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New fall hours starting August 31.
Free, fun, and accessible recreation opportunties on campus!
The Advocacy for Inclusive Recreation (AIR) Program is a collaborative program hosted by Vikes Athletics and Recreation, the UVic Graduate Students' Society, and the UVic Students’ Society's advocacy groups (Native Students Union, Gender Empowerment Centre, Society for Students with a Disability, Students of Colour Collective, and Pride Collective). This program is for students who identify as members of the aforementioned advocacy groups on campus. The goal of AIR is to create a fun, inclusive, safe, and equitable environment for students to move their bodies and build community!
The majority of AIR programming takes place on campus in the Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA). CARSA contains a 2,100-seat performance gym, a huge multipurpose fieldhouse, a two-level fitness weight training area, CARSA Climbing Centre, dance space, dedicated TRX and spin classrooms, yoga studios, squash and racquetball courts, a rowing ergometer centre, and a sports injury clinic.
Currently, AIR programming takes place in the Gwynne Excel Studio, and the Climbing Centre. Once you enter the front doors of CARSA, you can tap your ONECard to get through the gates beside the front desk (NO CARSA PASS REQUIRED - just register below). Since it is a large facility, AIR participants can expect the lobby and main entrance to be busy and have a lot of traffic flow.
There are gender neutral bathrooms and accessible bathrooms in the facility.
We do our best to accommodate the access needs of our participants, given the barriers that they may experience while in the facility. If there is something we could do to make your CARSA experience more inclusive or accessible, please contact our Inclusion and Wellness Coordinator, Megan Vlahiotis at mvlahiotis@uvic.ca.
Questions about inclusion and accessibility at Vikes Recreation?
Email: mvlahiotis@uvic.ca
Instagram: @uvic.air
Inclusion and accessibility programs take place all over the CARSA and McKinnon facilities. Check individual program details for exact location. View map.
If you want to join the Vikes Recreation team, we have openings related to advocacy for inclusive recreation. Check out the jobs and volunteer positions below for more information.
Join us for some fun drop-in climbing at the CARSA Climbing Centre! The climbing tower has over 500 holds between the 55-foot tower and 14-foot bouldering wall. The CARSA Climbing Centre focuses on learning and practicing climbing skills in a safe and fun environment.
This program runs concurrently with the Adaptive Climbing program, so AIR climbers will have access to adaptive climbing equipment if needed! As we wish to practice transparency, there are some limitations to the equipment available for our AIR Climbing sessions. The climbing harnesses can fit up to a 48” waist, and the auto belay can support up to 310 lbs.
AIR - Indoor Climbing
No current session.
Join us for a welcoming and supportive yoga class designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind. Whether you are new to yoga or have an established practice, these classes will offer variations for all levels, ensuring that everyone feels comfortable and supported. Together, we will focus on grounding asanas (poses), mindful breathing, and intention setting that promotes our well-being.
Come as you are—no prior experience necessary! Let’s move, breathe, and thrive together.
AIR x SSD - Body Inclusive Yoga
No current session.
Learn the basics of Vogue in a fun, welcoming, and judgment-free environment! At a beginner-friendly pace, we’ll explore foundational movements like poses, waacking, floorwork, and catwalk. Rooted in New York’s LGBTQ+ Ballroom scene, Vogue is all about creativity, confidence, and self-expression.
AIR x Pride - Vogue Dance Class
No current session.
Per is of Punjabi Indian descent, daughter of immigrant parents, a Mother, lifelong learner, and active community volunteer. Per is an alumni of Simon Fraser and the University of Victoria. She completed her Yoga teacher training at Ma Yoga after decades of searching for an inclusive program which honored traditional yogic practices and philosophies. Her lived experiences afford her the ability to readily connect with and understand the needs of others, specifically members of equity deserving groups. Using a healing-informed approach, both personally and professionally, Per continues on an empowering journey to connect deeper to herself and her ancestors through yoga, community, and service.
The AIR Program would not be able to be run without the collaboration of our dedicated committee members.
My name is Megan, and I am Māori of the Ngāi Tahu iwi and a second-generation Greek immigrant to Turtle Island. I also have mixed European settler ancestry. I was born and raised on the tradition territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Chippewa, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinaabe peoples. Today I am a guest on the Xwsepsum, Songhees, and W̲SÁNEĆ homelands. I am honoured to learn from the stewards of this beautiful land.
I am the current co-chair of the AIR committee and am the Inclusion and Wellness Coordinator for the Wellness, Recreation and Athletics Department here at UVic! I am passionate about advocating for UVic students who face barriers to recreation, and to create safe and inclusive spaces for folks to move their bodies.
When I’m not working, I love to cook/bake, listen to music, make art, watch anime, play DnD, and hike! 😊
Hi, I’m Allie, I come from Treaty Seven territory, homeland of the Plains First Nations (which includes: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Stoney-Nakoda, and the Tsuut-ina Nations), specifically from Calgary / Mohkinstsis. I have resided on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples for the last five years and currently live on the traditional lands of the Scia’new (Beecher Bay) First Nation.
For AIR, I am a co-chair and am the Constituency Groups Director with the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS). My role oversees all the Advocacy Groups at the UVSS and helps to foster collaborations between these Groups and other campus partners. I’m excited to be part of reimagining the AIR program and adapting our offerings to the needs of current UVic students.
Tansi, my name is Anagya Durocher, I am Cree-Metis student who was born and raised on the East Coast on Mississauga’s of the Credit, Anishanbeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat territory. Today I am a guest on Xwsepsum, Songhees, and W̱SÁNEĆ homelands.
Through my position in the NSU as the Office coordinator, and within AIR as a group representative, I hope to have physical movement more available for NSU members. My hope is that we can provide class and maybe in the future gyms passes for NSU members because as the cost-of-living increases, the barriers Indigenous students face in showing up for their wellness increases.
My name is Kai and I am the Education Coordinator for the Society for Students with a Disability (SSD)! I graduated from UVic in 2025 with my BSc (Hons) in Psychology and minor in Art Education, I am happy to continue being a part of the UVic community, helping students find community, resources, and support! Outside of my work at the SSD, I am a TA for the Psychology department and work as a Research Coordinator at the Child Neuropsychology Lab. I am currently working on research on social camouflaging (AKA: masking) in Autistic youth, and I intend to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.
In my free time, I enjoy making art, playing softball, weight lifting, Pokemon, and probably other things that I have forgotten about!
Hi! I’m Fernanda Solorza. I'm a racialized cis woman from Durango, Mexico, home of the Tepehuanes Indigenous people, and now live in on lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, home to the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ. While I continue to re-discover what my Indigineity means to me, I am grateful to be in relationship with these lands and peoples across Turtle Island.
I am the Coordinator at the Gender Empowerment Centre, and for AIR, I am the GEM’s representative! I am a writer, community organizer, and advocate for equity whose work bridges creativity, justice, and care. My focus in AIR is to advocate for women, trans, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming students to have greater access to inclusive recreation. I hope to bring forward programming that makes sports, exercise, and movement more accessible, while also nurturing wellness, creativity, and community through these activities.
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