Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Alumni Gymnasium
While the Alumni Gym is no longer the home of any of Hamilton’s varsity athletic teams, the facility, attached to Sage Rink, is used frequently for intramurals as well as club sports practices. The Gym’s typical open hours are 8:00a.m.-9:00p.m. on weekdays and 9:00a.m.-6:00p.m. on weekends and is a great place to play basketball when the field house is unavailable or not set up for basketball.
Baseball and Softball Fields
According to Associate Vice President for Facilities and Planning Steve Bellona, the new home fields for Hamilton’s baseball and softball fields should be completed by early September if all goes according to plan. The softball field is situated at the intersection of Loop and Campus Roads with the baseball field lying directly adjacent on the northeast side. The highlights of the new fields include, as explained by Bellona, “new batting cages, bullpens, dugouts for home and visiting teams, a press box for each ball field, new scoreboards, filming platforms and a sound installation for each field.” The surface of each field is an, “artificial, rubber inlay Field-Turf like that of Steuben Field,” according to Bellona. The turf surfaces will be integral in enabling the teams to play more, if not all, of their scheduled home games and will prevent field conditions from affecting the game. The new fields also eliminate the need for the reinstallation of each field’s fence each spring and the bleachers behind home plate at the baseball field should provide a better viewing experience than the bleachers beyond the left field fence at Royce Field, the baseball team’s former home. Gameplay will begin on the fields this spring and the fields’ proximity to each other will enable fans to watch both teams play at once.
Bristol Pool
Nestled between the Alumni Gym, Sage Rink, and Steuben Field, Bristol Pool is a half-Olympic length pool constructed in 1988. During the cold months of the winter sports season, one can enjoy the warmth of the pool area while witnessing both the Continental Men and Women swim and dive. While all students must swim four lengths of the pool to pass the swim test, for those who wish to continue to swim the pool is open from 7:00a.m.-9:00a.m. and 12:00a.m.-6:00p.m. (3:00p.m. during swim season) during the week and 2:30p.m.-4:30p.m. on the weekends.
Campus Road Athletic Fields
Located just north of The Wollcott House on Campus Road, the Campus Road Athletic Complex contains two, recently dedicated, turf fields: Goodfriend Field and Withiam Field. Goodfriend, the lower field, has an astroturf surface and is the game and practice field for the Hamilton Field Hockey team. Withiam Field hosted a few men’s lacrosse games this past spring and is a versatile and commonly used practice field for several Hamilton sports teams. Both fields have lights.
Charlean and Wayland Blood Fitness and Dance Center
The Blood Fitness Center is located on Martin’s Way, south of the Alumni Gym and its front faces Carnegie Residence Hall. The first floor of the fitness center contains the general weight room, general cardio room, as well as McKenna Lounge and dance studios. The first floor is open for use from 6:00 a.m.-10:30p.m. on weekdays and 9:00a.m.-10:30p.m. on the weekends. The first floor fitness facilities include squat racks, platforms, benches, barbells, dumbbells, and both strength and cardio machines. The second floor of the fitness center has the Harris Power Weight Room where varsity athletes train under the guidance of strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Van Alstyne. It is open from 7:00a.m.-7:00p.m. Monday-Friday. The fitness center also has a three story climbing wall that is student-run and open from Monday-Thursday from 4:00p.m.-9:00p.m., Friday from 4:00p.m.-7:00p.m., and Saturday-Sunday from 2:00p.m.-5p.m.
Cross Country Course
Newly renovated to accommodate the construction of the baseball and softball fields, the Hamilton College Cross Country Course traverses Tompkins Golf Course. The course has a 5 kilometer or 6 kilometer layout for the women’s races and an 8 kilometer layout for the men’s. Both teams compete in the fall season.
Gray Tennis Courts
Lying adjacent to the field house and the Squash Center, this collection of nine tennis courts is the home of the Hamilton men’s and women’s tennis teams. One can catch tennis matches here in both the fall and spring or test out the courts, which were last resurfaced in 2014, whenever the weather allows.
Little Squash Center
Host to Hamilton’s only Division I programs since 2006, the Little Squash Center has 10 regulation-size squash courts. The Little Squash Center is adjacent to the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House and, while hours are contingent on the squash teams’ schedules, is typically open to the public 8:00p.m.-9:00p.m. on weekdays and 9:00a.m.-6:00p.m. on weekends.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Practice Soccer Field
Constructed this past summer on the location of the previous softball field, northeast of Love Field along Griffin Road, the practice soccer fields will be available for use at the start of this school year and will be commonly used as a practice facility for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams.
Love Field
Love Field, which has a natural-grass surface, is the home field of the Hamilton men’s and women’s soccer teams. Surrounded by Pritchard Track and located right behind the Steuben Field bleachers, Love Field is in a great spot for fans to hop back and forth between football and soccer games or for students to kick a ball on while taking a study break.
Margaret Bundy Scott Field House
Scott Field House is the home of the men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball teams and contains Carl B. Wenigmann track which is home for the track and field teams during their indoor season. Additionally, Scott Field House can be turned into four tennis courts if the tennis team finds the outdoor courts unplayable. The Field House is connected to Sage Rink on its South side and the Little Squash Center on its north side and typical open hours are 8:00a.m.-9:00p.m. during the week and 9:00a.m.- 6:00p.m. on weekends but make sure to check the weekly schedule and ensure the field house is set up for the correct use.
Minor/Mason Field
Located on the Kirkland side of campus, adjacent to Kirkland Glen, are Minor and Mason Field. Minor Field is the home pitch of both the men’s and women’s rugby club teams while Mason Field is used as a practice field for the women’s soccer team. Both fields are frequently used for intramurals as well.
Pritchard Track
Pritchard Track encircles Love Field and hosts meets during the outdoor (spring) season of both the men’s and women’s track and field teams. For the non-competitive runner, running the the 400-meter track is an easy way to measure distance while running outdoors.
Russell Sage Rink
Russell Sage Rink, constructed in 1921, is the second-oldest college ice arena in the country and connects Scott Field House to the Emerson Lobby of the Alumni Gymnasium. While the seating capacity is officially 600, for big hockey games, such as the men’s season opener known as the Citrus Bowl, many more students pack the rink full and line the hallways creating a raucous and exciting environment. Those interested in free -skate should look out for emails regarding open hours for the rink and for the late night skate party known as Hamskate.
Steuben Field
Steuben Field is the home field for the Hamilton football and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. Steuben has an artificial turf surface that was installed in 2009 and is located quite centrally on campus between Love Field and the Bristol Pool. Join in the stands to cheer on the Continentals or, for those who live on the north side of Dunham or are working out in the fitness center, look out the window to catch a game!
