USF ID card, which is also your key to getting into the building. An extra incentive to exercise is that there is no fee when you visitthe Koret Center!

If you prefer organized, team-oriented activities, there are many club sports that you could join. Club sports offered include water polo, badminton, boxing, soccer, as well as less traditional sports such as Brazilian jiu jitsu, taekwondo, and table tennis. There are also many intramural sports that are a hit amongst USF students. On Thursday nights, many students can be found playing intramural basketball, which includes referees and jerseys that are provided by Koret. Indoor soccer, flag football, and kickball are just a few other popular intramural sports that are available. There is a small fee to join an intramural team, but as many students will tell you, it is well worth it.KoretSwim_v2

If you are looking to advance your workout routine, Koret also offers group exercise classes. Zumba, TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise) training, boxing conditioning, and self defense are a few of the classes offered.

Koret also provides services to help students adapt to their new college environment. On campus you will notice flyers advertising Welcome Weekends, which present chances for freshmen and transfer students to explore the city and make new friends early in the semester. Upcoming events include a trip to Fisherman’s Wharf on Aug. 23, and a bike ride around Golden Gate Park on Sept. 7.  Students can also travel and meet other students through Outdoor Adventures, a program where groups of Dons come together to attend Giants games, visit Alcatraz, go horse riding, and more.

Sports

More to Koret Than Just a Good Workout

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With an aquatic center, basketball courts, volleyball courts, a variety of classes and all the exercise equipment one could ask for, from treadmills to stationary bikes to weights, the Koret Center is a popular place for USF students. All one needs is his/her student ID card and will have access to the entire center, but what the Koret Center offers goes well beyond its walls.

The outside activities that the Koret Center offers begin with their welcome weekends, which are offered to freshmen and new transfer students in the first few weekends of the school year. Whether it’s a trip to the Walt Disney Center, Muir Woods, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom or the Aquarium at the Wharf, the Koret Center makes it easy for new students to meet each other and comfortably settle in to USF.

Once welcome weekends are done, the Koret Center turns its attention to all students with their Outdoor Adventures activities offered all year long at a reduced price. On Saturday, Sept. 18, a USF student can go to the Giants vs. Brewers game for just $15 or go on a sailing trip the following weekend for just $25.

Events are offered all year, with deep-sea fishing, horseback riding, paintball and archery making up the October schedule for prices ranging between $12 and $35. Among the more popular ones offered by the Koret Center are the Alcatraz Night Tour and the ski/snowboard trips in the winter and spring.

The Alcatraz Night Tour on Nov. 20 offers students the chance to tour the famous prison for just $20. Dubbed “The Rock” and sitting 1.5 miles from shore in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz served as a lighthouse and military fortification early on. The island gained a reputation when it was converted to a prison and from 1868 to 1963 was a military and federal prison housing some of the country’s notorious prisoners. The chance to tour the facility at night and walk the same halls where prisoners such as such as Al Capone and George Kelly spent years is an irresistible offer

When the spring semester gets underway and the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe are covered in snow, USF students can go on any or all of the seven trips offered to ski or snowboard at some of the best resorts in the country. The trips take students to Kirkwood, Sierra, Northstar, Alpine and Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, for a day of fun in the snow at a cost of just $45. With miles of runs and feet of snow, the Lake Tahoe resorts offer a ski and snowboard experience found in only a select few places worldwide.

Some of the trips are with small groups, not even ten, but others can reach as many as 55 people. All of the trips are offered on a first come, first served basis and refunds will only be given if the event is cancelled. For a list of all adventures, the pricing and any other information go to usfca.edu/koret or call Coordinator for Outdoor Adventures Mike Kelley at (415) 422-2942.

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Sports Editor: Matt Steinbach