Whether you aspire to compete nationally as a Varsity Blues athlete or try a new sport for the first time, our community is filled with fun ways to lead a balanced lifestyle. Remember: you’ll have access to outstanding athletic facilities across all three U of T campuses.
Varsity Blues
U of T Varsity Blues teams have won every major Canadian university sporting championship over the past century, from football's Vanier Cup to women's ice hockey. Varsity Blues swimmers have the longest running championship record of any swim team in Canada and several hundred members of Varsity Blues teams have qualified for Olympic Games and FISU (international university) Games, as well as Commonwealth and Pan Am Games.
U of T Engineering has a strong tradition of excellence in athletics. Every year, approximately 80 engineering student-athletes participate on a wide variety of Varsity teams. Additionally, our student-athletes are often recognized for their academic excellence. In 2017, Mechanical Engineering student and award-winning swimmer, Osvald Nitski was named U Sports Top 8 Academic All-Canadian
U of T Engineering has a student-driven organization run by and for the Faculty’s student-athletes. Blues Engineering, supports our student-athletes through mentorship opportunities, study nights, special events, and community-building opportunities. In U of T Engineering, we all #BleedBlue!
If you would like to express your interest in trying out for a Varsity Blues team and/or speak to someone about the program, complete the Prospective Athlete Form.
U of T Engineering student athlete profile: Thandi Myers
Teams Within U of T Engineering
It should come as no surprise that Skule – the insider term for the U of T Engineering community – is home to numerous teams that allow engineering students to have fun and keep active between classes and labs, including:
- Skule Dance Club
- Skule Badminton Club
- Iron Dragons (dragon boating team)
- Skule Ski Club
- Skule Squash
Several student-led design teams intersect with athletics. For example, the Concrete Canoe Team and the Human-Powered Vehicles Design Team both design, build and race their creations in the perfect mix of engineering ingenuity and competitive athleticism. In 2020, our Concrete Toboggan Team placed first overall at the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) and made history as the fastest team in the history of the competition.
On-campus Facilities
All U of T students can access athletic facilities, programs and professional staff on all three campuses.
The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport is a multi-storey sport and exercise facility housing a 2,000-seat, internationally-rated field house for basketball, volleyball and other court sports, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning centre, fitness studio, sport medicine clinic and research and teaching laboratories.
Varsity Centre, which includes a 5,000-seat stadium, 400m eight-lane track, state-of-the-art artificial turf field with a dome for winter use, and 4,000-seat arena – is a sport and recreation facility like no other.
With seven gymnasia, three pools (including the only Olympic-sized pool in downtown Toronto), a strength and conditioning centre, indoor track, dance studio, cardio machines, tennis and squash courts and steam rooms, there really is something for everybody at the Athletic Centre.
All U of T students also have access to fitness facilities and wellness programming through Hart House – from meditation workshops to archery lessons.