One look inside the room while it was in use was all the evidence needed that a more spacious area was needed, and in a hurry. There was no efficient and safe way for the student/athletes to utilize the weight room and the fear was someone would get hurt due to the lack of space.

Enter the Covington Football Parents and concerned supporters of Covington Athletics.

Spearheaded by the Football Parents, plans began taking shape for a new facility to be built on the east side of the wrestling building. Numerous obstacles had to be hurdled, but the major hurdles were how the building would be funded, and who would build the building.

To fund the construction, the Football Parents decided to generate the funds needed through fundraisers and donations. This kept the burden off the taxpayers and the Covington schools.

The next problem of building the facility was solved by the donated labor of numerous supporters of Covington Athletics.

After the Football Parents had a solid plan, the next phase was to present the idea to the Covington School Board for approval. Without surprise, the idea was a slam dunk.

Once word got out of the plans for a new weight room, everything started to snowball. Numerous volunteers stepped forward throughout the process. All the while, donations and funds generated from the fundraisers poured in. The most profitable fundraiser was the Bucc Bash, which generated nearly $20,000.

Construction on the building began last August, and the outside was completed by the end of the fall. The inside of the building took more time, but construction was never halted because everything could be done without the threat of weather.

Finally, after nearly six months of work, the building was finally opened for use by the student/athletes, despite some minor details still needing to be completed.

The weight room will be utilized by every student who comes through Covington High School. The plans are to use it as part of the physical education curriculum as early as the next school year.

Already the building has been used by nearly all students participating in high school athletics. Also, many jr. high student/athletes have joined the high school kids to get in work outs as well.

Quotes concerning the weight room:
"It's amazing how all of this came together. We have a lot of good people in this town who donated a lot on time and effort for this to get done."
– Bobby Wiltshire, Volunteer

"We've been able to adjust our weight program now that we have this space. We can do twice as much in less time than we did before."
– Doug Swartz, Assistant Football Coach

"Every student will benefit from this building. It's going to become part of the physical education curriculum."
– Randy Earl, Superintendent

"It's awesome. We'll be the first senior class to use this."
– Logan Brown, Football and Wrestling

"It's going to make us more competitive because we'll become stronger, quicker, and more agile. It will also help in preventing those nagging ankle and knee injuries because we'll be more flexible."
– Stephanie Robinson, Head Volleyball Coach

"A year ago, I didn't know what I was getting into when I agreed to help with the fundraisers, but to see all of the people who were willing to give...and to see the end result; it's all worth it."
– Glen Hollopeter, Fundraiser Extraordinaire