New equipment for the Skaptopara 1 gym

 

AUBG will get $30,000 for new fitness equipment from the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program (ASHA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The money will be used to buy new equipment for the Skaptopara 1 gym, the working equipment from Skaptopara 1 will be transferred to Skaptopara 2, and the one from Skaptopara 2 will be sold if possible, AUBG Athletic Director Yasen Nedelchev said. "Right now my priority is fully equipping the Skaptopara 1 gym with the highest class professional fitness equipment," he added.

The Skaptopara 1 gym should be equipped by the start of the Spring 2010 semester. The new equipment will consist of one crosstrainer, shoulder press, half rack with adjustable bench, chest press, pull down, flat and adjustable benches, scott bench, e-z curl and normal barbell bars. All the exercise equipment will use free weights that will ensure an additional level of safety, Nedelchev said. "The equipment that will be bought is best for [muscle building] exercises. When the Student Center is built, we will then get more machines for [cardio] exercises," Nedelchev added.

The gym will be equipped with a 42-inch plasma screen TV with sound system, and the floor will be covered with a special rubber surface. "I specially chose the new surface as it will be difficult for the students to damage it, and [it] will contribute to the fancy look of the gym," Nedelchev said.

"I definitely believe that a renovation [of] both Skaptopara's gyms is more than welcomed. Physical practices represent an essential component [of] any American-style educational institution," Pierangelo Castagneto, AUBG History professor and a regular of the Skaptopara gyms, said.

"There is not enough equipment and most of the current one is half-way broken," student Petar Marinov said. "We don't even have [a] radio in the [Skaptopara 2] gym anymore," student Denis Burtaev said.

"The last time we spent [a considerable amount of] money on the gyms was two years ago when AUBG bought two treadmills, two crosstrainers and two gym bikes," Nedelchev said. "Most of the current equipment [was] bought in 1998/99. There are still machines made in 1992 by ‘Ruse Sport,' a firm that no longer exists," he added.

The Block A of Skaptopara 3 will not have a gym next semester because it was planned for another block of the building. There is space in the basement, but the ventilation system is not adequate, Nedelchev said. The basement will probably hold two table tennis and one billiard tables, he added.

When the new Student Center is built all the fitness equipment will be transferred there. "My vision is that as we are a leading academic institution, everything else should be leading as well. I am happy that right now the university is sports oriented," Nedelchev said.