The SFU Recreation Department hosted its 9th annual RECognition Night last week to celebrate and honour the department’s student staff with a classy evening at the Diamond Alumni Centre at SFU Burnaby.

About a hundred SFU Recreation current and former student staff members attended the event, where they enjoyed dinner, speeches from the SFU Recreation director and coordinators, peer-nominated and graduating student awards, and an alumni segment.

The evening was emceed by Shawna Lum, event organizer and recreation coordinator of special projects, as well as Marc Pope, the department director.

When Pope took the podium, he spoke to the department’s growth over the past year: “SFU Rec is a lot more than a gym, a pool, or a basketball league,” Pope said, “[It’s] a place of fun, a place of belonging and a place of endless support, inspiration and innovation.”

Along the lines of support, inspiration and innovation, this year’s RECognition Night featured the inaugural peer-nominated awards. The awards included Rookie of the Year, All Star, and Most Inspirational from the department’s four main areas.

SFU Recreation also celebrated its experienced student staff with the Quaich awards segment, during which the department honoured its top graduating students who have made a lasting mark in multiple areas of SFU Recreation. Coordinators for the fitness, aquatics and recreation sports areas lauded the recipients for their long-standing service to SFU Rec, as well as their exceptional leadership both at work in the SFU Rec community and in their own endeavours.

Joanna Skucas, the winner of the Most Inspirational award from the aquatics area (as well as the recipient of Quaich award), shared some words of advice: “Exercise really helps with stress. . . Sometimes when you have a midterm and you’re stressed, a workout can really help!”

Jason Lu, a graduating student in the BBA and BPK minor program and a Quaich recipient, recounted his experience as a shy first-year student who was exploring the Lorne Davies Complex and eventually mustered the courage “to poke his head” into the fitness centre. Since becoming involved four years ago, he has worked as a weight room supervisor and strength and conditioning trainer, among many other roles.

The event ended around 8:45 p.m., with draw prizes for SFU Recreation swag as well as a Visa gift card. The evening concluded with a slideshow of pictures featuring some highlights from SFU Recreation’s events and campaigns during the past year, as well as some funny pictures of the student staff.