Monday, March 8, Elizabethtown College announced the start of Open Recreation in the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being. Open Recreation is a new way for students to play sports together in a safe and healthy way inside of Bowers. Every week, Sunday through Friday, students will have a variety of sports to pick from to play throughout the week on court 2 in the Field House.

This past week, basketball was available on Sunday and Monday, cornhole on Tuesday and Friday and volleyball on Wednesday and Thursday. This schedule will rotate from week to week with different sports being available on different days. Open Recreation is available on weekdays from 8a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 to 5:00 p.m. Students do not need to register to participate, but space is limited to court 2.

For basketball, games are not permitted, but two students may shoot and pass the ball at one hoop. Much like basketball, soccer does not permit games, but two students may pass and shoot at one goal. Cornhole allows for two students on either team or side. For volleyball, one on one and two on two games are permitted. Social distancing and other COVID-19 rules still apply during open recreation.

“I am excited because I believe [Open Recreation] will get people out to the Bowers Center more considering there are many options of different games to play,” sophomore and Bowers Center employee Matthew Fick said. “I think the school should do more [things] like this. One idea could be hosting a cornhole or volleyball tournament.”

“I was very excited when I heard about the Open Recreation… I plan to use it often because I want to stay connected with my friends and be physically active,” sophomore Mary Huebler said.

For more information regarding Open Recreation, students are encouraged to visit the reservations and rentals page or email recwell@etown.edu.