Outdoor activities on campus for students as spring weather arrives

As spring has now arrived, here is a list of different outdoor activities for students to partake in while adhering to the University of Richmond’s physical distancing framework. 

Spider Athletics sporting events

Students can attend the football and lacrosse games held in the E. Claiborne Robins Stadium this spring, according to a Spider Athletics email sent to UR students on March 2. Students can claim tickets to the games the Wednesday prior to each home game through a link emailed to students weekly by Spider Athletics, according to the email. 

The Athletics Department will be able to increase fan attendance for Spider football and men's and women's lacrosse games at the Robins Stadium beginning April 1 through the remainder of the spring season, according to an Athletics Department press release. This adjustment was made in response to the Fourth Amended Executive Order 72 signed by Gov. Ralph Northam on March 23. The order allows a maximum outdoor attendance at 30% capacity, which will result in a slight increase from the previous limit of 1,000 fans, according to the press release. 

Junior Charlie Bugg attended the UR football game against William and Mary on March 6 and the men’s lacrosse game against Duke on March 7, he said. 

All students were required to wear masks in Robins Stadium, and sit two seats away from each other to maintain a mandated distance of 6 feet, Bugg said. 

Bugg said attending the game felt like a bit of normalcy during the pandemic. 

The schedule of remaining games for the football team and the men and women's lacrosse teams that will be played at Robins Stadium can be seen here: 

Football

April 3rd vs. James Madison - Postponed due to UR COVID-19 protocols 

Men's Lacrosse

April 17th vs. Jacksonville

May 1st vs. Air Force

Women's Lacrosse

April 4th vs. George Mason - Postponed due to UR COVID-19 protocols  

April 11th vs. George Washington

April 23rd vs. Davidson

Outdoor fitness classes 

Starting in April, outdoor fitness classes will be offered for students through the University Recreation Department in the courtyard of the Weinstein Center for Recreation on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, said Sarah Lee, manager of fitness and facilities at University Recreation. Class schedules are available on the University Recreation webpage and all classes are free for UR faculty, staff and students.

University Recreation currently offers seventeen in-person fitness classes, Lee said. Some of the classes currently being offered include a master swimming class open to anyone, intermediate tennis classes that are geared to intermediate tennis players and two weekend classes -- a power-hour class on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and a body pump class on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., Lee said. All other classes currently being offered can be found on the Weinstein Center Portal, Lee said.  

University Recreation will be able to start offering more in-person classes using the new Mind Body Studio in the Well-being Center now that UR has reached the Orange Stage of its physical distancing framework, Lee said. A yoga fundamentals class began on March 25 in the Mind Body Studio and will be offered weekly on Thursdays at 10 a.m.

Students can register for both in-person and virtual fitness classes offered through University Recreation through a portal on University Recreation’s webpage, Lee said. The portal will offer an up-to-date class schedule as well as class descriptions, Lee said. Students can log in with their UR credentials to register for the classes.

Rent recreational equipment for outdoor lawn games 

Students can rent recreational equipment through University Recreation, Lee said. There are different types of lawn games available, such as corn hole, disc golf sets, Giant Connect 4 and Giant Jenga, according to University Recreation. Bikes and other gear are also available for rent. 

Students can rent this equipment through the University Recreation portal. Renting equipment is a similar registration process to signing up for a fitness class using your UR credentials, Lee said. 

Use the intramural fields 

Students can use the intramural fields for lawn games with friends, as a studying spot or to play different sports.

First-year Alex Campbell said he and his friends have been playing Spikeball on the intramural fields when the weather is nice. He added that he and his friends will hopefully start to do a lot more activities outside as the weather gets nicer. Campbell hopes to start studying outdoors and playing basketball more often, he said.

As the weather continues to get warmer, the UR community has a variety of outdoor activities that students can take advantage of, from using the intramural fields to study or attending a sporting event. Students can continue to adhere to UR's physical distancing framework while partaking in the outdoor campus activities. 

Contact lifestyle writer Caitlin O'Hare at caitlin.ohare@richmond.edu.