Course will open to the community in spring

Construction is something that many Southeast Missouri State University students have become accustomed to. Recently, the university built New Hall, reopened Academic Hall after two years of remodeling and a new traffic light has been placed on the corner of Broadway and Henderson.

Now the Department of Recreation Services is adding to the list of the new additions by building a high ropes course by the intramural field.

According to the assistant director of Recreation Services Eric Redinger, the course has been an idea the staff has had for more than five years, but without financial funds and with the departure of the director of Recreation Services last year, it was put on hold.

With Mike Buck hired as the new director on July 29 and the budget available, the course was approved by the division vice president, Financial Services, along with other organizations and is nearly complete.

"Approval [goes] all the way up the ladder," Buck said.

According to Buck, Recreation Services is fully paying for the course, with a budget of $148,000.

The course is a five pole static course, meaning that it has eight different elements, whether it's a cargo net or a ladder.

When a climber reaches the top, they have the option to choose to go left, right or straight. When they have decided, they unclip their cable and clip to the corresponding cable of the obstacle, depending on which obstacle they have chosen.

Climbers make their way through the maze and complete it after they have finished all eight elements or only the obstacles they wanted.

One element of the course is called dynamic. The dynamic element is when one person is belayed, which means one person is tied to another person by a rope. One obstacle in that category is called the giant's ladder. It is suspended in the air, and the climbers have to work together to climb the wooden planks that act as the steps.

The last element of the course consists of a 40-foot tower. After reaching the top, climbers are forced to choose between ziplining down 280 feet or a swing that drops 40 feet.

"[If you want a] fun, adrenaline, fear factor, free fall, scare-the-crap-out-of-you ride, the swing has it all," associate professor of recreation, Thomas Holman said.

Redinger along with other Recreation Services staff and recreation science professors underwent training for four days in November with the Experiential Systems Incorporated staff, and the training was concluded with a test in order to get certification to be a facilitator.

Holman said that the course had a variety of challenges and called it an "experiential learning arena."

Holman said that he is excited that the course will be available and close by because he plans to incorporate the course into his teaching and plans to offer certification for the course.

Redinger also added that Jeremy McBroom, director of Office of Military and Veterans Services, expressed interest in using the course for the military students.

The course will be available to students and members of the community. The course has to be scheduled and rented out by groups, and there will be a fee. The cost of it has not yet been determined, but Redinger said that the price will go up with the number of individuals involved. He said that the price is more expensive when there is a bigger party because more staff will have to be present.

"It's something we can do for team building, for on-campus groups," Redinger said.

The weather will determine when the course is open, but the grand opening will take place in the spring.