Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Recreational Services and Athletics
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1996 -
History
The origins of Recreational Services and Athletics can be traced to two predecessor bodies established during the founding of the University in 1965. These bodies, the Athletics Program and the Recreation Program, were originally components of the Physical Development Centre, one of three centres that comprised the Faculty of Education. The organization of the Centre, approved by the Board of Governors on 14 January 1965, consisted of a Chairman acting as Head, responsible to the Dean of Education. Responsible to the Chairman were three Directors who oversaw the Centre's program areas of athletics, recreation, and research and professional development.
The Athletic Program was responsible for providing an opportunity to qualified students to increase their standards of athletic proficiency through competition in intercollegiate sports. Initially, the University competed on an intercollegiate level in three sports -- football, basketball and aquatic sports. Intercollegiate competition in other sports was added to the Program when interest and resources permitted. In contrast, the Recreation Program was responsible for providing a broad range of activities to students, faculty, staff, and the off-campus community through sport clubs, intramurals, community recreation programs and non-credit workshops and activity courses.
Reorganization within the Physical Development Centre, in 1967, resulted in the formation of the Physical Development Studies Department (later Kinesiology) and the merger of Athletics and Recreation as the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services. In 1970, responsibility for the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services was transferred from the Centre and the Faculty of Education to the Vice-President, Administration. In 1971, the VP, Administration divided the Department into three new departments: Athletics, Recreation, and Athletic and Recreational Services . Athletic and Recreational Services was headed by a Manager who reported to the Director of Ancillary Services and was responsible for the maintenance of athletic and recreational facilities and for the servicing of both the Athletics and Recreation Departments for such things as secretarial services, physiotherapy, audio-visual requirements, purchasing, equipment, ticket sales, transportation, accommodations, temporary help, scheduling, budget control, building and playfield maintenance and for all general administration. The Departments of Athletics and Recreation were headed by Directors who reported directly to the VP, Administration. Athletics remained responsible for intercollegiate sports, and Recreation for all other sports and leisure activities.
Slight changes to the above reporting structure occurred in 1979 when responsibility for the Department of Athletic and Recreational Services was transferred from the Director of Ancillary Services to the Directors of Athletics and Recreation. Reorganization occurred again in 1984 when the Departments of Athletics and Recreation were amalgamated to form the Department of Athletics and Recreation. This structure remained stable until 1996 when the Department of Athletics and Recreation merged with the Department of Athletic and Recreational Services to form the current Department of Recreational Services and Athletics.
Placement of the Department of Recreational Services and Athletics and its predecessors within the organizational hierarchy of the University have also undergone some changes over their history. As stated above, the Department(s) were originally located in the Physical Development Centre of the Faculty of Education and later transferred to the Vice-President, Administration. In 1986, the Department of Athletics and Recreation began reporting to the new office of the Executive Director of Administrative Services, a successor to the Vice-President, Administration. This office reverted to its former title of VP, Administration in 1990. In 1996, the Department was made a division of Campus Community Services which in turn was responsible to the Dean and Registrar of Student Services. The Dean and Registrar of Student Services reports to the Vice-President, Academic. This placement represents the current status of Recreational Services and Athletics.