Recreation Fit for the Modern Era–Fusion Recreation Management Software

Historically, UMass Boston’s recreation services have been managed through manual, time-intensive processes. Many dayto- day operations of the campus gym and their various classes were conducted using homemade Excel spreadsheets. However, with the implementation of Fusion Recreation Management Software, UMass Boston’s recreation management systems have been brought to a whole new level.

Fusion is a two-part system according to Andrew Castagna, manager of Recreational Programming and Member Services.

The member-facing side is an online portal where students, faculty, and staff can select their yearly memberships, register for programs and events, and view events happening in all of UMass Boston’s recreation facilities, all accessible by UMass Boston’s single sign-on system.

The other side of Fusion is internal but will provide benefits to recreation facilities users as well. With Fusion, users can now tap their BeaconCard to enter facilities, and recreation staff can easily and accurately keep track of equipment Fusion Recreation Management Software checkout and facility reservations. The recreation center’s payment system has also been overhauled to reflect a more secure payment environment.

A new point of sale system has been added for in-person sales made with credit cards, as opposed to the old method of needing to pay by check, and an online component allows users to pay for fitness and certification programs as well as merchandise right from their computers or smartphones.

Like many Information Technology (IT) projects, the implementation of Fusion was a team effort across many areas at UMass Boston. Lisa Moriarty, a Project Manager from the IT department, highlighted how Fusion allows recreation staff to track how many people are using the facilities. Mary Ryan, a Data Integration Specialist under the PMO office, aided in the IT department’s collaboration, along with Human Resources, student data custodians, the UMass Boston treasurer’s office, and the BeaconCard office which assisted in the integration of the “tap-in” system.

John Pagliarulo, the Associate Athletics Director for Recreation, spoke to the collaboration he saw between his department, IT, and all the others. “I can’t say enough about how professional and helpful Lisa Moriarty was,” said Pagliarulo. “We couldn’t have done it without her, that’s for sure.”

As of the time of this writing, UMass Boston’s recreation facilities haven’t been open for nearly a year and a half due to COVID-19, but Fusion’s impact has already been felt. The recreation center held a virtual walking event for faculty and staff along with two virtual 5Ks for the university community, and as Pagliarulo put it, “Fusion was critical in terms of getting people to register for those programs.”

Fusion will also be playing a role in recreation’s reopening in Fall 2021. Its touchless ordering capabilities will help with social distancing, and a workout time slot reservation component will enforce maximum capacity limits should COVID-19 restrictions be put into place again.

When asked about his collaboration with IT, Pagliarulo said, “I think it was an extremely tremendous and positive experience.”