Members during group fitness Pilates class held in the RPAC. Credit: Courtesy of Krista Talstein
Pickleball, pilates, strength training — and how to duel with “laser swords” — will take new spots among the regular classes the Ohio State Sport, Fitness and Health Program will offer this spring semester.
The addition of these four new courses will bring the program’s course catalog to nearly 60 offerings for the 2026 spring semester, according to the program’s vision and mission statement. The new courses were requested by the students, Alexandra Butts, the program’s manager, said.
“We listened to our students, and these courses were all strongly recommended by them,” Butts said.
The new classes go by the names KNSFHP 1171.02 — Pickleball 2 — KNSFHP 1148.12 — Pilates 2 — KNSFHP 1148.13 — Strength Training 2 — and KNSFHP 1169.16, titled Way of the Saber, according to the program’s Instagram.
Butts said Way of the Saber opens up a new world of possibilities for Ohio State students — a course in which students can learn the hand-to-hand combat skills of laser sword battle.
“It definitely was one of the more interesting pitch meetings I’ve ever been a part of,” Butts said.
“It’s going to have influence from different backgrounds of weapon-based martial arts, along with your favorite movies and TV franchises,” Aaron Gall, instructor of the course, said in an Instagram video. “It’s going to have different forms that you’re going to learn and it’s going to have a lot of sparring — and I mean real type of saber sparring.”
Butts said the course was ultimately approved and is now enrolling students for the upcoming semester, and instructors across the SFHP hope to see students of all ages in their courses.
“We would love to see more first and second-year students in these classes,” Butts said. “It feels like we get a lot of seniors and they always express how they wish they would have taken them earlier in their time at Ohio State.”
Butts said there is a place at Ohio State for anyone to be able to participate in an activity that appeals to them. With over 1,400 student organizations, according to the student activities website, she said there is an abundance of opportunities to build a community around yourself on campus that the SFHP now hopes to foster in their course offerings.
“These classes open a door of possibilities for people wanting to pick up a new hobby,” Butts said. “Ohio State is so large that there is almost always a group for what you are interested in.”
The classes offer a multifaceted coursework that leads to the mental and physical growth of those who are in the classes, according to Elaine Torrie, an instructor in the program.
Torrie said in an email that fitness is not a cookie-cutter mold and the new courses aim to appeal to anyone who feels called to participate.
“It’s my job to make them approachable to students of all body types and backgrounds,” Torrie said.
Butts said the courses offered through SFHP count as elective credits. Courses such as these are offered to build a community of active, healthy, fit and enlightened individuals pursuing a higher quality of life, according to the mission statement for SFHP.
Tamara Rankin, a senior lecturer in the program, said in an email that the courses will be taught by instructors who truly care about the course material.
“You won’t regret it,” Rankin said. “You are getting incredible, highly skilled instructors with all of our courses. We love what we do and care about our students.”
Registration for the spring semester is now open — student’s course enrollment scheduling times were sent out via email and can also be found on BuckeyeLink.
