Backgrounder: Grand opening of UVic’s Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities

CARSA’s 190,000 square feet is the equivalent of three football fields. Its key features include:

• new gymnasium with more than 2,000 seats;
• 16-metre Peninsula Co-op Climbing Centre and bouldering area;
• activity rooms for yoga, TRX and spin classes;
• state-of-the-art fitness and weight-training space;
• multi-purpose field house;
• squash and racquetball courts;
• rowing centre;
• sports injury clinic; and
• for CanAssist, new offices, labs and a machine shop.

CanAssist at UVic is dedicated to helping people with disabilities improve their quality of life, with a focus on promoting independence and inclusion. It is unique to North America in being a university organization that provides exceptional student learning opportunities in the context of developing and delivering customized technologies, programs and services for people living with disabilities.

In addition, Vikes Athletics and Recreation and CanAssist are exploring partnership opportunities for inclusive active healthy living and performance sport programming, with support from key faculty members, researchers and community organizations interested in inclusion in recreation and sport.

Once CARSA is complete, UVic’s School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education will move into the vacated space in the McKinnon Building, uniting all its faculty and students under one roof. The close proximity to CARSA provides academic partnership and community engagement opportunities such as a kinesiology student implementing a fitness-training program, physical education students teaching elementary school children or a recreation-studies student working with a client on the climbing wall.

UVic Vikes Athletics and Recreation:
•UVic’s athletics program is one of the most successful in Canada, developing national team athletes and future Olympians and Paralympians. UVic Vikes continue to rank in the top five for number of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) team championships won.
•Vikes teams have won 109 Canada West Conference Banners and their athletes have won 299 individual medals at CIS championships.
•In addition to 74 Canadian university national championships, 398 Vikes competitors have been named CIS All-Canadians, and 171 competed at the Olympic or Paralympic Games. Vikes athletics has produced an athletic heritage that inspires the efforts of today’s student athletes.
•Vikes Recreation at UVic offers a number of community programming opportunities and facility rental access to numerous local groups, and currently provides facilities for an estimated 11,200 intramural athletes as well as numerous clubs and special program participants. There are currently an estimated 372,000 user-card swipes per year at the existing fitness and weight centre.

Registration for recreational programming in CARSA is now open. Some of the new programs being offered this spring and summer include a new group fitness and spin schedule, more barre and TRX classes and outdoor yoga.

Visit www.vikesrec.ca for program and registration information.