When I toured the Claremont Colleges nearly a year ago, I was astonished by Claremont McKenna College’s Roberts Pavilion. The building’s modern architecture, complete with large beige panels and red and yellow highlights, marks a huge deviation from CMC’s older-style dormitories. It immediately caught my eye.
Last Saturday, as a non-Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) student, I was finally able to gain access to Roberts for the first time since my tour last year — all it took was a series of difficult negotiations with a press pass.
So, you’re welcome, Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. I can’t guarantee that this article will get you into Roberts, but you may be able to experience the shiny facility through my words.
Now, as the first gym reviewed, Pomona College’s Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness (CARW) received a generously high rating, setting a lofty bar for the rest of Claremont’s gyms. I can confirm, however, that Roberts lived up to the high standards.
In terms of basic amenities, Roberts is essentially on par with the CARW. In addition to the traditional gym that it offers students to work out in, Roberts holds athletic offices for CMS sports teams, a huge basketball and volleyball court and other athletic facilities such as recreational and dance studios.
Students can also choose from a wide selection of courses hosted at Roberts — ones that aren’t found under CMC’s Physical Education Department — ranging from combat boxing to dance. So, you’ll rarely be bored at Roberts, even if you run out of ideas for workouts.
Given the Stags and Athenas’ success over the years, gym-goers find themselves surrounded by various trophy display cases. Unlike at the CARW, however, the impressive array of competitive trophies at Roberts are dispersed throughout different parts of the gym. They have a Hall of Fame wall to showcase some accolades, while individual trophies, like the National Championship in DIII Tennis, are housed inside the athletic offices.
As I entered the gym to work out, I saw that the machines were dispersed across two floors. Cardio machines were present on both, with free-weight racks on the first floor and most of the weight machines and the dumbbell rack on the second floor.
While I was working out, I noticed the CMS Invitational Swim meet happening right outside of the window — the treadmills offer a front-row view of the Axelrood Pool, where joggers and walkers alike can watch practices, games and meets. But do understand, there’s no promise you’ll catch divers backflipping off of the diving board every time.
My experience doing a full workout in Roberts was, for the most part, positive.
Its machines are slightly older than the CARW’s — not to Roberts’ fault, as the CARW is nearly brand new — and the dumbbell rack and benches were missing mirrors for examining posture and form while lifting. Still, the variety of equipment was great.
Having two different floors gave the illusion that the gym was a lot bigger than it truly was. I was also surprised to see a corner of the gym with a turf installation. With the turf, gym-goers can not only do stretches and workouts on the floor without pulling out yoga mats; they can also do agility drills with provided ladder and ropes.
Again, my own visit to Roberts occurred during non-peak hours, on an early Saturday afternoon. Given that many students from Harvey Mudd College and Scripps College, along with those at Claremont McKenna College, use the gym, I would imagine that it gets crowded during late afternoons and evenings.
My favorite part of the gym is the arena in the center of Roberts. It features two seating sections on each side of the court, a ‘second-floor’ terrace that sits above the seating sections, a standing room and even a VIP-esque box with glass windows on the second floor of the gym.
Contrary to what I said about the study spots at the CARW — that it would only be a last-minute ditch and not an alternative to the Honnold-Mudd Library — I am fully endorsing Roberts as a place to do school work. In fact, if I lived right next to Roberts, I would find myself a regular visitor to the second-floor lobby or balcony to do work.
Unlike the CARW, I won’t have to sit on a couch with a computer on my lap to do my work. Roberts has tables and chairs both inside and outside, with arguably one of the best views of the San Gabriel Valley on campus.
Of course, I’m not going to tell my friends that Roberts should be the study spot for my midterm. However, if I was a CMS athlete in January and I had just finished practice in the 48-degree Fahrenheit weather, I would certainly consider an hour of reading in Roberts.
Translated into numerical scores, my review is as follows:
Quality of the facility: 8.5/10. I was quite impressed by the layout and the architecture of the buildings, but the equipment itself was slightly older. It wasn’t unusable by any means and was in quite good condition, but there was certainly a contrast to the CARW’s equipment.
Amenities: 9/10. Roberts is quite similar to the CARW, offering free-of-cost classes of which students can take advantage. They also host many club and intramural practices and events there, so there’s never a slow day in the building.
Size: 10/10. The facilities and gym are incredibly spacious. The 2,200-seat arena for basketball and volleyball games is just one indicator of the size, although even its hallways make the gym feel huge.
Non-exercise-related value: 8.5/10. As mentioned above, there might even be some academic value in a study session at Roberts. And to top it all off, they also host intramural board game nights.
The CMS Roberts Pavilion overtakes Pomona’s CARW with an average score of 9 out of 10. Though I am not entirely sure if there will be another gym in Claremont to surpass this state-of-the-art facility, I’m excited to dig around with the hopes of being proven wrong.
Jun Kwon PO ’28 joined the sports desk hoping that he could write an article for when his favorite soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur, wins a trophy. He understands that he may not get to write about Tottenham’s trophy-winning season before he graduates, but is still desperately hoping for the day that will likely never come.
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