Thursday, April 30, 2009
ASC Closed for Replastering
The Aquatic Sports Center is closed until mid-July for re plastering. Check back for updates or come swim at the new Natatorium. You can check hours on the Campus Recreation Home Page
Architect of the SRC expansion gets props
My SA Business published an article today recognizing the outstanding design qualities and work of the designer of the new Student Recreation Center at Texas State University. Check out the article here! http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/Marmon_Mok_designs_Texas_State_rec_center.html
5 Essential Swine Flu Survival Tips
Robin Lloyd
LiveScience Senior Editor
Vice President Joe Biden said today to avoid subways and other confined spaces because of the swine flu sweeping the nation.
And yesterday, the first U.S. swine flu death - a toddler - and the decision by health officials to ratchet up their global alert level to just below a full-on pandemic came as a jolt to the system.
Meanwhile, there are a slew of suggestions out there for what you should do. Often the tips don't include enough detail for you to do it right. For example, you probably don't wash your hands effectively or often enough. And did you know you could be infected and spreading the flu up to a full day before you feel symptoms and up to seven days after you get sick?
So while waiting for a vaccine and the next bout of bad news, here are the top five essential things you can do to avoid getting sick and, importantly, avoid infecting others. These critical tips are widely agreed upon by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health experts.
1. Wash your hands.
The best thing anyone could do right now to avoid swine flu, experts say, is to wash their hands. It sounds like a stupidly simple response to an overwhelming situation, but nearly compulsive hand-washing helps prevent the spread of this airborne respiratory disease. It's the droplets from coughing and sneezing that spread the disease. These get on our hands. And then everything we touch is infectious.
How you do it is important:
- Use warm or hot water if you can.
- Lather up and rub not just your fingers and palms but also under the fingernails, around the wrists and between the fingers for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
- Rinse well.
It is important to wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom, but also after using a tissue or covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, sick or not. So yes, that's a lot of hand-washing. Basically, think of how often you would wash your hands if you worked in an emergency room or operating room. Wash your hands that often and that thoroughly.
2. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
"The way you spread influenza is with droplets that come out of your mouth or nose," said Dr. George T. DiFerdinando Jr., a physician, epidemiologist and professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health. He recommends the classic shoulder or crook-of-the elbow sneeze.
"It's a whole lot better for those [droplets] to be on blouse or sleeve than spraying onto surfaces or other people," he said. Then ... you guessed it ... wash your hands.
Surgical face masks are an option for keeping your droplets to yourself, but they don't keep your hands clean and there is no consensus in the health care community on whether face masks are advisable for everyday use.
"If [the swine flu virus] is spreading throughout the community, it would not surprise me if people use [face masks] to good effect," DiFerdinando said.
3. Stay home.
If you're sick, stay home, DiFerdinando said. Try to muster the energy to wash your hands after you use tissues so you don't reinfect everything you touch afterward. This helps you recover, and protects your loved ones.
4. Don't touch your face.
Try, try, to keep your hands out of your mucous membranes - your eyes, nose and mouth - direct routes to the bloodstream that allow a virus to bypass the protective barrier of the skin. Few of us succeed at this fully.
"That's just human nature," DiFerdinando told LiveScience. "It's not something to moan about. In this circumstance you've got a very strong motivator to keep your hands clean. If you keep washing your hands, you decrease the dose [of flu virus] that you get when you put your hands in your mouth."
5. Avoid sick people
It's a good idea to avoid close contact with other people who are sick, DiFerdinando said, adding: "We won't even see air kisses." The flu virus tends not to float in the air. Instead, once dispersed, the liquid droplets tend to settle on objects that doctors call fomites - things that people touch that can pick up a virus. Examples include coins, hand rails, door knobs, common household and office objects. Smooth objects transmit microbes more than rough or porous ones. So, for instance, coins would allow one to pick up more virus than paper money.
Many of the nation's cases currently are concentrated in New York City at two schools, which is not surprising to Dr. James Koopman, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health.
"There is a lot of direct contact and touching of common things when children are in school," Koopman said. "They are in general more susceptible to these things."
Stay tuned: There's lots more to learn
Koopman and his colleagues are trying to pin down the relative importance of different routes of transmission - via the air or via hand touching fomite.
"Our work is indicating there can be big differences between something like airborne virus - you may take a small amount in with every breath, but when you get a big goober of someone's cough on your finger and it touches your mucosal membrane - your eye, nose, mouth or somewhere where it can gain access - that could be a much higher dose," Koopman said.
It takes time for a new virus - and the swine flu outbreak is based on a new strain of an H1N1 virus - to adapt to our immune systems and survive there long enough to find another organism to infect, Koopman said.
At first, the immune system can handle small doses of virus, such as you get with airborne transmission, he said. In that case, "maybe the hand-fomite touching spread would be more important than the airborne," he said.
Maybe later, the virus evolves to survive and transmit successfully in smaller doses, or via different routes, he said.
"I personally think this virus has been circulating a bit longer than is recognized at this time," Koopman said.
LiveScience Senior Editor
Vice President Joe Biden said today to avoid subways and other confined spaces because of the swine flu sweeping the nation.
And yesterday, the first U.S. swine flu death - a toddler - and the decision by health officials to ratchet up their global alert level to just below a full-on pandemic came as a jolt to the system.
Meanwhile, there are a slew of suggestions out there for what you should do. Often the tips don't include enough detail for you to do it right. For example, you probably don't wash your hands effectively or often enough. And did you know you could be infected and spreading the flu up to a full day before you feel symptoms and up to seven days after you get sick?
So while waiting for a vaccine and the next bout of bad news, here are the top five essential things you can do to avoid getting sick and, importantly, avoid infecting others. These critical tips are widely agreed upon by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health experts.
1. Wash your hands.
The best thing anyone could do right now to avoid swine flu, experts say, is to wash their hands. It sounds like a stupidly simple response to an overwhelming situation, but nearly compulsive hand-washing helps prevent the spread of this airborne respiratory disease. It's the droplets from coughing and sneezing that spread the disease. These get on our hands. And then everything we touch is infectious.
How you do it is important:
- Use warm or hot water if you can.
- Lather up and rub not just your fingers and palms but also under the fingernails, around the wrists and between the fingers for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
- Rinse well.
It is important to wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom, but also after using a tissue or covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough, sick or not. So yes, that's a lot of hand-washing. Basically, think of how often you would wash your hands if you worked in an emergency room or operating room. Wash your hands that often and that thoroughly.
2. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
"The way you spread influenza is with droplets that come out of your mouth or nose," said Dr. George T. DiFerdinando Jr., a physician, epidemiologist and professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health. He recommends the classic shoulder or crook-of-the elbow sneeze.
"It's a whole lot better for those [droplets] to be on blouse or sleeve than spraying onto surfaces or other people," he said. Then ... you guessed it ... wash your hands.
Surgical face masks are an option for keeping your droplets to yourself, but they don't keep your hands clean and there is no consensus in the health care community on whether face masks are advisable for everyday use.
"If [the swine flu virus] is spreading throughout the community, it would not surprise me if people use [face masks] to good effect," DiFerdinando said.
3. Stay home.
If you're sick, stay home, DiFerdinando said. Try to muster the energy to wash your hands after you use tissues so you don't reinfect everything you touch afterward. This helps you recover, and protects your loved ones.
4. Don't touch your face.
Try, try, to keep your hands out of your mucous membranes - your eyes, nose and mouth - direct routes to the bloodstream that allow a virus to bypass the protective barrier of the skin. Few of us succeed at this fully.
"That's just human nature," DiFerdinando told LiveScience. "It's not something to moan about. In this circumstance you've got a very strong motivator to keep your hands clean. If you keep washing your hands, you decrease the dose [of flu virus] that you get when you put your hands in your mouth."
5. Avoid sick people
It's a good idea to avoid close contact with other people who are sick, DiFerdinando said, adding: "We won't even see air kisses." The flu virus tends not to float in the air. Instead, once dispersed, the liquid droplets tend to settle on objects that doctors call fomites - things that people touch that can pick up a virus. Examples include coins, hand rails, door knobs, common household and office objects. Smooth objects transmit microbes more than rough or porous ones. So, for instance, coins would allow one to pick up more virus than paper money.
Many of the nation's cases currently are concentrated in New York City at two schools, which is not surprising to Dr. James Koopman, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health.
"There is a lot of direct contact and touching of common things when children are in school," Koopman said. "They are in general more susceptible to these things."
Stay tuned: There's lots more to learn
Koopman and his colleagues are trying to pin down the relative importance of different routes of transmission - via the air or via hand touching fomite.
"Our work is indicating there can be big differences between something like airborne virus - you may take a small amount in with every breath, but when you get a big goober of someone's cough on your finger and it touches your mucosal membrane - your eye, nose, mouth or somewhere where it can gain access - that could be a much higher dose," Koopman said.
It takes time for a new virus - and the swine flu outbreak is based on a new strain of an H1N1 virus - to adapt to our immune systems and survive there long enough to find another organism to infect, Koopman said.
At first, the immune system can handle small doses of virus, such as you get with airborne transmission, he said. In that case, "maybe the hand-fomite touching spread would be more important than the airborne," he said.
Maybe later, the virus evolves to survive and transmit successfully in smaller doses, or via different routes, he said.
"I personally think this virus has been circulating a bit longer than is recognized at this time," Koopman said.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
H1N1 Flu Precautions in place
Campus Recreation is taking the following precautions in addition to others to prevent the spread of the H1N1 Flu.
- People displaying flu-like symptoms will be asked to leave.
- The hand scanners will be disabled.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Review of the new SRC
The new SRC is getting rave reviews. Check out the blog entry on Communi-K http://www.communi-k.net/?p=454
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Summer Payroll Deductions
Summer Payroll Deduction period will be May 18th-June 5th. For more information, check out our memberships page - http://www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/informal/memberships.html
The Golf Simulator is open
The Golf Simulator is open! Call 512-245-4989 or stop by to make a tee time. Fee $10/hr. Price split among the number of players. There will be a 9 Hole Match Play Tournament - Thu 4/23 , Fri 4/24 Mon 4/27, Tue 4/28 - $5 per person with a 16 player field. Prizes for first and second. http://www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/golf/golfsimulator.html
Riverfest in Sewell Park
Riverfest Today - 3 pm to 11 pm today in Sewell Park, Free Inflatable Games, Drinks and Giveaways. Concert by the Expendables, Eleven Fingered Charlie, 46
Live Fit Live Well!
Live Fit Live Well!!
The sun is shining and temperatures are rising!
Summer is the time to shed layers of clothes as well as some pounds.
Come learn how to add some sizzle into your summer fitness routine!
Join us to get a workout, learn how to slim down and stay in shape this summer!
This workshop is open to ALL VPSA Student Affairs Staff
Presented By:
Raquel Cruz, Assistant Director - Fitness and Wellness
Department of Campus Recreation
Presentation will include:
· Demonstration of simple exercises to tone you up!
· Secret summer foods that will help you slim down!
· Helpful safety tips when exercising in the summer!
· Handouts, low calorie snacks and GREAT PRIZES!
· FREE personal fitness assessments with personal trainers!
May 7th
2:00-4:00 pm
LBJ Student Center Ballroom
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes
This workshop is brought to you by Student Affairs Support Staff Team
If you have specific questions or problems/concerns you would like addressed,
please e-mail your questions and to RSVP by Friday, May 1st, contact:
Cheryl Harper, Alcohol and Drug Resource Center at
CH13@txstate.edu or 245.3601.
Please RSVP or send special accommodations by Friday, May 1st.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Intramural Basketball Championship
By Bonnie Uresti, Marketing Writer
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 60 teams battled it out in the Intramural Basketball Championship games held in the Texas State Student Recreation Center. Only a select few, won the honor of wearing the much esteemed Intramural Championship t-shirts.
The IM Sports champion teams include:
Co- Rec- "Slumdog Millionaires"
Fraternity- "Sigma Nu"
Women's- "Player's Inc."
Men's A- "Goonsquad"
Men's B- "Brew Crew"
"I thought we played a lot of good teams throughout the season. We had a couple of close games that could have gone either way, but we had some players step up and make key shots down the stretch," Ben Melear, “Brew Crew” member, said.
The "Brew Crew" honed in on their team skills by playing IM flag football in the fall. Yet, they get serious with basketball, which is their true passion.
The win was a great accomplishment for the "Brew Crew" since the playoffs were a struggle to get through.
"We were excited because that's all we talked about since last semester," Jacob Browning said.
The whole team stepped up their game, which propelled them into the championship games. "We won three of our playoff games by a combined seven points so a couple of teams had us pretty nervous," Everett Towell said.
The team is proud to wear the much coveted Intramural Champion t-shirts.
"Not everyone gets to wear them," Browning said.
"It was great winning because I've never won any kind of sports tournament so it was fun," Towell said.
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 60 teams battled it out in the Intramural Basketball Championship games held in the Texas State Student Recreation Center. Only a select few, won the honor of wearing the much esteemed Intramural Championship t-shirts.
The IM Sports champion teams include:
Co- Rec- "Slumdog Millionaires"
Fraternity- "Sigma Nu"
Women's- "Player's Inc."
Men's A- "Goonsquad"
Men's B- "Brew Crew"
"I thought we played a lot of good teams throughout the season. We had a couple of close games that could have gone either way, but we had some players step up and make key shots down the stretch," Ben Melear, “Brew Crew” member, said.
The "Brew Crew" honed in on their team skills by playing IM flag football in the fall. Yet, they get serious with basketball, which is their true passion.
The win was a great accomplishment for the "Brew Crew" since the playoffs were a struggle to get through.
"We were excited because that's all we talked about since last semester," Jacob Browning said.
The whole team stepped up their game, which propelled them into the championship games. "We won three of our playoff games by a combined seven points so a couple of teams had us pretty nervous," Everett Towell said.
The team is proud to wear the much coveted Intramural Champion t-shirts.
"Not everyone gets to wear them," Browning said.
"It was great winning because I've never won any kind of sports tournament so it was fun," Towell said.
Personal Fitness Advice
Madelynn Perez
Motivation, determination and a healthier outlook on life can be gained through the help of a well qualified personal trainer. Although most students are unaware of the great personal trainers we have on campus, it’s still not too late to get in on the action.
The help and health benefits that come along with personal training can last a life time and “improve your overall health awareness,” says Chance Lauer a freshman majoring in international studies.
Personal trainers keep clients well motivated and focused on their workout, with little to no distractions. Lauer also feels that personal training has benefited his “over all better health,” and he is convinced it helps him “release stress and sleep better at night.
” College students are always bombarded with stress, from classes and life. With finals coming up, we all need a personal trainer to come to the rescue.
Many students are unaware of the personal trainers available to them on campus. To add to the benefits, they offer, at a fraction of the cost compared to other sessions gyms in San Marcos. Many of the personal trainers have a flexible schedule and will work around students class schedules.
“I have had clients as early as six a.m.,” Billy Grieser a junior majoring in finance says. What a great way to start a day at Texas State!
When asked what he enjoyed most about being a personal trainer, Brent DeWolfe a physical education graduate student said “Seeing his clients physique improve and their confidence grow.
” Now that you know all the great benefits a personal trainer provides, what are you waiting for? Sign up with a one today!
The help and health benefits that come along with personal training can last a life time and “improve your overall health awareness,” says Chance Lauer a freshman majoring in international studies.
Personal trainers keep clients well motivated and focused on their workout, with little to no distractions. Lauer also feels that personal training has benefited his “over all better health,” and he is convinced it helps him “release stress and sleep better at night.
” College students are always bombarded with stress, from classes and life. With finals coming up, we all need a personal trainer to come to the rescue.
Many students are unaware of the personal trainers available to them on campus. To add to the benefits, they offer, at a fraction of the cost compared to other sessions gyms in San Marcos. Many of the personal trainers have a flexible schedule and will work around students class schedules.
“I have had clients as early as six a.m.,” Billy Grieser a junior majoring in finance says. What a great way to start a day at Texas State!
When asked what he enjoyed most about being a personal trainer, Brent DeWolfe a physical education graduate student said “Seeing his clients physique improve and their confidence grow.
” Now that you know all the great benefits a personal trainer provides, what are you waiting for? Sign up with a one today!
Custom adventure trips for your group!
The Adventure Trip Program of Outdoor Recreation offers custom trips for your group! Custom trips are a great way to strengthen bonds between group members and to get away from the stresses of school and work. Guides, equipment and transportation are all provided at a reasonable price. Contact the Outdoor Center today to set up a trip for your organization’s next group function!
Robert Gutierrez - wrote recently >>>
I would like to say thank you to the Outdoor Recreation Staff for hosting our Jackson Hall program yesterday. It was a success, and everyone who attended had a great time. If you can somehow let Ben, Connor, and Ava know that we really appreciate their help, and I made a video and posted it on YouTube.
Can you forward it to them and the staff, and let them know they're doing an awesome job.
Thanks again,
Robert Gutierrez
Resident Assistant Jackson Hall
Athletic Coordinator
Robert Gutierrez - wrote recently >>>
I would like to say thank you to the Outdoor Recreation Staff for hosting our Jackson Hall program yesterday. It was a success, and everyone who attended had a great time. If you can somehow let Ben, Connor, and Ava know that we really appreciate their help, and I made a video and posted it on YouTube.
Can you forward it to them and the staff, and let them know they're doing an awesome job.
Thanks again,
Robert Gutierrez
Resident Assistant Jackson Hall
Athletic Coordinator
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