Recreational Sport Clubs

Interested in a sport that isn’t currently an organized UBCO Recreation activity? Create a student club and become sponsored by UBCO Recreation!

Guiding principles

UBCO Recreation strives to provide support, resources, and financial assistance, within set guidelines, to student clubs of UBCs Okanagan campus. Such clubs must be ratified by the University of British Columbia Student’s Union Okanagan (UBCSUO) and have a sport, recreation, or active focus (as determined by the Athletics & Recreation Department); interests could be highly competitive, instructional, recreational, and social—or any combination of these.

Sport Clubs differ significantly from formally sponsored UBCO Recreation activities in that club members are responsible to organize, manage, promote, and largely fund their own activities; the success of each recreational club is dependent on the dedicated efforts of its student leaders, UBCO advisors, and club members.

UBCO Recreation clubs are meant to provide inclusive environments for all interested parties. Participants shall not be excluded from participating in any club sponsored by UBCO Recreation, on the basis of their skill level, unless said participation poses a danger to themselves or other participants; furthermore, discrimination for any other reason (age, gender, races) is frowned upon and will be dealt with upon proposal for support.

Benefits of being a Recreational Sports Club

Space booking: Within reasonable requests, UBCO Recreation can assist with space bookings for club meetings or playing/practice time. Acquiring both classroom and gym space can be quite difficult and will be met to the best of UBCO Recreations’ ability.

Web representation: If you are an active, approved UBCO Recreation club, you are eligible to have contact information or a link to your club’s web page (if applicable) on the UBC Recreation website.

Event/operations assistance: If your sport, recreation, or activity club is hosting a tournament or event, UBC Recreation may provide some coaching to ensure your event is a success (e.g. helping with a tournament draw, lending available equipment, providing small prizes, etc.) Oftentimes, recreation is happy to partner with clubs on their events. If you’re running an event, be in touch as to how we might be able to assist you.

Assistance with clothing orders: The Athletics & Recreation department has a strong working relationship with Big Kahuna Sport Company and can provide assistance with designing, ordering, and acquiring club clothing.

Funding: If your club is planning an activity that requires a large sum of money, UBCO Recreation may be able to help. After a formal, written proposal, and submission of an accurate budget (both for the entire year and for the specific event in question), UBCO Recreation may match any funds raised by a club, excluding any contributions from the UBCSUO, up to $800, for each academic year.

Requirements for seeking sponsorship

• Your club must be a current and ratified club, in good standing, with the UBCSUO. Visit the UBCSUO website to check if your club already exists.
• If you cannot find what you are looking for, visit the UBSUO office at UNC 133 for information on starting a club or email the club’s organiser (organiser@ubcsuo.ca) to set up a meeting and discuss next steps.
• Two thirds of your club’s members must be current UBC Okanagan students (even though the UBCSUO standard is only half).
• Your club must have a sport, recreation, or activity focus.
• The determination of this component will be on an individual basis and determined by the UBC Recreation Coordinator and the Director of Athletics & Recreation.