by Eric Rasmussen

The PEC ”is the finest
facility of its type in the
country," claims the direc-
tor, John Pfitsch, “I know of
no mum—purpose facility like
it at any other small cola
lege.”

But Pfitsch laments the
fact that less than 50% of the
Grinnell student body uses
the PEG. “There are 235 men
and no women in varsity
sports, about 100 students in
PE. classes, and I‘d say
maybe only about 100 others
come regularly to the PEC on
their own.

”That’s just a little over
500 people using this facilie
ty," he continues, “There
could be three times as many
kids using the PEG."

Equipment manager Ron
Cooper points out “many
more faculty members use
the PEC, on an individual
basis, than students,"

Pfitsch speculates that
“students would rather
spend their off-study time
drinking, doing drugs, and
partying. They’re more in-
terested in social rather than
physical recreation.”

“We have a marvelous
country club here," he adds,
“and athletics provides an
excellent catharsis for relief
trom academic pressures,"

Situated in the northeast
corner of campus, the PEG
houses two gymnasiums
(each containing two basket-
ball courts, two tennis courts,
two volleyball courts, and
eight badminton courts), a
smaller gym for dance or
gymnastics, four handball
courts, a 220-yard track, a

Women volleyball players work-out

P E C
wrestling and self-defense
room, a weight room, two
saunas, a golf driving range,
and a 25 yards/meters
cruciform swimming pool,

Pfitsch, who was chairman
of the committee which
helped to design the PEC
nearly ten years ago, is ex-
tremely pleased with the way
the PEG has evolved.

He points out that the
”island gym," which was ad-
ded as an afterthought, in the
middle of the tieldhouse,
helps to make the PEC a true
multi-purpose facility.

“The isolation of the north
and south gyms means that
the tennis team can be prac-
ticing in one gym, while the
volleyball team is in the
other, the gymnastics team is
in the island gym, people are
plylng racquetball, and the

in lhe Nonh Gym on the, _ >

track team is running around
the track. "

The Tartan surface makes
the field house usable for
nearly all sports. ”It's a very
functional surface,” Pfitsch
sates, ”It's good for
everyminginot perfect—it’s
a little iast for tennis and a
little slow for track, but
nobody will say it’s bad."

Pfitsch feels “the swiming
pool is one of the best col-
legiate pools in the country.”
The pool has two six-lane
channels; one is the usual in-
tercollegiate length of 25
yards, and the other meets
the Olympic standard of 2.5_
meters

The major di iculty with
the PEC' in its eight year ex-
istance has been the

emergence of women’s
(pleuie tom the page)

 

