May 26–June 2, 2009, Number 542
Student Development Complex
I was grasping at straws when it came to writing this week’s ParentNet article, but when I started thinking back to last summer it hit me like a miss-shot basketball hitting me in the head (sorry for the weird analogy). I started last summer by discussing some of the different types of services are that available to students on Michigan Tech’s campus. I covered the A.E Seaman Mineral Museum, the J.R. Van Pelt & Opie Library and the Rozsa Center. So to continue on with these articles I felt it fitting to mention the Student Development Complex and the different athletic components it offers to students of Michigan Tech.
Most students on campus refer to the Student Development Complex as the SDC. This building provides numerous outlets for students to stretch those muscles and stay active. Following are some descriptions for the different services available:
Ice Arena
The SDC has an Olympic size ice arena that can accommodate between 3,000 to 4,000 people for the hockey games. With its 9 locker rooms, the MacInnes Ice Arena is used for physical education classes, intramural ice hockey, and recreational skating in addition to the WCHA hockey games.
Swimming Pool
Michigan Tech offers two swimming pools that are used for both recreational swimming and instructional classes. One pool is set up with eight lanes and the other is a dive tank set-up with two one-meter diving boards and one five-meter diving platform. There are specific times in which students and SDC community members can use the pool for recreational use in terms of free swim and lap swim only. For example (and these are just SDC summer hours for the time period of May 2 – August 23, 2009) the lap swim hours are from 6:30-9 a.m. Mon-Fri and open swim is from 12-1:30 p.m. & 4:30-8 p.m. Mon-Fri as well as 12-4 Sat and 1-6 on Sun. Students have opportunities to take classes in basic swimming skills, water-polo, water aerobics, and more as part of their physical education credit requirements.
Multi-Purpose Room
As its name implies, the multi-purpose room has been used for just about anything. There’s a 5 lane (200 meter) running track that goes around the outer edge of the wood floor and 4 basketball courts that can be separated by drop-down curtain dividers. In addition to these services students can also play badminton, volleyball, etc. Also located in the multi-purpose room is the rock-climbing wall, which is officially owned and operated by Ridge Roamers the Michigan Tech rock-climbing club.
Varsity Gymnasium
The varsity gymnasium hosts all of the varsity sports: men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball. For most students, the varsity gym is more commonly known as the “Wood Gym”. The total capacity is 3,200 and can and has been used for music concerts.
SDC Fitness Center
Accommodations for the students looking for the indoor exercising equipment can be found at the SDC Fitness Center. This center includes Hammer Strength weight-lifting equipment as well as free weights. Six treadmills, 2 free runners, 4 stair climbers and 4 upright stationary bikes complete all the machinery exercise equipment that is available.
Other Available Areas
In addition to those areas listed above, students can also use the racquetball courts, dance studio (used for dance classes, martial arts groups, etc.), the Rifle Range (used for classes) and by Competition Rifle Team, the Pistol Club, and Archery Club, Tech Trails (35km used for skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and mountain biking), outdoor and indoor tennis courts, Sherman Football field, and soccer fields. The SDC also houses these resources for students and community members: Portage Medical Clinic (which also has an apothecary and a rehab center), Hockey Education Center (used by the Varsity Hockey Team), and finally University Images (the official apparel store). In addition to these services, students can also apply to work for the Student Development Complex facilities as an on-campus job.
As you can see, there is so much that the Student Development Complex has to provide for Michigan Tech students and the community of Houghton. I know that when I attended Michigan Tech, I felt that the SDC was a great resource that was made available and most of it free to the students. If there are any questions or comments about this article feel free to email me at my personal email address. Any suggestions for future article topics are welcomed!
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885