Further disappointment over Lifestyle Gym
A section of the ceiling in the Lifestyle Gym, which opened three months ago, fell on Monday evening at around 7pm.
It has been reported that the ceiling collapsed near the erg rowing machines in the gym and left a “soggy mess”.
Alex Holland-Shanly, first-year Engineering student, witnessed the incident yesterday evening.
He told the Boar: “There was a dribble from the ceiling… but it stopped after four seconds, then we both just carried on for about half a minute, then the panel fell in and splattered on the floor…
“… There must have been a leak but then no water continued to fall so I don’t know what went wrong there.”
A spokesperson for Warwick Sport commented: “We can confirm that a ceiling tile did fall yesterday evening… We isolated the area, which did not have impact on those using the gym at the time.
The damaged ceiling. Photo: Ann Yip
“Our operations team subsequently contacted the estates maintenance team who immediately came up and identified the problem…
“The problem appears to have been a build-up of condensation in the air handling unit, which has gradually dripped onto this one ceiling tile which then fell.
“We are working with the estates maintenance team, but it seems that there is little impact on any other tiles and any remedial work will be carried out as soon as possible.
“There is no cause for further concern, nor will there be disruption to our gym users.”
When asked about what he thought of the incident, Mr. Holland-Shanly replied: “Just a bit disappointed really, same as everyone else it seems.
“The new gym hasn’t addressed the matter of sizing and so it gets very cramped at peak times still, same as the old one.
“All in all, it’s barely different, just a new layout and new equipment, that’s all.”
Many students were unhappy about the state of the new Lifestyle Gym, especially after a similar incident closer to its opening when the weightlifting platform was damaged.
An undergraduate student who wished to remain anonymous said: “As for the roof falling in again, I thought someone was joking. [My friends will] have a field day when they find out it collapsed [and] just laugh that I haven’t already swapped gyms.”
He continued to voice his opinions on the Lifestyle Gym: “It bemuses me that they [the Warwick gym] are so willing to shut down for an entire term and rip off all their students to impress a few people in the summer [conferences] – ridiculous.
“While the improvements were fine, they were not worth an entire term’s cost and many of them were completely unnecessary.
“… It’s outrageous… for a membership of £150, [it] has only delivered on one and a half of the three terms promised…
“What do students [who get] ripped off get? An Eating at Warwick voucher…
“… A lot of [my] friends use Leamington gyms because of the [nonsense] they get from Warwick.
“I used the gym almost every day [last year]. This year, I’ve fallen out of a routine that was difficult to build and that was entirely down to the gym.
“Warwick gym has left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths,” the student concluded.
Callum Cant, first-year English Literature student, shared the same frustration: “When the new gym opened, we all realised it was badly designed – but I don’t think anyone expected it to start falling apart.
“Considering what we pay, the service we’re provided with is awful.
“If you compare Warwick to other universities of similar sizes, our facilities are abysmal, and this handicaps all serious sportsmen and women at the university.
“Compensation on Eating at Warwick cards is just not enough. I’ve not had a gym available to me for much of the year. Now it seems [that] what we get is a flashy redesign with no functionality that has started to fall apart from the moment it was opened.”
The anonymous student also suggested that the Warwick Students’ Union (SU) did not do enough to oppose the changes to the gym, though he claimed that it was more of “a reflection on how little power the SU really has”.
Warwick SU sports officer, Natasha ‘Bam’ Cabral, said in response to this view: “Although there is a partnership between Warwick Sport and the SU, the Sports Centre is run by the University so we can try to influence decisions… however, ultimately the decisions are made by the university.
“It was very unfortunate the closure ran into term two. However, since the redevelopment, the majority of comments about the new gym and studios have been very positive.”
Previously, in response to the complaints of its members, Warwick Sport attempted to compensate students through their Eating at Warwick cards.
It gave its members £10 for the disruption of the gym refurbishment. With the the damaged weightlifting platform, all members were also offered the opportunity to exchange their £20 Eating at Warwick compensation for cash.
Warwick Sport previously apologised to its members on the disruption of the refurbishment and in their previous statement to the Boar, explained: “With a summer project, students would have missed out on weeks of improved facilities and equipment. There are staff and students who still use the facilities during the summer, so there was no solution that avoided some disruption.”
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Comments (8)
So, to summarise…..
A ceiling tile fell down
Two people don’t like the new gym
Warwick Sport still can’t manage communications
Warwick uni can’t fix a leak
@OWL > 2 people don’t like the new gym? Please.
“However, since the redevelopment, the majority of comments about the new gym and studios have been very positive.”
LIES.
I haven’t heard one good thing about the ‘new’ gym from any of the users. Even the new equipment is a step back and has probably been bought for aesthetic value rather than usefulness. Good thing I won’t be here next year.
I was really disappointed with the gym closure over Christmas and I asked about causes and compensation. The first attempt was basically mean – £10 !
The second was more like it – but they should have done it right first time. I also appreciated the cash offer, but took the Eat thing anyway as I’ll get more when I buy food.
I checked in to the actual lost time and alternative gyms. Don’t know where your interviewee got their info, but it was closed for half of term 2 – not a full term or one-and-a-half terms as they claimed. New equipment is great and other gyms cost more.
Overall ? Better facility, mistakes poorly handled
But the point is that the gym isn’t better, especially for the guys that lift weights. It gets too crowded because they have reduced the space available in the free weights area. Warwick Sport are going to lose out massively in the next few years, especially if the news of how dreadful the gym is can be found online so that freshers don’t fall for all the ‘oh it’s so new and pretty and beautiful and shiny’ baloney that will undoubtedly be fed to them in 4 months.
Don’t forget the absence of lifting platforms and a reinforced floor (which was promised). Performance training for Warwick’s sports clubs simply isn’t possible at this facility.
They’ve actually started censoring the Warwick Sport facebook page to remove traces of unfulfilled promises (difficult to prove, but it has happened).
And I have to emphasise, no research was performed prior to building this place. There was no feedback system to ask members what THEY wanted from a new sports facility.
But it’s alright, because there’s coloured lights in the old weights room and a bunch of useless machines in the new one.
I’m surprised the person who commissioned the money for this hasn’t walked in and wondered why the thousand pound machines see little use.
Or why there’s a water feature in the gym but no drinking fountains.
Or why the floor isn’t reinforced.
Or why the ceiling is falling down.
But actually, there is a feedback system. You can put tokens inside some little tubes rated 1 – 10. Fantastic.
Literally, you could draw a picture to summarise Warwick sport:
“Hello, I’d like a gym subscription please.”
“Sure thing, here you go”
“I’m sorry, you’ve just handed me a plate of shit”
Well said David.
So THAT’S what those tubes are for! I’ve been puzzled by their existence for some time. What a joke 😀
I want to do power cleans, but I’m terrified that when I drop the weights back to the ‘reinforced’ floor I’ll fall right through and end up in another dimension.
but they did ask members what they wanted! The response to the survey was unanimous: “cable machines EVERYWHERE!!”