Athletic facility reservation just got a lot easier, as both the Lied Recreation Center and Beyer Hall now offer online reservations for squash and racquetball courts.

Using the courts is still free for students, faculty and staff. However, the process of getting a court is now simpler. To get a court, a person needs to log on to www.recservices.com, click on the Rec Services link and type in his or her own user ID and password.

Iowa State is one of the first universities to have online court reservations.

“There are other universities doing this, but not very many. It’s becoming more popular, though,” said Doug Arrowsmith, coordinator for facility operations at Lied.

The two ISU gyms decided to put the reservation process online to serve patrons, Arrowsmith said.

Courts are generally available during the mornings and afternoons, but they can become quite full around noon and in the evenings, he said.

Weekends are quiet now, but usage of the courts will pick up as the weather gets colder, he said.

By reserving courts online, players can see when spots are available without picking up their phones or going all the way to the gyms to make reservations.

The response from people who have used the new system has been positive, Arrowsmith said.

“They seem to really like it. It gives them more control over what they ultimately get,” he said.

The staff response has also been positive, Arrowsmith said.

By doing reservations online rather than going through a staff member, there is less chance for confusion.

“It simplifies things for our staff,” he said.

The Web site, which went live on Sept. 23, was first used internally for a couple weeks to work out complications.

Since being open to the public, 191 people have reserved courts, said Jeffrey Sorensen, system analyst for Academic Information Technologies, who worked on the Web site this summer and continues to help manage it.

Individuals can reserve up to three courts at a time, but only one per day, Sorensen said. By making reservations online, people can go online immediately after using up one of their three time slots and reserve a new one.

Individuals can still call or stop in at the gyms, but staff members will encourage them to reserve a court online, Arrowsmith said.

Eventually, all reservations will be done online, he said.

Intramurals and equipment reservations for outdoor activities such as canoeing may soon be online as well.