On October 7, the U of T community was invited for a first look at the newly constructed Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, the fourth and final phase of the $98 million Varsity Centre upgrades.
Decorated in blue and white, the modern building with huge windows was a sight to be seen.
The main floor of the centre is the entrance space, with stairs leading up to the third floor nutrition station, fitness studio, and strength and conditioning centre, and down to the Kimel Family Field House, where guests were entertained with drop-in games of basketball and volley-and-bump.
The 2,000-seat field house has a jumbotron on the far wall, a booming audio system, and seating available courtside and on an upper floor.
The third floor, with a view of the Varsity Centre stadium, opens into the strength and conditioning centre, which is custom fit with all new workout technology. Featuring everything from assisted weightlifting machines to treadmills and BOSU balls, this space has training equipment for every athlete. Conditioning specialists gave demonstrations of how the equipment works throughout the day.
The fitness studio is a small room by the strength and conditioning centre. Equipped with mats, free weights, and mirrors, this space will be used for exercise classes. A wide range of demonstrations, from hip-hop classes to introductions with the Nike Training Club, took place throughout the open house.
A nutrition station is located to the south of the strength and conditioning area. Nutrition specialists were handing out healthy snacks and discussing how different athletes eat in order to enhance athletic performance.
One last set of stairs leads up to the fourth floor research area. The Goldring Centre also contains a lab where researchers will be investigating the latest in biomechanics, athletic performance and training, sport psychology, and the socio-cultural impacts of athletics.
Next to the lab area was the new location of the David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic. Having served U of T athletes for over 60 years, the clinic will continue its work in a newly built space.
Across the street at Devonshire Place and Hoskin Avenue, the new back campus fields hosted different athletic drills, from lacrosse drills to an agility ladder.
The sneak peek event showed off the world-class amenities of the new Goldring Centre to several participants. The building is expected to open later this year.
