Break a sweat: KPU’s Sport and Recreation offers ways to have fun and stay active

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The sound of sneakers on the hard gym floor, balls swooshing into nets, competitive shouting, and cheerful laughter gets increasingly louder as you walk down the hall of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Cedar building towards the gym. 

Throughout the week, the Surrey gymnasium and fitness centres across KPU campuses are bustling with students participating in volleyball, basketball, fitness classes, and many more ways to get active and take the stress off their hectic academic schedules. 

Sometimes described as “the department of fun,” Sport and Recreation is making an effort to create welcoming community spaces for students to let off steam and get active across campuses. 

The department has adopted a mandate of providing accessible, cost-effective programming to students. They are driven by the incentive of getting more students at KPU to participate in physical activity, and hope students will leave their facilities feeling better than when they came. 

“We offer Sport and Recreation as a hub for physical and social wellness to students and a place to congregate … that offers a home and a community for students to engage in physical activity,” says Jordan Chin, manager of Sport and Recreation. 

For many, Sport and Recreation has become a place where students can bring their friends to play a game of table tennis between classes, make new friends by joining an intramural league, or start a personal health journey with fitness classes. 

The department serves approximately 150 students daily across all KPU campuses and employs 29 students who play an integral role in keeping the department running smoothly by checking people in, cleaning, setting up, refereeing, and time-keeping the intramural sports. 

“I think that we are a pretty good hub of student life on campus and a lot of our student staff stay on with us for a number of years while they’re here at KPU. So we’re really lucky and happy to have them,” says Shalini Vanan, director of student wellness and health promotion at KPU. 

Vanan says it’s vital for Sport and Recreation to give student leaders an opportunity to be able to support the sport leagues as they ensure the games are moving forward. 

Intramurals are organized, scheduled sports played at a recreational level. The leagues have become popular for their fun and competitive atmosphere, including crowning an intramural champion at the end of the season. 

Students can sign up at the beginning of the semester for intramural basketball at $20 per semester, table tennis and badminton at $10 per semester, as well as volleyball and soccer, which are free and operate at set times throughout the term. 

“I usually stayed at home in my first three semesters, but when I started coming here, [now] I am always here … and I love it here,” says KPU business management student Karan Singh, who has taken part in many of the intramural leagues and drop-in sports.

The department has also made efforts for community and inclusion by hosting events to encourage groups who may not always feel comfortable in sport and fitness settings, including people with disabilities and those who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

A women’s soccer tournament took place in the Surrey gymnasium on Mar. 15 and was open to non-binary, two-spirit, transgendered and cis-gendered women. 

“Inclusion is really an important part to us,” Vanan says. “It’s really about inviting people into the space that might not naturally feel comfortable and providing them with opportunities and guidance.” 

There are many other ways students can get active through Sport and Recreation. Drop-in sport happens during “open gym” time, where students can access the sporting equipment. There are also fitness classes and centres where students can exercise, work with a personal trainer, or take a class. 

This semester kickboxing is being offered at the Surrey campus along with yoga variations at the Surrey and Richmond campuses. All KPU students, employees, and alumni have access to free membership to enter the fitness centres and take classes with a valid KPU ID card. 

One of their more unique offerings is esports. Tournaments run year-round and are open to both KPU students and employees. Past tournament games include Rocket League and Fortnite. 

The department is planning their next esport event in the summer, which will feature a large tournament where students can socialize, grab a slice of pizza, and hang-out while playing video games. 

“[It’s] a great way for passionate gamers to make new friends, create esports teams, as well as build and strengthen social connections, which is extremely important in these unprecedented times,” reads the Sport and Recreation website. 

Despite these initiatives, for students juggling school, work, and social lives, it can often be challenging to fit in proper physical activity.

A 2021 study published by the Public Health Agency of Canada found that just under 10 per cent of students met the recommended guidelines for movement behaviours out of 20,090 survey respondents. 

The guidelines set by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommend 150 minutes of “moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity” per week. Students are encouraged to take their “Get Active Questionnaire” to see if they are getting enough exercise. 

“Daily movement is attributed to [many] students’ success,” Chin says. “It helps manage stress [and] prevent conditions like type two diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and osteoporosis.” 

In addition to the health benefits, active students tend to perform better in the classroom, have increased academic success, higher brain function, and lower stress levels than students who do not get regular exercise. 

Vanan says coming to Sport and Recreation also supports the development of social skills and creates leadership opportunities for students that can translate into the classroom environment and future careers. 

“Sometimes we don’t always think about the soft skills that we learned, but they are really essential. And that’s why it’s really important to participate,” says Vanan. 

However, even with all the boasting benefits of getting regular activity, having excess time to attend a workout class or intramurals is a luxury not everyone can afford. In these cases, Vanan says it is important to remember to take a holistic approach to overall wellness. 

“It’s really great to see wellness now understood in a more holistic sense because there are so many aspects of it that need to be developed for you to feel well. And that can mean many different things for everybody,” says Vanan.

“It also doesn’t always have to be structured. If it’s easier for you to go for a quick run or a quick walk between classes, that’s okay.”

While prioritizing physical activity is important, Chin says it’s also important to remember that fitness and physical wellness are journeys that take time and won’t have overnight results. Set aside any small amount you are comfortable with to start prioritizing your overall health.

Singh says since he started participating in sports at KPU, he has been spending more time at the university and focusing more on his studies and future career. 

“[There] should be … more [sports] in KPU because due to a very hectic schedule, people are very stressed, and here people usually get stress-free by playing,” Singh says.

He wishes the university would expand the gymnasium to allow for more space and better quality of play. 

“Whenever they have to organize [sports], we have to divide the basketball court in half, [so] no sports games [are] played very properly. … It’s difficult in the one court.”

Chin says they are always looking for new ways to improve and are happy to listen to what students want to see from the department. 

“Talk to us, let us know everything that you want to see at KPU,” he says. “We really want to provide the services [students] want to see. The best way to do this is to introduce yourself, come say hi.” 

Students are encouraged to visit the Sport and Recreation website for more information and to see the latest announcements from the department. They can also drop by the front desk during open hours or email sportrec@kpu.ca to speak to a staff member who can help out with any questions regarding the programs. 

“If you’re ever wondering, or if you don’t feel like you’re a quote-unquote sport person or fitness person, you’d be surprised by what you can actually do,” Vanan says.

“If you’re unsure, we’re always here to help and answer questions and sort of guide you through that process as well.”