Athletics & Recreation
Colin Russell at the World Aquatics Championships in Montreal.
Playing indoor soccer under the Varsity Centre dome.
Yoga instruction at Hart House.
St. Michael's College rugby team celebrates victory.
From pure fun to international competition.
The University of Toronto has recreation and athletics programs suited to all levels of play and talents. Students practicing yoga stretch alongside future Olympians. With the multitude of options available, University of Toronto students participate in fitness classes, sports clubs and personal wellness programs and find ways to make recreation part of their U of T experience.
Recreational Facilities
U of T’s three campuses have recreational facilities to suit all types of activities. U of T St. George is home to the Athletic Centre, Varisty Centre and Hart House which hold three all-season running tracks as well as gymnasia, swimming pools, squash courts, a golf cage and a fencing salle. U of T Mississauga has a Recreation, Athletic and Wellness Centre (RAWC) with an indoor rowing house, dance studios, a circuit training room and outdoor tennis courts. At U of T Scarborough, all students have access to three playing fields, 11 tennis courts, an indoor golf studio, dance studios and weight training facilities. U of T Scarborough is also building a new athletic and aquatic centre designed to host the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Sports fans can also watch the Toronto Argonauts CFL football team which practices on the UTM campus.
Intramurals
U of T has the largest intramural sports program in Canada. This year an expected 10,000 students will compete in 76 divisions and 21 sports. Athletes at varying levels of ability play on teams tiered for fairness and gamesmanship. Across all three campuses, men and women play the classic intramural sports such as soccer, hockey and basketball, as well as modern sport leagues for ultimate frisbee and water polo.
Varsity Sports
U of T varsity teams have won every major Canadian university sporting championship over the past century. U of T has 44 men’s and women’s teams, showcasing over 900 student athletes who represent U of T locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. Varsity Blues swimmers have the longest running championship record of any swim team in Canada and several hundred members of Varsity Blues teams have qualified for Olympic Games and FISU (international university) Games, as well as Commonwealth and Pan Am Games.
Varsity-level athletes compete in 26 sports including rowing, football, wrestling and Nordic skiing. Among the teams to watch are the U of T Scarborough based Varsity baseball and rugby teams, the U of T Mississauga-based rowing team and U of T St. George swim teams. Olympian Colin Russell’s record-breaking performance led the Varsity Blues men’s swim team to their seventh consecutive Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship in 2010 and both he and fellow Olympian Zsofi Balazs of the women’s team are on Canada’s Pan Pacific roster.
The Varsity Blues teams are coached by leaders in the sport, including national team and Olympic coaches. Varsity Blues teams participate in two leagues: OUA (Ontario University Athletics) which oversees provincial university sports and CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport), the body that oversees national university sporting competition.
- – - – -
Links:
