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My name is Andy, the Associate Director of Campus Life. I joined the College in 2017 as the Athletics Manager. Until today, much of my work still involves supporting students in their athletics and fitness pursuits, which is an umbrella under Campus Life. 

I am excited to share with you about our Athletics Centre. It comprises the Fitness Centre and the Multiple Purpose Hall, or the MPH in short. The Fitness Centre you see here typically provides members of our community access to various fitness equipment, such as cardio machines and strength training facilities. Despite a relatively small area, this is one of the best equipped gyms within the larger NUS campus.

These six paintings in the Fitness Centre are the works of Yanni Chia, from the Class of 2021. An artist who was also a Fitness Centre Student Associate. She drew these paintings over the summer of 2019. These paintings break the monotony of the sterile white walls, blend art [and] wellness into a space where people sometimes experience inertia and stigma to enter. Since the Fitness Centre sits directly adjacent to the arts spaces, showcasing student art pieces in the Fitness Centre would blend these two physical spaces and create connections between fitness and art, allowing people to find comfort in meeting others while paying attention to their bodies.

Not many know that the Fitness Centre offers peer coaching on personal fitness, the same way peer tutoring is offered to help with academics at the Writers’ Centre. Many of our Fitness Centre Student Associates are trained to provide fitness coaching, with some specialising in kickboxing and CrossFit, giving more options for students needing advice to get their fitness regime started.

Our MPH is home to multiple sports teams, such as the basketball, badminton, netball and volleyball teams. It is often filled with exciting sports activities in the evenings till midnight. During the day, we often have fun and low-entry barrier activities such as UBound classes or archery tag held in the MPH, allowing students to unwind from a semester. During the Inter-College Games season, the MPH hosts many sports competitions. Many of the College's large-scale events, such as the First Year Assembly and Academic Symposium, are held in the MPH. I remember at my earliest First Year Assembly, the MPH was transformed into a botanical garden filled with vibrant, beautiful flora, creating an atmosphere of joy and wonder.