Laurier prides itself on offering a diverse range of both Athletics and Recreation opportunities to the Golden Hawk student body. With so many options to choose from, it can be confusing to differentiate between the two areas. Allow this to be your quick guide to understanding the distinction between Laurier Athletics and Recreation and the ways in which you can get involved and enhance your Laurier experience through fitness, competition, and wellness.
So, what is Recreation?
Laurier Recreation offers a variety of programs and club opportunities hosted at the Athletic Complex (AC) including intramurals, fitness, and competitive clubs. Each of these offerings provide great options for both the competitively or recreationally inclined.
These offerings include:
Intramurals- Badminton
- Basketball
- Co-rec dodgeball
- Soccer
- Frisbee
- Volleyball
To participate in intramurals, you can sign up with a group of your friends or meet new friends by registering on your own and being matched with a team.
Fitness- Fitness centre
- Group Exercise
- Dance (recreational)
- Personal training
- Rock climbing (currently unavailable)
- Gymnasium (open hours currently unavailable)
- Squash courts (currently unavailable)
Aquatics- Aquafit
- Certification programs
- Swim lessons
- Pool lane swimming (open for online booking)
Competitive clubs (20 in total) including:- Badminton
- Ball hockey
- Boxing
- Competitive dance
- Cricket
- Equestrian
- Field hockey
- Flag football (women’s)
- Lacrosse (men’s)
- Tennis
- And much more!
Visit our Recreation club directory page to see the full list of competitive club opportunities!
How is Athletics different from Recreation?
Athletics strictly focuses on Laurier’s varsity athletic teams who compete and travel both provincially and nationally.
The Laurier Waterloo campus has 550 varsity athletes on 22 varsity teams including baseball, basketball, curling, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, rugby, swimming, cheerleading and more.
Cheer on our Golden Hawks as they compete in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference – Laurier has won 15 national and 76 provincial championships in the last 10 years alone.
Varsity team facilities for home games/meets
Our varsity teams are housed by many state-of-the-art facilities. The following locations are where you can find our teams during game seasons:
- Men's and women's hockey: Sun Life Financial Arena, Waterloo Recreation Complex
- Men's and women's basketball: Athletic Complex Gymnasium
- Men's football: Knight-Newbrough Field, University Stadium
- Women's lacrosse: Knight-Newbrough Field, University Stadium
- Men's and women's rugby: Knight-Newbrough Field, University Stadium
- Men's and women's soccer: Knight-Newbrough Field, University Stadium
- Swimming: Athletic Complex Pool
- Men's baseball: Bechtel Park
Both Athletics and Recreation are a staple in the Golden Hawk experience, providing students and staff with opportunities to maintain and enhance their physical and mental wellness, and connect with one another through lifelong friendships and memories.
For more information about how to get involved, please visit
laurierathletics.com.
