Seven Saskatchewan Polytechnic staff members have been laid off, the school’s sports teams have shut down, and fitness centres at most of the school’s campuses have been closed following the institution’s decision to cancel its athletics program.
The school is making changes to its fitness service model and moving toward what officials describe as a “Wellness Strategy.”
“The Wellness Strategy will be consistent across campuses and better serve the entire student population who may benefit from enhanced wellness supports,” an email sent to students Thursday read. “The new model will be developed through a consultative process with input from students and employees.”
Fitness centres on all campuses, except the Regina campus, are closed as the school works on the new model.
“You can’t even get into the gym anymore. It’s locked up, as of today,” Reid Thomson, a student, said Friday. “No real reason why the gym has to be locked. I don’t understand why we can’t still go in there.”
Thomson is unhappy with the school’s decision to cut the athletics program.
“That’s part of the reason why I come here, and who knows what we’re going to have next year, so it’s a pretty disappointing day,” he said.
The institution’s sports teams, which competed in the Prairie Athletic Conference, are also done, as are intramural programs. Seven staff members have also been laid off.
Anne Neufeld, Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s provost and vice-president academic, attributed the decision, which follows a review of the school’s recreation services, to low student participation.
“We saw, for example, in this academic year, just over 100 students taking part in that limited programming,” she told CTV News on Friday.
Neufeld said the decision was months in the making and involved consultation with external experts and students, but the school’s students’ association said it found out about the cut Thursday, right before the emails were sent.
“We were very shocked,” said the association’s president, Justin Skwark.
He said he’s troubled that the school is cutting services as tuition continues to rise.
Skwark is scheduled to meet with administration staff on June 11, and he said he hopes to change their minds.
