As one of Wolfpack Welcome Week’s largest events, the 11th annual RecFest hosted 41 sports clubs, 14 food vendors and 10 exhibitors Sunday night at Miller Fields. While University Recreation expected a turnout of 10,000 students, the possibility of inclement weather caused students to leave the line before the event began, following its 15-minute delay.
The drop in attendance disappointed many of the athletic clubs and vendors promoting themselves, making them feel as if they weren’t able to reach out to students in the way that they originally anticipated.
Melissa Goto, president of the swim club and a senior studying elementary education, echoed this sentiment, but remained positive about the possibility of still recruiting students to the club.
“I definitely think it’s going to keep some of the freshmen from coming,” Goto said. “Especially people who were on the fence about coming or not, but we’re still excited and walking around trying to get people to join our club.”
While the numbers of students in attendance may not have reached the estimated 10,000, the energy of RecFest remained as high as ever, according to students who waited in Carmichael Gymnasium for the opportunity to not only get involved, but to collect free NC State gear, including Molly Mueller, a sophomore studying political science.
“I like all the opportunities to pick up some free NC State gear,” Mueller said. “We walked around a lot, and saw some different clubs and a lot of different things.”
While the focus of many students might have been the free food and other items, University Recreation saw the event as an opportunity to reach out to students, especially in a time when Olympic fever flows through the student body.
Stephen Tucci, assistant director of facility and operations for University Recreation, spoke of how the Olympic spirit of community and closeness extended beyond just the sports.
“When you walk through our doors, we want you to feel like you’re a part of something that is bigger than you,” Tucci said. “We hope by providing this event alongside our programs and services that we bring you in and it builds off of that Olympic feel.”
Other groups used the current Olympic atmosphere and energy of RecFest to promote sports and clubs that otherwise don’t get much recognition, similar to how many of the Olympic games expose diverse and different athletic events to the world.
“When you see the Olympics, you want to get up and go do it,” said Wanose Getachew, a junior studying science, technology and society, alongside being a member of the Aikido Club. “The Olympics casts light to things that people don’t know a lot about, like Akido and martial arts, and it might cause students to want to come out to their local club here at State and join.”
The energy and spirit of RecFest extended throughout the night, as University Recreation encouraged students to get involved with an organization and to look beyond just the free food. Director of Recreation Eric Hawkes said he hoped that RecFest would get the word out on intramural sports, group fitness and have 10,000 students excited to use all of the opportunities that University Recreation has to offer.
“We really do have something for everyone here,” Hawkes said. “We want to showcase all of the great opportunities that students can come out and experience.”
Emily Gipson, a senior studying aerospace engineering, yells words of encouragement at Michael Crankshaw, a senior studying mechanical engineering, as he practiced rowing techniques during RecFest on Miller Fields Sunday. Gipson and Crankshaw were both representing the Rowing Club. When asked about his involvement with the club, Crankshaw responded, "It's one of those you get really into when you're a part of it.”
