The UC Santa Barbara Recreation Center is reopening in a limited capacity on April 12, the university announced in an email to students on March 23. 

The recreation center — known as the Rec Cen — closed in March 2020 after the university transitioned to online learning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Due to the decrease in cases and the lift of the regional stay at home order,” the email said, UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang and the university have now approved the facility for reopening under new protocols. 

To utilize the outdoor fitness areas, big and small pools and outdoor climbing tower, students can make reservations on the UCSB recreation website closer to the April 12 reopening date. The indoor recreation facilities — including locker rooms — are not available for student use under new reopening protocols. 

Outside fitness areas will include socially distanced “Cardio Equipment, Circuit Training Machine Weights, Schwinn Cycling Bikes, Squat Racks, Bench Presses, Dumbbell Racks, and Turf Area,” the email said. 

Students will not be required to make reservations to use the Rec Cen fields, the tennis courts, Pauley Track and Storke Field, according to the email. 

To access the facilities, undergraduate students will be required to secure their daily green badge, which can be obtained through completing a daily symptom survey and weekly COVID-19 test. To register, students should email sa-ucsb-covid19-it@ucsb.edu, according to the email. 

Undergraduate students who are currently living, working or taking classes on campus are already enrolled in this program automatically. Graduate students must enroll in a separate program, Qualtrics Daily Screening, to receive their green badges. 

Students will be required to wear a face covering at all times “due to campus and county regulations and for the protection of yourself and others,” the email said. 

The Recreation Center will be open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12 a.m. to 7 p.m. The big and small pools will be open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the outdoor climbing tower will be open Monday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Customer Service Center will be open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Print

Holly Rusch
Holly Rusch (she/her) is the Lead News Editor for the 2022-23 school year. Previously, Rusch was the University News Editor and co-Lead News Editor for the 2020-21 school year. She can be reached at news@dailynexus.com or hollyrusch@dailynexus.com.