The opening of the refurbished Alexander Waterhouse Sports Performance Facility will offer University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student-athletes an enhanced training experience as they set the foundations for their pursuits with the Rainbow Wahine and Rainbow Warrior programs.
The UH Mānoa Athletics Department celebrated the dedication of the renovated facility in a ceremony held February 13 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Originally constructed in 1994, along with the arena in which it is housed, the Waterhouse facility underwent a $3.3 million renovation over the past year and now features 24 Samson Power Racks and a new nutrition center within the 10,000-square-foot training area available to the department’s 500 student-athletes representing 21 sports programs.
“(The student-athletes) deserve it. It’s been a long time coming and it’s going to be huge,” UH Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Tommy Heffernan said. “Outside of practice, they spend the most time with (the strength and conditioning staff). So that’s going to be huge as far as getting them ready in the offseason.”
The facility includes more than 22,000 pounds of free weights and each of the 24 power racks are equipped with various modes of resistance training. The racks allow a student-athlete to complete an entire workout within that section of the layout, creating more efficient use of time and available space and allowing greater availability for teams.
“The thing that stands out to me when we do a weight room is the strength and conditioning is for everybody, and it’s used more than any other facility in our athletics department,” Athletics Director Craig Angelos said. “This is the one that affects everybody.”
Kahu Kordell Kekoa presided over the blessing which included remarks by Heffernan, UH President David Lassner, Angelos, State Sen. Ron Kouchi and UH women’s volleyball player Kate Lang, representing the UH student athletes.
The facility is named after the late Alexander C. Waterhouse, who worked with then-UH football coach Bob Wagner to develop the vision for the weight room. Waterhouse, a lifelong supporter of UH Mānoa athletics, was the founder and chairman of the Nā Koa Football Booster Club and a member of the ʻAhahui Koa Ānuenue Board of Directors and was inducted into the UH Circle of Honor in 1997.
For more, visit the UH Mānoa athletics website.
Newly renovated and newly equipped Alexander C. Waterhouse Training Facility! A facility where championships will be made for years to come! #GoBows
— Hawaii Athletics (@HawaiiAthletics) February 13, 2024
