08:15:00 Use of Gymnasium

Purpose

To establish guidelines and procedures for using the gymnasium.

Policy

1. Priority for use of Walters State gymnasium shall be given to instructional and other college-scheduled activities.
    
2. Once the instructional schedule is established and confirmed and all other routine college scheduled activities are approved and recorded at the beginning of each semester, any additional activities must be authorized by submitting a Facilities Usage Application and receiving required approval.
    
3. During weekdays, Monday through Friday, when a full schedule of college classes are in session, the gymnasium will be open for employees and students to use from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. when the facility is not being used for a scheduled activity. During these hours of free play, only Walters State students, employees and invited guests should be allowed in the gym. Any invited guests should be cleared through a coach, a member of the physical education staff, or vice president for Student Services and director of Athletics.
    
4. During weekdays, the gymnasium should be locked by the college physical education/athletic staff or campus police at 4:30 p.m. In the event there is a scheduled activity in the gym which extends beyond 4:30 p.m., the staff member responsible for the activity should turn off all lights and lock the gym before leaving (example: if men’s basketball practice extends beyond 4:30 p.m., the coach should see that the gym is locked and lights are turned off after practice or officially turn the responsibility of the gym over to another authorized staff member).
    
5. During the weekday evening hours (after 4:30 p.m. or the completion of a scheduled activity) and during weekends, the gymnasium should remained locked with lights out except for times when an approved scheduled activity is being held with a college staff member or otherwise approved individual present.
    
6. Appropriate documentation ensuring that the activity has been approved through the college’s designated procedures shall be made available to the campus police.
    
7. Unscheduled or unapproved use of the gym is not permitted during weekday evening hours (after 4:30 p.m.) or on weekends.
    

Special Note: Employees are discouraged from requesting approval for the scheduling of the gym for a group or organized team (example: recreation league basketball team) even when the group or team is willing to pay a rental fee (normally $1,000 or more). Approval of such a request could possibly lead to the college receiving increasing numbers of requests from similar groups or teams, all of which could not be accommodated. Because of obvious management considerations, approval of such a request is highly unlikely.

Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the president. 07/89; 08/04; 09/06; 01/15; 05/16