Written by Stina Chang

Bow Gym has been a historic landmark at Gunn since it was built. According to Physical Education (P.E.) teacher Don Briggs, the walls and floors of Bow Gym were the same when he attended Gunn. Although most of Bow Gym is the same as before, small changes were made to accommodate the larger student population. According to Briggs, within the past two years, Gunn expanded the wrestling room by adding the neighboring dance room next to it.

In 2012, Gunn introduced the Titan Gym. In addition to its modern appearance, Titan Gym is large enough to fit the entire student body.

According to staff, when P.E teachers teach in the Titan Gym they don’t have to worry about the roof interfering with student activities. “Titan Gym has a much higher clearance,” P.E. teacher Steve Ames said.

With all new additional facilities, P.E teachers don’t have space concerns anymore. Every period there are usually four classes, so usage of the gym is limited. “Before when we had the Titan Gym only one class could use the gym,” Ames said. “Now we can have two classes using the gyms.” Adding extra space also allows more P.E. classes to stay indoors during the rain. “It’s pretty hard to have a P.E. class [outside] when it’s [winter time].” Assistant Principal James Lubbe said.

The  track field has also been at Gunn for a very long time. “The basic layout is the same,” Briggs said. Like the Bow Gym, changes needed to be made to accommodate the growing Gunn student body. According to Briggs, the original field in the middle of the track was a grass field. “[Football team] used to practice out where the lacrosse field exists,” Briggs said. “We try to save the field for the games.”

Having two gyms also benefits the sports teams. Every season Gunn has 17 junior varsity and varsity teams. Basketball, wrestling, cheer and dance all practice at the same time, and gym time used to be hard to schedule. “Having the flexibility of the two gyms, it makes it much more convenient,” Lubbe said.

According to Briggs, before Gunn built advanced facilities such as the weight room and dance room, athletes trained with free weights and ran on the track and the hills behind the school. Today, the Gunn football team practices in the weight room with treadmills, selector weights, ellipticals and more. “The equipment is both safer and much nicer,” Briggs said.   

Bow Gym is still used in the same way as it was many years ago. Over the past fifty years, it has held numerous dances, rallies, sporting events and P.E. classes.