The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt Lin Equipment located in the new Adventure Center which is having its grand opening today.

The new UConn Adventure Center offers more than just camping equipment and mountain bikes. The cold little storefront across from the Information Desk at the Student Union is an enabler for adrenaline junkies across campus.

The center allows students to rent equipment for camping, snowshoeing, mountain biking and rock and ice climbing as well as less-intense activities such as in-line skating, Frisbee golf, bocce and horseshoes.

Outdoor Adventure Assistant John Huck said that the equipment available at the center is all brand-new and top of the line.

"We've put the best in name-brand products out there," Huck said, naming Sierra Designs tents and Trek mountain bikes, among other products.

Students can rent items for a day, weekend or full week and pay with cash, a check or Husky Bucks. Renters must reserve equipment and pay the total rental balance up to five days in advance. Cancellations made less than 48 hours before pick-up will result in students forfeiting fees paid for the equipment. The equipment must also be returned one hour before the center closes. The Adventure Center is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

But the Adventure Center doesn't want to be seen solely as a rent-all kind of venture. Students can use the center's resources, including computer programs and literature, to plan trips.

Adventure Center employee Lauren Wihbey, an 8th-semester biological sciences major, listed topography maps, national park programs, maps and trail guides as some of the information students can get from the center.

A brochure for the center describes it as "a place where any [Student Recreation Facility (SRF)] member can come and find the necessary resources to do numerous types of outdoor recreation activities."

The Adventure Center will also be sponsoring clinics to help students new to outdoors programs and trips for students looking to learn and test out new skills.

"We're here to help students try new things," Wihbey said.

Outdoor Adventure Assistant John Huck said the free clinics, aimed at beginners, would help people learn to use the equipment, learn the terminology and then test out their skills.

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