University of Houston-Campus Recreation & Wellness Center on Aug. 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

UH held its fall 2026 Rec Fest at the Recreation & Wellness Center on Aug. 31. 

Rec Fest is an event hosted by the University’s Campus Recreation team and aims to show the perks of rec-life for all UH students, on and off campus.

“Rec Fest is basically showcasing the department of Campus Recreation,” said Assistant Director of Marketing Communications Vykie Avila. “We have services, facilities and programs and we want to showcase some of those programs that we offer throughout each semester to the students.” 

During Rec Fest, Campus Recreation hosts games, challenges and a sports organization fair for all students to enjoy. The staff also prepares prizes and merchandise for those that attend and participate.

“We have food, t-shirts, raffles, a human claw machine, a robo surfer, logrolling and lots of different fun things for students to engage with,” said Interim Director of Campus Recreation Rachel O’Mara.

In order to secure games and prizes, Campus Recreation has to start their side of Rec Fest eight to 12 months in advance. The team tries to engage more students every year and do something different each year to make the event more fun, Avila said.

“I want everybody to come in,” Avila said. “I feel like sometimes the students don’t understand that when they come here and they use this as a stress-free environment, they’re learning how to stay healthy and have a better lifestyle.” 

During the event, the Recreation Center was filled with a large number of people attending specifically for the Rec Fest and its activities.

“This is way more active than I would ever think it would be,” said pre-business freshman Mark Wiley. “I go to the gym and I see these people working out, but I’ve never seen these many people show up at once. I see people playing basketball, everyone doing other sports, but I’ve never seen this amount of people so interested in sports.”

Wiley believes that more people should be interested in sports as it acts as a good pastime and helps stay healthy mentally, stay in a shape and keeps the heart going. 

The event cannot be a success without the help from everybody involved in Campus Recreation, Avila said.

“I think that it takes all of us, because I feel like two people are better than one person, seven people are better than one person,” Avila said. “It’s a collaboration between all the different program areas that we have here.”

Rec Fest is not the only event that Campus Recreation holds, as they are actively hosting more events throughout the semester, including a field day at Gertner Field, a 9/11 step challenge and a variety of outdoor experiences.

Even though it just took place, Avila and Campus Recreation are already planning the next Rec Fest.

“After this, we’ll start meeting again,” Avila said. “We have a committee, set with all the different program areas, there’s somebody representing somebody from each program area that we have. Then we’ll start planning.”

The Rec Fest gave students a warm welcome and hope to continue making a difference in the lives of those who attend UH.

“I became the Assistant Director of Marketing once we opened up this building, and I feel like it’s so much fun to see what students get out of Campus Recreation,” Avila said. “Then for them to come back and say ‘I love this opportunity, it gave me this’. That sense of belonging, that camaraderie with their peers, it’s neat to watch.”