The Sports Activity Department Works its Problems Out

The Fall 2023 semester kick-started but caught AUBG’s Sports Activities Department off-guard. Understaffed, with restricted working hours, and still waiting for equipment delivery, the department had to overcome students’ complaints and quickly get back in the game.

Working hours

During Orientation Week and the first week of classes, the gym had restricted working hours. It was open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., as opposed to last semester’s working hours from  9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“The first two weeks of the semester, I was covering the shift from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but we needed people to work from 6 to 10 p.m.,” Yasen Nedelchev, AUBG’s Sports Director, said. “That is why we had the restricted working hours.”

At present, the weekly working hours have been restored to the normal 9 a.m.-10 p.m. schedule after two students agreed to work in the evening.

“We turned to the students for help, and two of them signed a work-study contract with us to cover the evening duty from 6 to 10 p.m.,” Nedelchev said.

During the weekend, the gym works from 12 to 8 p.m., a schedule that “has been the same for many years,” as Nedelchev said.

Staff

“The fact that we were understaffed was an unexpected change, and we could not react so quickly to prevent the inconvenience with the schedule, but I think we did our best and managed as quickly as possible,” Nedelchev said.

Last semester, a fourth-year student worked at the gym. She graduated, and another person was hired in her place. At the advent of the Fall 2023 semester, the Sports Activities Department was temporarily left without two of its employees.

“Our colleague Zhenia, who has been the gym supervisor, is having a break to help her daughter with the baby’s care. The other colleague has some personal issues which made him take unpaid leave,” Nedelchev said.

The unexpected situation with the two employees turned out to be a challenge for the Sports Activities Department. As simple as the job was, it still did not attract many candidates. There was a need for a person to work during weekend and evening shifts.

“It is usually very difficult to find a sports coordinator. The job is simple but very responsible. A sports coordinator has to keep the order in the gym, keep track of what is imported and exported in the storage, maintain the outdoor sports facilities and have an eye on them, give equipment, and record who is taking it,” Nedelchev said.

In the past, three people worked as sports coordinators during the evening and weekend shifts. Today, only one person does the job on weekends, and two students stay in the evenings.

“We managed to hire a person for the weekend duties. However, it is often very difficult to find someone to work for four hours in the evening,” Nedelchev said. “We usually search for a person who graduated from Physical Education and had some experience working in sports organizations.”

For now, the Sports Director does not see the need to hire more people “as the colleague on unpaid leave is returning on November 1.”

Equipment

At the end of the Spring 2023 semester, students filled in a feedback form expressing the need for more equipment, especially discs and dumbbells. Up to this day, these students’ needs remain unmet.

“Most of the equipment the students asked for is already included in the budget for this year. However, it is a very long procedure. We will take discs and more weights as soon as possible since they are definitely not enough,” Nedelchev said. “In my view, the new equipment should arrive in November.”

Apart from receiving the new equipment, Nedelchev has plans to create a Crossfit center in the gym.

“I have researched the different types of Crossfit equipment as well as the prices,” he said. “I will also gather students’ opinions about that idea.”

For the Sports Director, students’ feedback matters. In addition to a form at the end of the academic year, he shared his willingness to receive suggestions throughout the semester.

“This form of communication is very beneficial for me. It makes it easier for me to get a picture of what is going on in the gym and what is absent because you [students] experience it first-hand and can give adequate feedback.”