SEQUIM — The staff of the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center have had some explaining to do this week.
“People’s faces are horrified when they see that the equipment has been moved,” said Susan Sorensen, chairwoman of the SARC board.
SARC employees direct startled gym-goers down the hall to the room they call the outback — with a lowercase “o,” to avoid legal problems with the steakhouse of the same name.
Much of the center’s weight training equipment is now installed in the outback, a 5,100-square-foot addition to the center.
A grand opening party will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at SARC, 610 N. Fifth Ave..
The public is invited to tour the center, ask questions and talk with a representative from Exercise Specialties Inc., the equipment supplier, about how to use the new gear.
“From 1:15 to about 2:15, people can come and look around and see how wonderful it is,” said Sorensen.
Earlier this year, the SARC board spent about $128,000 on exercise equipment for the addition and for a circuit training room in its original building.
When SARC users walk into the outback, they breathe, “Wow, this is awesome,” Sorensen said.