With the weather getting colder and midterm exams piling up, students needed an outlet to decompress and stay active, FITGO provided exactly that. The bingo-inspired fitness and wellness challenge encouraged participants to stay active by filling out 5 squares in a row on the bingo card to win a prize. The 10-day event held from October 18-26 was very successful, with many participants completing the challenge and taking home a Campus Rec Bluetooth speaker.
“[FITGO] a fitness and wellness bingo-inspired challenge,” explained Gabi Eades, the Marketing and Outreach Program Assistant for Fitness and Wellness. “We have all of our classes and activities on the card – things like Cycle, Mind Body activities, and Group Exercise classes, plus simpler squares like following our socials or attending a wellness craft activity. We even have pop-up events like decorating shells or coloring in the Wellness Resource Center. It’s really not hard to win, and there’s something for everyone.”
FITGO began as a student-developed initiative three years ago and has since become one of Campus Rec’s signature events of the Fall semester. The challenge was designed to reach more students, providing them with a fun way to stay active during the fall semester. “It always brings our numbers back up,” said Gabi Eades. Each year, Group Ex instructors and PA’s improve on it, adding new classes, new prizes, and creative ideas.
Behind the scenes, FITGO takes months of planning. Eades explained that preliminary preparation began as early as July, when dates were selected and marketing plans set in motion. “The real planning doesn’t really start until September, during the first week of school,” she said. This is when Fitness and Wellness plan the spotlight and pop-up classes to add a fun twist to the regular schedule.
These themed spotlight and pop-up classes are often fan favorites. They include themes such as Britney Spears vs. Tate McRae Cycle or Taylor Swift Pilates. The spotlight classes are important to plan early, so Fitness and Wellness leadership can communicate with their 50-plus instructors.
The event continues to be successful each year; last year, FITGO saw a participation jump of nearly 400 people compared to the standard classes from the week before. “[The event] really does help,” Eades said. “It gets people in the door, gets them to try new things, and keeps them engaged through midterms.”
This year, FITGO implemented a Halloween-inspired design for the cards and added new circuit classes to change things up for returning participants. While the structure of the challenge stays the same, Fitness and Wellness staff continue to look for ways to improve it.
FITGO isn’t the only challenge on campus; keep an eye out for the Balance Challenge this spring! Participate, stay active, and earn prizes while keeping your mind and body in balance. Fitness and Wellness at CR continues to provide engaging initiatives that keep the URI population moving, and FITGO 2025 was yet another successful example of their commitment to promoting healthy, active lifestyles across campus.
By John Almy
Class of 2026
Journalism Major