THE BLUE Eagle Gym has easily one of the most iconic and recognizable facades in the Ateneo de Manila University. Its frontage, which is adorned with the massive king Blue Eagle and stands parallel to Katipunan Avenue, has become a lasting symbol of the University itself. Considering its storied history, the Blue Eagle Gym has certainly had an undeniable impact on many generations of Ateneans. 

As it celebrates its 70th year in 2019, the Blue Eagle Gym has long symbolized the tradition of excellence weaved into the history of Ateneo. The gym houses student-athletes from sports ranging from chess to volleyball, with the hours—both seen and unseen—spent by these Ateneans serving as a testament to the effort and hard work they put into their craft. 

Through the years

Initially known as the Loyola Center back when it was opened in 1949, the Blue Eagle Gym was only given its present name in the year 2000. But even with this long legacy, the gymnasium has more or less stayed the same amidst the changing times in the Ateneo campus. As the very first structure in the Loyola Heights campus, the Blue Eagle Gym witnessed the birth of the school around it—heralding the beginning of the new Ateneo. 

The gymnasium has seen little changes over the last seven decades. Originally an aircraft hangar before being transferred to the Ateneo de Manila University campus, the structure itself has kept the same classic look since its birth 1950s. Well ventilated and spacious, the Blue Eagle Gym was ahead of its time. For Director of the University Athletics Office Em Fernandez, its design remains a feat of engineering and architecture to this very day. 

“Para siyang LEGO, naka-interlock (It interlocks like LEGO),” Fernandez says regarding the interlocking mechanism of the steel roof, which provides immense stability to the structure. Moreover, the building layout allows for efficient airflow even as the areas surrounding the gym have become more densely populated with a number of buildings. 

Fernandez, an Atenean alumnus himself (BS MGT ‘93), recalls how the Blue Eagle Gym hosted many events, from concerts to basketball games over its long history. “It was fun to have games here, even if the acoustics were bad,” says Fernandez, as he remembers the many basketball games hosted by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) back in the 1990s.  

A home for Ateneans 

The historic gym has not only served as a mere home court for Ateneans: It has been a first-hand witness of the struggles that made Atenean athletes into champions. UAAP teams like volleyball, judo, table tennis, baseball, fencing, chess, track and field, and the Blue Babble Battalion all hold their practices in the different rooms of the Blue Eagle Gym. Non-UAAP varsity teams like the Ateneo Rowing Team and the Aikido Club have training and conditioning sessions in the gym as well. This has allowed the Blue Eagle Gym to mold many Ateneans in their formation as athletes, with the unseen hours spent within the gym’s four walls instilling a kind of work ethic that extends beyond sports.

More than just a practice arena, the Blue Eagle Gym has hosted numerous competitions. It has been the venue many of the indoor sports of the UAAP, namely basketball, chess, taekwondo, table tennis, judo, and volleyball. The recently established Premier Volleyball League, which includes current and former Atenean volleyball icons, have played matches in the historic gym as well. The Ateneo Basketball League, a recreational league open to Ateneans young and old, also holds numerous games in the gym during weekends. 

Even Ateneans who are non-athletes have memorable experiences inside the gym. For True Blue Ateneans, it is the home of the Ateneo Grade School Baccalaureate Mass, which usually features an iconic dancing and singing performance from the graduating batch. It is also the venue of the annual Cheer Rally, where all of Ateneo’s UAAP teams are sent off by the entire Loyola Schools freshman batch. Even if it serves as the hub for Ateneo sports, the Blue Eagle Gym is not exclusive to student-athletes. All Ateneans, past and present, have a place in the legacy of the Blue Eagle Gym.

What the future has in store

As another decade is set to begin, the Ateneo de Manila University will put its efforts into the modernization of the Blue Eagle Gym. Veering from the notion of the as a venue primarily used for sporting events, the administration aims to transform the structure into the center of University-wide events. 

The goal of the school, as Fernandez states, is to provide air conditioning in the structure, so as to make the gym more suitable for events such as graduations. The intent is to shift the graduation venue from the Ateneo High School Covered Courts, which has served as the site for many years, to the revamped Blue Eagle Gym.

Beyond the added convenience of holding the ceremonies in a place with better ventilation and lighting, the move would also be a fitting symbolic change because of the significance of the Blue Eagle Gym for Ateneans. The final stop for graduating Ateneans would be a building that, over the past 70 years, has become a historical and cultural symbol for the hard work and passion that comes with being an Atenean.

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