The new year comes with new changes, especially in UFV’s campus recreation program.
In an effort to get more students involved in campus recreation, the athletics department is offering all fitness classes for free this semester.
“We felt that it was something that we could waive in order to get students to participate,” Cheryl Van Nes, UFV’s program manager of campus recreation and wellness said.
The changes come partially as a result of UFV’s new Experiential Learning and Wellness fee, which was implemented last semester and is based on the number of credits a student is enrolled in. (The average full-time student pays $42 per term). The fee covers initiatives including UFV’s Career Centre and Peer Resource and Leadership Centre, as well as campus recreation and wellness.
With the increased funding to the campus recreation program, Van Nes filled the newly created position of program manager of campus recreation and wellness after working as the athletics department’s operations coordinator.
“Campus recreation and wellness is part of the new fee that the students are paying,” she explained. “My position is funded through that new fee, so I’m trying to get students engaged in activities that are part of wellness, as well as student engagement, just to be able to give students opportunities to be able to participate in these activities that are eventually going to be beneficial to their studies and outside of the classroom.”
Van Nes’ position is the first that solely focuses on campus recreation, something that was previously organized by Student Life, and one of her goals in her new position is to garner interest surrounding the campus recreation program and draw new students in. Waiving fees for the fitness classes was a way to do so.
“Before, it was $2 a class so it wasn’t that expensive,” she said. “It’s funny because as soon as you say it’s free people are listening.”
However, although the programming is currently free, Van Nes noted that there is a possibility there will be a drop-in fee implemented again in the future.
“Eventually there’s probably going to be a fee at some point so that we can improve the amount of classes that we have,” she said. “A lot of what I do is based off of what other universities are doing. Some universities charge their students, some universities provide it for free. But those that provide it for free to students have a higher fee for the recreation; they have a rec fee specifically.”
Rather than creating a campus recreation fee, the drop-in fee would allow students to pay for the specific services they are using, while also providing the program with additional funding to improve recreation opportunities.
“It all comes down to it’s a brand new program and we’re trying to figure out what it is that we’re trying to provide students,” Van Nes said. “We want to provide quality programming and that might require fees. It might be the fact that there are some classes that are free and some classes that are at a charge, depending on what it is.”
The changes to the new campus and recreation program also include the revitalization of the former gun range on UFV’s CEP campus in Chilliwack. Formerly used as training space for RCMP, approval for a new indoor firing range left the building vacant and in the hands of UFV’s athletic department.
“The space has been released to recreation,” Van Nes said. “As the program manager, I oversee all of that so I have free use to do whatever I want in that place within reason.”
Van Nes’ plans for the space include two classes this semester, but she hopes to add more classes and events in the near future.
“This is the beginning of so much more, the possibilities are endless because we’re starting from nothing,” she said. “I’m super open to working with a handful of students and creating some sort of event, be it a ball hockey tournament or a basketball tournament.”
Currently, there are nine classes offered this semester but Van Nes hopes that demand will grow, requiring her to add more.
“I would like for that space to be totally maxed out and I’m forced to create more classes,” she said. “Right now I’m at the bare minimum of what I can offer without knowing how many people are coming in because I do have to pay these instructors, but if there’s demand, I’ll bring in more.”
Van Nes is hoping to get students involved in planning what is done with the CEP space, as well as on UFV’s Abbotsford campus.
“There is opportunity for students to work with me to create more opportunity for students,” she said. “They would be working with me to come up with programming ideas to get students engaged in physical activity, recreation, personal wellness type things, just getting students up and moving and physically active outside of the classroom.”
The positions are volunteer and applicable for co-curricular record credit, and could lead to work study positions in the future.
“At this point, it’s volunteer with the opportunity that we will have work study positions hopefully in September,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to build your portfolio.”
“It’s something that I’ve been really passionate about to do for a number of years,” Van Nes continued. “It’s 2017 and it’s a new beginning for what opportunities there are for students to get engaged outside of the classroom in a healthy, active lifestyle.”
Dates and times of available classes, as well as registration forms and more information are available at ufvcascades.ca/rec.
