UCalgary Active Living, the Olympic Oval and Dinos Games: Student Guide

Every UCalgary student has an Active Living membership built into their general fees. For 2026-27 that's the Campus Recreation and Athletics fee of $116.96 a term. Your Unicard is the membership card. It gets you into the main campus Fitness Centre, the Aquatic Centre, the Racquet Centre, the climbing and bouldering walls, the gyms and public skating at the Olympic Oval. From September 1, 2026, it also covers the fitness centres at Foothills and Spy Hill. Full-time students can claim a free Dinos All-Access Pass for home games.

Sources checked September 30, 2026. View sources

What your student membership covers

Active Living says all UCalgary students have the membership included in their general fees. It's active in each term you're registered in credit classes: fall runs September 1 to December 31 and winter runs January 1 to April 30. Almost everything sits in the Dr. Roger Jackson Kinesiology Complex on main campus.

The fee is set in the Academic Calendar. Full-time and part-time students pay $116.96 each fall and winter term. Students in a co-op or internship term don't pay it, and neither do students with no course components on a UCalgary campus that term.

What your student membership covers
Space	What Active Living lists	Where
Fitness Centre and track	Over 3,750 square metres of cardio, weight machines and free weights, plus a six-lane, 200-metre indoor track on the upper level	KNB 155
Hybrid strength space	New free weights, benches and machines on the reimagined west side of the old Racquet Centre	KNB hallway, across from the Fitness Centre
Aquatic Centre	Eight 50-metre lanes with a moveable bulkhead, most often set up as 16 lanes of 25 metres	Through the KNA change rooms
Racquet Centre	Seven squash courts and three racquetball, pickleball and handball courts, as of May 2026	KNA 169
Gyms	Gold, Red and Jack Simpson East gyms for drop-in play; Gold Fitness Alcove for circuit workouts	Kinesiology A
Climbing and bouldering	Outdoor Centre climbing wall and bouldering walls	KNB 185 and the KNA basement
Foothills and Spy Hill	Two fitness centres at Foothills and one at Spy Hill, included from September 1, 2026	CWPH 1D01, HSC B821 and CSB 110Z

UCalgary Active Living: students are members UCalgary Active Living: main campus fitness centres UCalgary Active Living: Aquatic Centre UCalgary Active Living: Racquet Centre update UCalgary Active Living: Foothills Campus fitness centres UCalgary Active Living: Spy Hill Campus Fitness Centre UCalgary Calendar P.1.2: undergraduate general fees

The Olympic Oval

The Olympic Oval sits on main campus, west of the Kinesiology B building. It was built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and has a 400-metre long-track speed skating oval, two international-size rinks and a 450-metre running track. The Oval calls its ice the Fastest Ice in the World.

Active Living says current students get Oval public skating and the running track as part of their membership. Take your Unicard straight to the Oval; you don't need a wristband. Helmets are mandatory for all skaters, and a bike or ski helmet with a chin strap is fine. For friends without a membership, adult public skating is $7.25, and the Monday Night Toonie Skate runs 6 to 8 p.m. for $2.

Check the Oval's own schedule before you go. When we checked, its running page said the running season had wrapped until summer. In July 2026 the federal and Alberta governments each committed $26 million to rebuild the Oval's tunnel, ice plant and refrigeration slab.

Inside UCalgary's Olympic Oval, with a blue running track and seating on the left, the long-track speed skating ice, and a hockey game on an inner rink — Inside the Olympic Oval on January 28, 2017. The Oval's running track and public skating times change by season. Daniel from Glasgow / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. Resized to 1,600 pixels wide and converted to WebP; no crop.

UCalgary Active Living: Olympic Oval access UCalgary: main campus and the Olympic Oval Olympic Oval: recreational public skating Olympic Oval: running at the Oval UCalgary News: $52-million Olympic Oval upgrade (July 27, 2026)UCalgary Active Living: students are members

Getting in: activate your Unicard

Before your first visit, activate your Unicard at Client Services (KNA 104) or the Fitness Centre desk (KNB 155). It's a one-time step for the life of the card. After that, you scan in at the Fitness Centre gates. A three-strike rule applies if you show up without your card, after which you have to buy a day pass.

The pool, Racquet Centre, bouldering wall, Gold Fitness Alcove and open gym times need a wristband. Show your card at Client Services or the Fitness Centre to get one. The Fitness Centre, climbing wall and Oval don't need a wristband.

Bring clean, closed-toe indoor shoes. Only a small drawstring bag is allowed in the Fitness Centre; no backpacks.
The Fitness Centre is busiest over lunch and from 3 to 7 p.m. The Fitness Centre page says 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the hours page says 12 to 1 p.m.
Students-only women's workout time and a sensory-friendly workout time run on Mondays and Wednesdays at scheduled times.
Gender-neutral change rooms are at KNA 107W and KNA 108W. KNA 108W has a wheelchair-accessible shower.

UCalgary Active Living: main campus fitness centres UCalgary Active Living: students are members UCalgary Active Living: hours

Fall and winter hours

The Fitness Centre and the Client Services desk keep different hours. On holidays such as September 30 and October 12, 2026, both open at 10 a.m. and close early; the full list is on the hours page.

Fall and winter hours
Facility	Monday to Thursday	Friday	Saturday and Sunday
Main campus Fitness Centre (September to April)	6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.	6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.	8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Active Living Client Services	6 a.m. to 11 p.m.	6 a.m. to 10 p.m.	8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Foothills Campus Main Fitness Centre	6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.	6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.	Not listed
Spy Hill Campus Fitness Centre	8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (building hours)	8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.	Not listed

UCalgary Active Living: hours UCalgary Active Living: Spy Hill Campus Fitness Centre

What costs extra

Your membership covers access and drop-in use. These are separate, and Active Living's own pages don't always agree, so both figures are shown where they differ.

Lockers: $14 for a standard locker plus a $25 deposit. The student FAQ says students rent by the semester; the locker page also calls it $14 a month. Towel service is included with a locker rental.
Towels without a locker: $1 per use with a $5 deposit, or $11 a month.
Day-use lockers: the locker page says they're now coinless and you bring your own lock (Client Services sells one for $12). The student FAQ still describes 25-cent coin lockers. Anything left overnight is cleared out.
Racquets: $2 per rental period. Basketballs, volleyballs and soccer balls are lent free while Client Services holds your Unicard.
Court bookings: the student page says you can book up to two weeks ahead; the May 2026 Racquet Centre update says seven days. Both say you can hold three bookings at once.
Group fitness classes, personal training and intramural leagues are registered programs. Personal training is discounted for students.
Spring and summer: if you aren't taking courses from May to August, a four-month membership is $68.58 including taxes on one part of the student page and $65 in its FAQ.
A $25 Student Active Incentive credit comes off one Active Living or Outdoor Centre program or rental, and students get 10% off Outdoor Centre rentals.

UCalgary Active Living: students are members UCalgary Active Living: lockers and towel service UCalgary Active Living: Racquet Centre update UCalgary Active Living: main campus fitness centres

Watching the Dinos

The Dinos are UCalgary's varsity teams. Full-time students get free admission to every 2026-27 preseason, regular-season and playoff home game by claiming a free All-Access Pass, delivered as a QR code for your phone's wallet. Part-time and Continuing Education students aren't eligible for the pass.

Box offices sit at McMahon Stadium for football, soccer and women's rugby, at Father David Bauer Arena for hockey, and at the Kinesiology and Olympic Oval link for basketball and volleyball. The Crowchild Classic hockey games at the Scotiabank Saddledome need a paid ticket. For family visits, a regular-season adult ticket to basketball, football, hockey or volleyball is $18.

Calgary Dinos: tickets and the student All-Access Pass Calgary Dinos: facilities

Intramurals and rec sports

Intramurals come in two levels. Recreational leagues put fun first, with an on-site supervisor but no officials, standings or playoffs. Classic leagues add officials, standings and end-of-semester playoffs. You can sign up alone and Intramurals will build teams from solo sign-ups.

Sports include volleyball, which Active Living calls its most popular, plus basketball, dodgeball, flag football, outdoor soccer, pickleball and ultimate frisbee. A Learn to Play program teaches the basics if you've never played. Participants must be 18 or a UCalgary student.

UCalgary Active Living: intramurals and rec sports

Keep exploring

University of Calgary guide →UCalgary campuses, the CTrain and the UPass →UCalgary first-year residences compared →

Sources and updates

This independent guide summarizes the official information linked below. Availability, access rules and application cycles can change; check the relevant university page before making a decision.