Starting in 2012, a multitude of campus organizations teamed up to sponsor the annual Fit Fair held in Markin Recreation Center.
Last Friday, over 35 tables of vendors and various student organizations gathered to educate campus on topics of health and wellness, as well as to promote “Get Fit, Stay Fit.” An estimated 700 people attended.
“We collaborate [with] all those different entities in order to provide that holistic approach so that students know what is available to them throughout not only Bradley and Bradley’s different services, but also near Bradley,” graduate assistant Kayla Hussey said. “So they can reach out to those different venues if they need them.”
Over the four hour period, there were free fitness classes, food samples, injury screenings, health information and more.
SONOR had a beer goggle activity and nursing students shared their clinical information on health topics. Several vendors shared their products while Dining Services gave healthy recipe options.
“I think it went really well,” student organizer Matt Miller said. “Every person I’ve talked to has given a really great review about it, from the vendors to participants.”
A raffle concluded the event, where students could win a Go Pro, gift cards or fitness equipment.
This year the layout and schedule was different. Hussey said that instead of one speaker lecturing, it was broken into multiple activities to encourage participation. The food choices were also scattered around to around to prevent students from grouping all in one place.
“We planned so much leading up to it,” Miller said. “We were doing so many behind the scenes work that when that night before when we were setting up and the day of finally comes it’s so great to see the end result of everything. I know I had a lot of fun with it.”
Get Fit, Stay Fit is a program that tracks gym visits and award points per gym visit. Those points can later be redeemed for prizes. Your points are automatically awarded as you scan through the Markin turnstiles.
The program was created to encourage healthy lifestyles on campus through the cooperation of multiple Bradley University departments. According to Kayla Hussey, the program is meant to promote both the mental and physical well-being of participants.
Looking to next year’s event, Interim Director of Wellness Lindsey Hawkins said it was great to see how many student organizations and groups are dedicated to promoting health.
“We collected feedback from people who attended the Fit Fair; we are also currently collecting feedback from the vendors, too,” Hawkins said. “We also had a list of improvements and ideas we have for next year that we made ourselves. Overall, we would like to see even more vendors, especially attractions such as massages. We would also love to showcase more fitness activities and get more participation in the fitness classes.”
Students can sign up for “Get Fit, Stay Fit” by going to their mybu page and clicking through the ‘my info’ tab.
