Outdoor Pursuits can offer stress relief to students through a spike in adrenaline. Throughout the year, students are invited to join the staff on trips to go skydiving, hang gliding or skiing in the mountains.
A trip to Tampa that was scheduled for Oct. 1 was cancelled when there were zero students signed up. Outdoor Pursuits had advertised the rock climbing trip to Vertical Ventures Climbing Gym on their website and needed a minimum of seven students to commit. A similar trip to Vertical Ventures was scheduled this past August with a better outcome. A total of eight people signed up to attend.
There are more rock climbing opportunities coming up this semester. A trip to Vertical Ventures is scheduled to take place on October 22 for $25, and another to Miami Extreme Indoor Climbing Gym on Nov. 19 for $30.
The price pays for the trip only. A 15-passenger van provided by FGCU will take students to their destinations. No side trips are permitted, and sacked lunches are encouraged.
“The student staff and I sit and plan all these different and fun trips,” Grant Fleetwood, coordinator of Outdoor Pursuits, said. “We make sure there is something for everyone. We plan for the minimum amount of people to sign up.”
“I’ve heard about them doing the sky diving pursuit. I would love to do that!” said Seana Chaisson, a junior majoring in engineering.
Many trips are also during the weekends, as well as Thanksgiving and winter breaks.
The Thanksgiving weekend trip, Tour de Florida, is targeted towards non-Florida-resident students who can’t go home for the holidays, or simply want to stay on campus for this six-day trip around Florida. Students who go on this trip will visit Jacksonville, Ocala, Key Largo, take surfing lessons on Deerfield Beach, and take a trolley around the Everglades. The price for this trip is $200.
The winter break trip, which is a five-day ski trip in Sugar Mountain, North Carolina, has three spots open as of Monday. The cost to attend this trip is $400. This price includes transportation, reservations for the hotel, and the amenities that will be used. Students only need to take extra money for food.
“Why didn’t I know about this? That’s so cool!” said sophomore Bridget Duque, majoring in athletic training. Not only does Outdoor Pursuits take trips, but they also offer a variety of certifications for students to get. These include Open Water Diver Certifications , Advanced Water Diver Certifications , as well as many others.
Outdoor Pursuits will also hold Zombie Apocalypse Survival Training clinic on October 28 and 29, which will be free for students. Outdoor Pursuits also coordinates the Eagle Challenge Course, a ropes course exclusively for FGCU’s Registered Student Organizations. Any RSO interested in the Eagle Challenge Course is welcome to take their group out and engage in teambuilding activities through the outdoors, free of charge with an Eagle ID.
Students interested in signing up for any of the upcoming events can register online at rec.fgcu.edu/ outdoors. Here, they will be able to reserve and pay for their spots for the many trips and clinics Oudoor Pursuits has to offer.