University of Delaware

Newark, DE

MISSION

The University of Delaware Recreation Services offers award winning facilities and unrivaled programs to university students and staff members. We foster a supportive environment that encourages and challenges members to live a healthy lifestyle during their duration at the university and beyond.

PROGRAMING

The University of Delaware Carpenter Sports Building receives approximately 1,000,000 visits annually from students and staff members. The department offers group fitness classes, personal training, small group training, intramural sports, club sports, lap swimming and employment opportunities for more than 300 students annually.

In fall of 2013, the university opened a new 47,000 square foot addition that now serves as the main fitness facility. The entire 176,000 square foot facility also includes a natatorium, two gymnasiums, rockwall, employee fitness center, personal training studio, cycle studio, five workout studios, racquetball courts, four outdoor turf fields, locker rooms, offices, and classrooms. The department also offers two smaller student fitness facilities in residence halls, an outdoor pool, ice arena, and outdoor basketball, tennis, sand volleyball, and inline skating courts.

FUN FACTS

The Carpenter Sports Building is known by students on campus as the “Little (Lil) Bob,” and its sister building which houses varsity athletics events on campus is known as “The BOB.”
The inaugural “Lil Bob Late Night” event welcomed more than 1,200 newly enrolled students to campus in August 2015. The event featured blacklight Zumba and dodgeball, real-life hungry hippos, outdoor yoga, fitness challenges and more.
The “Lift like a Girl” small group training program gave female students the opportunity to learn basic full body exercises using dumbbells and barbells. The goal was to make more females feel confident when entering the strength room. There were 30 participants in the two sessions offered.
Intramurals offered 28 sports leagues and tournaments during the 2014-2015 academic year. There were 5,479 unique participants, which is 25 percent of the university’s entire enrollment. 1,400 teams played in 3,400 games.
Gymnastics was added to the list of 33 club sports offered at the university. The team placed 15 at their first ever appearance at the National Championship in April 2015.
In April 2015, Figure Skating won the U.S. Intercollegiate Figure Skating National Championships for the third consecutive year and fifth time in program history. The university will host the 2016 National Championships at the Fred Rust Ice Arena.