Your student fees contribute to paying for many amenities on campus. Still, many students are unaware of all that is available to them and where their fees are going.
Full-time undergraduate and graduate students pay a$240.14 Athletics and Recreation (A&R) fee every year as of April 1, 2022. According to UBC A&R’s 2021/22 budget, A&R gets most of its revenue from student fees. Its expenses support facilities, varsity programs, recreation and salaries in descending order.
While you cannot opt out of the A&R fee, undergraduate students can get refunded if their sessional credit load drops below 18 credits on or before the withdrawal date. In this case, the A&R fee is adjusted based on credit load.
Since this fee is mandatory, what can you do as a student to get your money’s worth?
Take advantage of the student gym membership
Students get discounted rates at the ARC and BirdCoop fitness centres. The three current membership options are $40 per term for fitness centre access, $80 per term for group fitness classes and $120 per term for both group fitness classes and fitness centre access.
UBC Recreation’s Free Week — a week when you can try out a variety of fitness programs and activities the first week of each semester — can be a way to see if a full membership is right for you.
Attend free drop-in sports
UBC Rec also offers a variety of drop-in sports that all UBC students can attend for free with a valid UBC card at the SRC. This includes regular sessions of basketball, badminton, table tennis, volleyball and more.
Watch a Thunderbirds game
All 2022/23 season conference games are free for students. Festivals like Courtside and Winter Classic are only $5 for students.
Swim and skate for free
With a valid UBC card, students can access the Aquatic Centre for free. This includes a leisure pool, recreation pool, competition pool, steam room and hot tub. It also hosts activities like aquafit and hydro board classes.
As a student, you can sign up for discounts on drop-in programming at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Programs include figure skating, stick and puck, or hockey as well as skate rentals and hockey and skate lessons.
Join an Intramural league or event
There are many intramural leagues that span the winter terms including a cross volleyball league, dodgeball league and an inner tube water polo league. You can join as a group or as a free agent.
As a student, you are also eligible to participate in intramural events like Day of the LongBoat and Storm the Wall.
Participation in intramural leagues and events often costs an additional $10-20 per student.
Get discounts at the Tennis Centre
Students have access to student drills sessions which are a dedicated program specifically for UBC students to improve their tennis game and discounted court bookings during student hours.
Participate in Move UBC events
Move UBC is a university-wide initiative aimed at increasing physical activity within the UBC community. For Move UBC month in February, UBC Rec held a yoga rave event and a lunch and lift workshop. There are also physical activity peer coaching sessions hosted by the Move U Crew.