University of Toronto Athletics

Located at the heart of Canada's largest and most exciting and cosmopolitan city, U of T offers a vast range of options for a rewarding and dynamic experience. Students can choose from the kaleidoscope of cultural, athletic and recreational activities that take place every day in Toronto including concerts, film and stage presentations, art exhibits and sporting events, or participate in a host of on-campus athletic and recreational activities.

Every year, students are attracted to the University of Toronto because of our reputation for combining academic excellence with outstanding opportunities for participation in all aspects of campus life, including strong and diverse programs in athletics and active participation in student-run radio stations and newspapers.

ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

Athletics has a very important place at the University of Toronto - - all students have an automatic membership in our state of the art Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, Varsity Centre and Athletic Centre. At every level of competition, both intercollegiate and intramural, or simply for recreation, all students are encouraged to make sports and fitness a daily part of their lives. It's also a great way to meet people.

U of T boasts modern athletic facilities, programs and professional staff on all three campuses.

The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport is a multi-storey sport and exercise facility housing a 2,000-seat, internationally-rated field house for basketball, volleyball and other court sports, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning centre, fitness studio, sport medicine clinic and research and teaching laboratories. 

Varsity Centre, which includes a 5,000-seat stadium, 400m eight-lane track, state-of-the-art artificial turf field with a dome for winter use, and 4,000-seat arena – is a sport and recreation facility like no other. Home to international, intercollegiate and intramural competitions throughout the year, Varsity Centre also hosts recreational and instructional classes, children’s programs and high performance athlete training. During the winter months, the field continues to be a hive of activity under the dome, where students and members can make use of the driving range and a range of drop-in recreational activities.

With seven gymnasia, three pools (including the only Olympic-sized pool in downtown Toronto), a strength and conditioning centre, indoor track, dance studio, cardio machines, tennis and squash courts and steam rooms, there really is something for everybody at the Athletic Centre.

Our Varsity Blues teams, which have won more championships than any other university in the country, compete with other university teams in badminton, baseball, basketball, cross country running, curling, fast pitch, fencing, field hockey, field lacrosse, figure skating, football, golf, ice hockey, mountain biking, rowing, rugby, nordic skiing, soccer, squash, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Times and places to try out for teams are posted on the Varsity Blues website and listed in many of the student handbooks. It’s also easy to cheer on your favourite Varsity Blues teams as U of T students are admitted free of charge to all regular season events in all Varsity sports.

There is also an extensive program of individual and team competition between colleges and faculties in more than 20 sports and activities. Teams at several levels are organized within individual college and faculty intramural athletic associations through the recreation program which also features such sports clubs as badminton, ballroom dancing, curling, karate and kendo. Also offered are instruction programs (aquatics, dance and sport), and a fitness program with highly popular exercise classes, fitness assessments, personal training, strength programs and educational seminars.

The Mississauga and Scarborough campuses also offer a wide variety of athletic facilities and opportunities. Facilities include gymnasiums, dance studios, squash courts, exercise and weight-training rooms, billiard lounges, tennis courts, jogging trails and playing fields. In addition to recreational programs and fitness classes, students can compete in interfaculty, intramural and Varsity sports.