University of Galway has this week unveiled two new outdoor gyms on its campus.
Funded as part of a dedicated Government grant programme for 2022/23 to support higher education institutions, the gym equipment forms part of a wider Sports For All initiative which is being rolled out to provide modern outdoor fitness facilities for students, staff, members of the public, and visitors to campus.
Two outdoor gym areas have been created - one on College Green, opposite the Quadrangle, and a second in front of the Arts Millennium Building. The all-weather gyms include exercise bikes, leg press, chest press and shoulder press, pull down rowing machine, cross trainers, walkers, stepper, hand bikes, and shoulder wheel station, along with seating areas and water fountains.
Accessible to all
A quarter of the fitness equipment has been specially designed to accommodate the needs and requirements of people with a physical disability.
“In line with our value of openness, we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to improve their physical health while making our campus a more open and inviting environment for everyone," said Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, president of University of Galway. "The space is accessible to all, is for everyone to share, and it will offer people a welcome opportunity to improve their health, fitness, and wellbeing. We hope our university community and the wider community makes the most of the facilities as we develop plans to build on this across campus.”
Sai Gujulla, president of University of Galway Students’ Union, added: “Outdoor gyms are a fantastic way of staying active and at the same time spending time with your friends. It's a great initiative by University of Galway offering this facility for free for students on campus.”
