Bemidji State Ranked Fifth For Physical Fitness

The National Collegiate Fitness Index has ranked Bemidji State University among the nation’s most supportive campuses for physical fitness. The index, which surveyed 107 college and university campuses to measure physical and programmatic resources promoting active living and healthy lifestyles, ranked BSU fifth among responding small public universities.

The index judged schools on three general criteria: transportation, recreation infrastructure and recreation and educational policies and services. Within those three criteria, the survey measured 28 different factors including the number of cardio/weight rooms, tanning rooms, group fitness classes per week, availability of various courts, swimming pools, sport fields and rock climbing walls.

The Bemidji State Gillett Recreation-Fitness Center on campus is available for use by students as well as faculty, staff, alumni and community members who have a paid membership. Students that meet the minimum enrollment requirements have free access to the facilities. Located adjacent to the residence halls on campus, the GRC includes; four activity courts, a six-lane, 200 meter indoor track, both free and fixed weight rooms, five racquetball courts, a state-of-the-art climbing wall, a dance studio, numerous types of cardiovascular equipment, and a six lane 25-yard pool.

A variety of fitness classes are offered at the GRC for all levels at different times throughout the week during both fall and spring semesters as well as the spring and summer breaks. Group fitness classes entitle you to attend any fitness class during the semester.

This coincides with BSU launching a campus-wide student wellness initiative, The Best You @ BSU, beginning this fall, which will align a student’s college experience with six dimensions of personal wellness. The initiative combines programming and other activities currently being done by the Gillett Wellness Center, the Department of Housing and Residence Life, the Hobson Memorial Union, the Student Center for Health and Counseling and other student services and refocuses them around six dimensions of wellness – career, environmental, emotional, physical, spiritual and social.