Campus Recreation > Return to The Ray: Reopening Information

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Welcome Back to the Ray

​The Ray reopened its doors on July 17 for the first time in almost four months. ​We have modified our hours, facility spaces, and procedures to comply with state and local guidelines in serving you. Here are some major considerations for members to know as we reopen; check for more details in the sections below: 

  • Fitness Floor Construction: UPDATE - The second floor is fully open with a new look and layout. Equipment is nicely spaced and masks are worn to meet Chicago health guidelines. It might be time to reactive your membership and check it out. 
  • Pool access, court use, and selected personal fitness spaces require reservations.
  • Limited Access: Access is limited to those ages 16 and above who are current community and alumni members or DePaul student, faculty or staff members.​
  • COVID-19 Waiver: We ask members to be ready to answer COVID-19 related health questions before entry as well as be ready to sign the COVID Assumption of Risk form and take a new picture at the Membership desk at your first visit. For those members with children ages 16 and 17, you MUST either accompany your minor on their first visit to sign this form OR sign the attachment and email it to us/send it with them on their first visit. They will not be allowed to enter without it.

Check below for more details and all reopening information; if you have other questions, email campusrecreation@depaul.edu. ​​​

Friday, July 17 - Sunday, September 6

Monday - Thursday: 6 am - 8 pm
Friday: 6 am - 7 pm
Saturday / Sunday: 9 am - 3 pm

Unfortunately we are only able to serve current members over the age of 16 and DePaul students, faculty, and staff at this time. We hope to welcome back children and guests soon!

Friday, July 17 - Sunday, September 6

Monday - Friday: 6 am - 6:45 pm
Saturday / Sunday: 9 am - 2:45 pm

Pool lanes must be reserved for use online or through the Ray App prior to entering the pool. Lane reservations are available on the hour for a 45-minute time block to allow for cleaning between use.  Reservations open 48 hours in advance. There is a limit of one person per lane.  Please bring your own towel.

Due to restrictions in capacity and operations, including paused services, no access for children under the age of 16, and reservation requirements for some areas, membership activation and billing for paid memberships may be deferred to later dates. Details for each membership type are listed below.

Community and Alumni Memberships (including adult dependents): Billing will resume August 3. For those who reactivate their membership immediately, the period July 17 - August 1 will be covered by credits from the March closure. For those who wish to delay reactivation, you may do so at any time, but the March credits will only apply if reactivation occurs by December 31, 2020. We will not be selling new community and alumni memberships at this time. 

Faculty/Staff Memberships: Due to the fact that faculty/staff may be working remotely, payroll deduction and automatic use of the facility will not resume until the beginning of the fall quarter pay period, September 11. Faculty/staff who wish to use the Ray July 17 - September 10 may pay a $7 daily fee per visit or purchase a Summer Membership at the faculty/staff discounted rate of $50 for the rest of the summer. Summer memberships will not be prorated.

Student Memberships: All current full-time undergraduate students have a summer membership at The Ray and are able to access the facility beginning July 17. DePaul students who were enrolled in the spring or graduated in the spring, but are not currently enrolled as well as current part-time undergraduate, graduate, and Law School students may pay a $7 daily fee per visit or purchase a Summer Membership at the student discounted rate of $25 for the rest of the summer. Summer memberships will not be prorated. Students who graduated in the spring or summer and wish to continue their memberships with a recent alumni membership may do so. 

1st Floor

  • Lockers: Daily lockers and towels are not provided; bring your own towel and either purchase a rental locker or bring a bag with personal items. You will be able to bring one bag to activity areas.
  • Atrium: Tables and chairs are still available for lounge / study space.
  • Racquetball Courts:  Limit 2 people per court.
    • Must be reserved prior to use online or through Ray App. 
    • Table Tennis: May be used in reserved racquetball court. Ask Ray staff for assistance moving table into court. 
  • Pool: Limit of 1 person per lane; lap swimming/workout only; not for recreational use.
    • Lanes must be reserved prior to use online or through Ray App. 
    • All lane reservations begin at the top of each hour and last 45 minutes.
    • We request patrons take soap showers prior to pool use.

2nd Floor:

  • Workout Equipment / First Come First Served
    • Most of our strength stations and cardio equipment pieces are available for drop-in use. If a piece is not clean and ready, there will be a "Wait" sign posted on it. 
    • Our strength area has a new look and layout, so we hope you enjoy your return!
    • All of our equipment is at least 6 feet apart and patrons are required to wear facial coverings.
    • Patrons and staff must clean equipment before and after use. 

3rd Floor:

  • Court 1: Cardio Equipment / First Come First Served
    • Rowers / Cycles / Recumbent Bikes 
  • Court 2 - 4: Recreational Sport Courts / Reservations Needed for each 1/2 Court*
    • Limit 2 people per 1/2 court
    • Court 2A / 3A / 3B / 4B: Basketball
    • Court 2B: Badminton
    • Court 4A: Pickleball
    • Court 3 (A & B): Volleyball (may play 1 v. 1 OR 2 v. 2)
  • Court 4 Alcove / First Come First Served
    • Speed Bag / Heavy Bag
  • Studio D: Workout Equipment / Reservations Needed*
    • Nine Personal Fitness Squares available; you may pull your choice of the following equipment:
      • Dumbbells (2.5 - 15 lbs) / Stability Balls / Kettlebells / Body Pump Bars
      • TRX (1 square) / Step Risers / Boxes
  • * Must be reserved prior to use online or through Ray App.

4th Floor:

  • Track / First Come First Served
    • Limit 6 runners / walkers at one time
    • Keep physical distancing space of 6 feet
  • Track North and South Infields / Reservations Needed*
    • North Infield: 2 Personal Fitness Stations with access to functional training equipment including: FitBench (dumbbells / kettle bells / Tire Flip)
    • South Infield: 1 Personal Fitness Station with access to LifeFitness Synergy cable piece / plyo boxes / med balls
  • * Must be reserved prior to use online or through Ray App.

We expect that patrons will adhere to the following in assisting us to ensure everyone's safety:

  • Review the health screening questions prior to coming in to the facility. If you can answer "yes" to any of the questions or if you have been to any states requiring quarantine by Chicago guidelines, you will not be allowed to use The Ray at this time.
  • Use a facial covering at all times unless swimming in the pool.
  • Bring your own towel and keep bags and towels with you at all times while in the facility.
  • Check ahead of time to see which areas require reservations so that we adhere to capacity guidelines and there is minimal movement throughout the facility.
  • Be patient in use of equipment; adhere to 6 foot physical distancing at all times.
  • Wipe down all equipment and spaces before and after use.
  • Even though you wipe down equipment, flip the "Clean" sign on cardio equipment to "Sanitize Me" so that our staff know to deep clean that piece of equipment in between uses.
  • Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently.
  • Water fountains will not be available for use although bottle fillers will be; please bring a water bottle with you or you may purchase one at the Pro Shop. 
  • Respond to staff directives immediately. 
  • Understand that all restrictions are put in place to keep patrons and staff as safe as possible.
  • If you feel that you cannot follow these guidelines, you may want to pause or defer your membership until a time that works better for you. 

 

Daily locker and towel service will NOT be available until further notice. Patrons are asked to bring their own towels and may bring a small bag into activity areas to keep near their workout location. 

Rental Lockers: Members who choose to pause their membership may continue to keep their lockers through the pause by paying the monthly locker rental fee or they may cancel their locker rental and remove their items from their locker. When they reactivate their membership, if that locker is still available, they may re-rent that particular locker, but we cannot guarantee locker placement.

Lockers ARE currently available for rent in three sizes.  Check our Locker and Towel Services page for rental locker sizes and rates.

  • Facility policies adhere to CDC, state, and city guidelines.
  • Entering procedures that include:
    • Health screening questions administered to all staff and patrons each visit.
    • Contactless check-in; holding card or phone scan-card to window for scanning.
    • Safety window barrier between entrance counter staff and patrons.
  • Facial covering requirements at all times, including during exercise (exception: pool lap swim).
  • Physical distancing of exercise equipment and activity and patron adherence to distancing guidelines in all areas.
  • Lowered capacity of activity areas.
  • Reservation of high-use, in-demand spaces to include staff cleaning of space and equipment between each user.
  • Increased hand sanitizer and gym-wipe stations. 
  • Scheduled cleaning and sanitizing of high-use, high-touch areas such as locker rooms, showers, pool gutters, workout and recreational equipment and spaces, and check-out items. 
  • Use any of our cardiovascular equipment on the second and third floor
    • Second floor: Treadmills / Stairmasters / ellipticals / Arc trainer
    • Third floor: Includes rowing machines, cycles, recumbent bikes, etc.
  • Use the strength equipment on the second floor.
    • Including, among other things, selectorized (pin) equipment, free weights, dumbbells, benches, Olympic platforms, half-racks, Smith Machines, HOIST, cable-cross, Free Motion pieces.
  • Use the stretching mats available on the second and third floors.
  • Use the speed bag or heavy bag in the Court 4 alcove (third floor)
  • Run on the track  (fourth floor)

Reservation instructions are located in another section on this page.

1st Floor:

  • Racquetball Courts:  Limit 2 people per court. 
    • Please note: If reserving for two people, only one needs to make the reservation. Both individuals MUST be Ray members or DePaul students, faculty or staff. No guests or children under age 16 are allowed in the Ray at this time.
  • Table Tennis: May be used in reserved racquetball court. Ask Ray staff for assistance moving table into court. 
  • Pool: Limit of 1 person per lane; lap swimming/workout only; not for recreational use.
    • Lanes must be reserved prior to use online or through Ray App. 
    • All lane reservations begin at the top of each hour and last 45 minutes.
    • We request patrons take soap showers prior to pool use.

2nd Floor:

  • Nothing on the second floor requires a reservation. 

3rd Floor:

  • Courts 2 - 4: Recreational sport courts; six half-court spaces available for reservation
    • Please note: Limit 2 people per 1/2 court
      If reserving for two people, only one needs to make the reservation. Both individuals MUST be Ray members or DePaul students, faculty or staff. No guests or children under age 16 are allowed in the Ray at this time.
    • Court 2A / 3A / 3B / 4B: Basketball (only shooting and skills allowed; no competitive games)
    • Court 2B: Badminton
    • Court 4A: Pickleball
    • Court 3 (A & B): Volleyball (may play 1 v. 1 OR 2 v. 2)
  • Studio D: Nine personal fitness spaces available for reservation
    • You may pull your choice of the following equipment:
      • Dumbbells (2.5 - 15 lbs) / Stability Balls / Kettlebells / Body Pump Bars
      • TRX (1 square) / Step Risers / Boxes / Mats

4th Floor:

  • Track North and South Infields / Three personal fitness spaces available for reservation
    • North Infield: 2 Personal Fitness Stations with access to functional training equipment including: FitBench (dumbbells / kettle bells / Tire Flip)
    • South Infield: 1 Personal Fitness Station with access to LifeFitness Synergy cable piece / plyo boxes / med balls

Reservations for pool access, court space (including recreational sports like racquetball, pickleball, volleyball, badminton, and basketball skills - no pickup games at this time) and personal fitness spaces may be made online or on the Ray App (instructions below):

  • Reservations may be made no earlier than 48 hours in advance. 
  • If you come to The Ray without a reservation and a space in available, you may reserve it on the spot (ask a Ray staff member for help).
  • No reservations will be taken over the phone. 

Using the Online System:

  1. Sign in to our Online System.  If you need to create credentials please do so by clicking HERE.
  2. Once you are logged in click “Bookings"
  3. Choose the type of space you are looking to reserve
  4. In the small box that pops up choose the date and duration for your reservation. Reservations may be made no earlier than 48 hours in advance. 
  5. Using the calendar view choose the time and space that works best for you.  After clicking that time choose “Continue" in the box that appears
  6. Choose the name of the member who is booking the space and select the “host" by clicking a circle by that name on the right hand column.
  7. Click “Continue to Cart"
  8. A “Thank You" message will appear to confirm the booking

Note:  You can view your reservations by visiting the “My Account" section on the home page and choosing “Account Summary".  Scroll down to the “Current Reservations" section to view bookings.  To cancel click specific reservations and then choose “Cancel Schedule"

Using the App:

  1. Download The Ray App
  2. Log in using your credentials or use the “do not have a login" button to create them
  3. Choose “Bookings" on the bottom of the screen
  4. Choose the day and time you are looking for and click “Next". Reservations may be made no earlier than 48 hours in advance. 
  5. Select the type of space you are looking to reserve
  6. Select the specific location
  7. Select the specific resource or select “All" to see the availability for all resources in that location
  8. Select the duration of reservation
  9. Click “Search"
  10. Choose the time slot that you would like to reserve and click “book" on the next page
  11. Choose the name of the member who is booking the space and click “next"
  12. A “Thank You" message will appear to confirm the booking.  You will also be able to add this booking to your calendar

Note: You can view your reservation on the home page of the app by choosing the different days from the calendar list towards the top of the screen.  To cancel, click the reservation in this calendar view and choose “cancel"

 

Selected recreational equipment is available for check out at the front desk. We ask that you return it to the front desk so that it may be sanitized between uses. Do not leave equipment upstairs on the courts or laying around in the facility. 

  • Badminton rackets
  • Racquetball rackets
  • Foosball and Shuffleboard sets
  • Pickleball Sets
  • Table Tennis sets
  • Basketballs / soccer balls / volleyballs
  • Outdoor equipment: Footballs, flags, and soccer balls
We are still offering modified versions of the following:
  • Personal training (virtual and outdoor)
  • Virtual group fitness
  • Virtual private yoga and Pilates 
  • Virtual children's martial arts through IMPACT DOJO

The following programs and services are paused for the moment, but we hope to gradually be able to add them back into our offerings:

  • Massage services
  • Children's programs including swim, ballet, martial arts, basketball and babysitting
  • In-person group fitness classes and specialty programs
  • Pickup basketball
  • Daily towel and locker services

Lost and Found Service

  • Valuable items that are found will be wiped down and kept in a Ziploc  bag in a safe for 1 week from found date.
  • Non-valuables will be kept for 24 hours
  • Please contact us at 773-325-4560 during open hours to inquire about lost items

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Information is updated daily so as we learn it, we will post it as quickly as possible. Questions may be sent to campusrecreation@depaul.edu. Thank you for your patience. We hope to see you soon. 

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