Fanshawe Wellness and Fitness Centre open for business

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: KERRA SEAY (BIKES); JESSICA EDEN (ROCK WALL)
Fanshawe opens its Wellness and Fitness Centre featuring brand new equipment, classes and tools for all students and staff.

Fanshawe welcomed its students into the new Wellness and Fitness centre with a soft launch on May 8.

The three-story centre, located in J building, has been under construction for roughly two years and will have its grand opening at the beginning of the 2017 fall term.

“The development and attention paid to the student Wellness Centre reflects the importance that is placed on student wellness. It will be a great space for students to workout in and intentionally focus on their wellness,” Robert Kitchen, senior manager of Student Academic Success Services, said.

The centre is currently open for students enrolled in the summer, however without the full range of services that will be offered in September.

Included in the centre is a rock climbing wall, group exercise classes, gym orientations, equipment demos, individual fitness programs, personal training consultants, wellness programming for stress relief, InBody assessment, lockers and full access to the Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre swimming pool.

The Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic and the pharmacy will also relocate to the centre and a Booster Juice bar is expected to open during the summer.

Heather Cummings, executive director of Student Success had positive thoughts about the new centre and its opening.

“I will challenge any student to say that they can’t find something in this Wellness [and Fitness] Centre and the wellness programming at Fanshawe, that doesn’t meet their needs or peak their interests in some way, even if it’s in a program that they’ve never tried before or a service they’ve never tried,” Cummings said.

Some of the benefits of the school’s centre include the membership price being included in the student fees, the location which allows students to stay on campus to workout and the new machines that are Wi-Fi enabled and allow students to access their Netflix accounts or use preprogrammed routes through scenic destinations.

Special attention has also been paid towards accessibility, diversity and different physical abilities by including students into the planning of the facility and also installing gender neutral and private changing rooms.

“Tell us if you are not seeing a need that will help you access the space and we can maybe find a solution for that, but give us the chance to do that,” Cummings said.

Besides the physical fitness aspect, the centre also allows students to focus on overall wellness, which is indicated by the name of the building.

“We know that students who are healthy and well do better, they’re more successful, they get better grades, they’re able to manage stressors of academic life and ultimately students that can manage those stressors, we retain them. They stay for the next semesters, they stay on for graduation,” Cummings said.

The centre’s summer hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Summer memberships for Fanshawe students that are not taking summer courses is roughly $54 including tax and $30 per month for Fanshawe staff. Other pricing may apply.

The cost for summer students is included with their tuition. For more information, please visit fanshawec.ca and search Student Wellness and Fitness Centre.