Fitness fanatics at Quinnipiac University now have another venue where they can pump some iron.

The York Hill Fitness Center opened on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in a temporary room on the new York Hill campus.

With 520 beds open on the York Hill campus for the beginning of the Fall semester, there are many students on the new campus who do not have a fitness center. But on last Tuesday, a makeshift area with cardio equipment and a strength circuit opened for all Quinnipiac students on the York Hill campus.

Tamarack Reilly, assistant athletic director for fitness and wellness, put it simply.

“It’s not pretty, but it’s nice the kids have something,” she said.

When the plans for York Hill were first put on paper, they anticipated the Student Center being open for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, but as some of the other construction on campus encountered problems, that date was pushed back.

“When we knew the student center wouldn’t be ready until next year, I just figured we wouldn’t have a fitness center,” Reilly said. “Then I got a phone call that said, ‘Hey, I think I have a place we could put equipment up there.’

“It’s a room that facilities will use and take over for a few other things. It’s on the back side of the parking garage but it fits all our cardio and strength circuit,” Reilly said.

Reilly said that the new fitness center will be open to all Quinnipiac students, but getting there might be an issue for those on the Mount Carmel campus.

“It’s not going to very convenient for the kids that don’t live in York Hill only because there’s no parking,” Reilly said. “All of our equipment down here [on the Mount Carmel campus] is new, so do you want to use brand new treadmills here or do you want to take the shuttle up to York Hill?”

When asked about the new York Hill fitness center, 20-year-old broadcast journalism major Miles McQuiggan responded, “I didn’t even know there was one.”

Students on the York Hill campus, though, seem excited.

“I was at the Involvement Fair and I had two little signs about it and people were stopping like, ‘Oh my God, finally!’ ‘We’ve been waiting!’ ‘We heard!'” Reilly said.

Jeremy Schilling, a 21-year-old broadcast journalism major who is living on the York Hill campus, echoed those sentiments.

“I will definitely use it,” Schilling said. “How often depends on my schedule. If they put some weights down there too, that would increase my chances.”

“I hope it has state of the art equipment,” Schilling said. “Make it the best gym out there.”

With Quinnipiac expanding with new students and new campuses, Reilly is excited at the prospect of keeping the students fit.

“Our campus is just growing and growing and having another fitness center will just be awesome,” Reilly said.