The price of getting in shape for back to school

After a summer full of barbecues and beer, it’s time for students to get back in shape.

But the question is where to go?

We asked 10 students at the Kwantlen Surrey campus where they most frequently went to for exercise, and if they used Kwantlen’s exercise facilities. (Kwantlen has a yoga studio at the Richmond campus and a gymnasium and fitness centre at the Surrey campus.)

Out of the 10 people questioned, only one uses Kwantlen’s facilities.

“If [Kwantlen’s recreational facilities] were included in the student fees, then I’d definitely go, but if it’s not then I’ll figure out some other way that’s much cheaper,” Lindsey Neill, a general arts student at Kwantlen, said.

Kwantlen charges students (taxes included) $5.25 for drop-in sessions at the gym, $15.96 for a month pass, $42.56 for a three-month pass, or $127.68 for an annual pass.

In comparison, student rates at the Walnut Grove Community Centre in Langley (taxes not included) are $3.12 for drop-in, $34.43 for a one-month pass and $93.90 for a three-month pass. There’s no student discount for the centre’s $369.75 one-year pass.

Manjot Thyar, a business management student at Kwantlen, doesn’t think students should pay to use the gym at Kwantlen because “we are already paying for tuition and we don’t have a lot of money. We take out student loans and we have to work and whatnot.”

Despite the expenses that kinds of exercise demand, some students are still willing to pay. David Lee, a student taking ESL courses at Kwantlen, is involved in Kendo, which is a martial art.

“It’s pretty expensive, though,” Lee said. “It’s $300 a month.”