The Thompson Gymnasium has completed the additions of both an upgraded and a new weight room to their facility, which is only used for athletics. The building which hosts the wrestling, volleyball and basketball teams, has put in a weight room for student-athletes to train in. The complex has also added a new team room. Student athletes can swipe their ID cards and use the space to study or hang out. Teams can reserve the space for team activities, like watching film.
The gymnasium, located at the end of the academic quad, opened in 1970 and includes a hardwood court, Alumni Pool, six locker rooms and the two newly upgraded weight room.
This renovation is roughly 10 years removed after the gym replaced the court’s floor, made repairs to the roof and updated locker rooms. The Bowers Center may be the premier athletic and fitness center on campus, but the Thompson Gymnasium still offers a convenient facility for student-athletes.
When the Bowers Center was built in 2019, Elizabethtown College stated that one of its purposes was “supporting the College’s expanding athletics program.” Some have questioned the necessity of this addition to the Thompson Gym, if a major athletics complex like Bowers was just put in.
The Bowers Center is capable of holding intramural activities, batting cages, indoor track meets, open basketball courts and a public weight room for all students. This allowed the Thompson Gymnasium to become more focused on catering to the needs of athletes.
However, student-athletes face the challenges of crowded workouts in the Bowers Center. More time in this pristine weight room with less distractions gives teams the chance to strengthen their focus and grow together.
Sophomore swimmer Katie Midura is very optimistic about how the weight room will benefit her team.
“I am very excited that they added the new additions to Thompson, and I really enjoy using the new equipment. It has been a little hard to learn and get used to it, but I think the new facility is super cool and will really be beneficial to all of us student athletes,” she said. “I believe the new facility and all the equipment will really push all our student athletes to the next level allowing us to be able to perform even better as athletes and really make Etown athletics proud.”
The new equipment enables coaches to accommodate their workouts to the demands of the sport. Athletes have the best quality in materials they need to specialize for their practice.
Midura has seen this impacting her team already.
“[With]the new equipment and exercises, what we can do with them allows us to better simulate our actions in the pool,” she explained. “The new additions to the gym will allow us to focus on our specific needs for strength and conditioning so we can take what we work on in lifting and reflect that in the water.”
The renovations come in the wake of Elizabethtown College announcing the cutting of 13 faculty positions and three majors. Some have questioned the necessity of a costly athletic upgrade when core components of the school’s academics were at stake.
Elizabethtown Athletic Director Chris Morgan declined to comment on the subject.
The new Thompson Gymnasium weight room is now open and currently being used by many of the athletic teams on campus. Many of the athletes are excited with the quality of their new facility.
“It was done very well, and the quality of the new equipment is top-notch and a major upgrade from what we’ve had in the past,” Midura concluded. “All the equipment is either upgraded or brand new, which allows us to better train and condition so that we can improve and get better as athletes.”
