This academic year has been tough amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, but NSU Sharks continue to face adversity head on. The NSU Recplex, which houses multiple rooms and facilities for sports as well as the Davie campus gym and pool, have set regulations in place that have been instrumental in providing a safe active space for students. They have even gone as far as closing the Recplex in the middle of the day to give it a deep clean. Recplex employee Sara Kastratovic provided The Current information regarding the new policies being implemented this year to keep everything clean and COVID-19 free.
For starters, they have been actively focusing on proper mask wearing.
“We always have to make sure that everyone is wearing their mask, and they’re also wearing it properly, like over their nose…” said Kastratovic.
The Recplex assures proper mask wear, checks everyone’s temperature at the entrance and counts each person as they enter to follow their new COVID-19 protocols. The Recplex has also cut out a lot of their previous available activities and services to prevent any close contact or spread of germs. Activities like rock climbing or services like being able to rent out a bike have been stopped.
“The showers are closed; the saunas are closed. We’re not renting as much equipment anymore,” said Kastratovic.
The Recplex assures safety from germs with these policies.
According to Kastratovic, employees are allowed to enforce their policies — with reason — when it comes to users of the Recplex breaking the rules.
“We’re really strict, especially with the masks… There’s some people that don’t really like to obey the policies even though they are set by Broward County and not just us, but our bosses have let us know that we do have the right to kick somebody out if they’re not complying with our rules,” said Kastratovic.
If someone is found disobeying the policies, they are given verbal reminders and even warnings if they are found breaking the rules multiple times. The basketball courts are a great example of the Recplex taking action to ensure their policies stand strong.
“We used to have basketball last semester, and we said, ‘You can only shoot hoops, you can’t have a game,’ and people would play a game thinking that we wouldn’t notice. So, we shut it down because they wouldn’t follow the rules… We try to show them that there’s consequences if they are not following [the rules],” said Kastratovic.
NSU is doing it’s very best to keep the campus safe for its students, faculty and others. The Recplex’s drive towards a safer work out and sports environment is no small feat.
