The cost of staying active: Navigating the Sports and Wellness Hub on a budget 

Joining a sports club is far from the only way to get active on campus.

A ten-minute walk from central campus brings you to the Sports and Wellness Hub, a premier destination welcoming students, staff, and the public alike. The Hub features one of the country’s largest higher education gym spaces with over 200 training stations, alongside four fitness studios, a 25-metre swimming pool, a 15-metre climbing wall, six squash courts, and a multifunctional sports hall. The activity extends outdoors with netball courts, caged football pitches, and the nearby Tennis Centre.

This massive variety means students never have to look far to find a suitable workout, whether you’re an avid athlete or a complete beginner.

All student respondents who use the facilities rated the overall quality 4/5 stars or higher

Of course, quality is just as important as variety, and feedback collected by The Boar Sport shows the Hub easily meets that standard. 

All student respondents who use the facilities rated the overall quality 4/5 stars or higher, with one student praising the “very modern equipment in a professional environment” and another noting they have “never had any bad experiences” with the equipment itself.  

However, offering the right environment is only the first step toward making staying fit truly accessible.

While the respondents appreciated the high-quality equipment, cost was widely recognised as a downside to the Sports and Wellness Hub. One respondent explicitly said that membership is simply “very expensive”, causing them to opt out of using the facilities more often.

Student plans do offer a silver lining by waiving standard joining fees. Nonetheless, costs continue to climb, which can risk making fitness feel like a luxury.

The annual student Complete Membership – which bundles the gym, pool, sauna, fitness classes, and discounted racket sports – has risen from £356 to £376 since 2024. Meanwhile, the Gym & Swim package, preferred by most survey respondents, sits at £355 per year, alongside separate annual passes for climbing and tennis.

A point of contention highlighted in the feedback is the inflexibility of the student plans

As a student, budget and cost are critical factors that we have to carefully balance, meaning these prices are not necessarily feasible for everyone.

Beyond the high prices, a point of contention highlighted in the feedback is the inflexibility of the student plans. Unlike for the public, the university does not offer a flexible monthly direct debit option of the Complete membership for students, often forcing them to pay hundreds of pounds upfront instead of through instalments.

One student noted a strong desire for “more membership options… like paying monthly”, pointing out that the current layout forces students to pay for gym time during long university holidays when we are not even on campus. While the annual membership does come with the advantage of accessing other university gyms across the UK through the BUCS UNIversal scheme, not everyone, like international students who travel home for breaks, can take advantage of that benefit.

Despite these rigid packages, students can navigate a handful of different pass and bundle options to find a better fit. When evaluating these pathways mathematically, the best financial choice entirely depends on how often you plan to work out.

For regular, full-time students who plan to exercise consistently all year, the annual packages continue to make the most financial sense

For students attending only a few times a month, the Pay-As-You-Go option can be the ideal choice. This allows users to completely skip a membership fee and pay flat rates of £11.50 for a single gym session, £9.50 for a swim slot, or other activities, like fitness classes, climbing sessions, or racket court bookings from £7.50.

However, for anyone looking to attend twice a week or more, stepping up to the 30-Day Pass at £75 provides unlimited short-term access to the gym and the pool. This option officially becomes more cost-effective than single entry fees after seven to eight visits in a month, making it particularly useful for seasonal trainers who want to avoid paying for months where they don’t plan on using the facilities as often.

One could argue that the 30-Day pass serves as a makeshift monthly plan. However, at £75, it costs nearly double what an expected standard monthly subscription would be under a £376 annual commitment. So, for anyone planning to use the facilities for more than five months out of the year, stacking a bunch of 30-Day passes isn’t the most practical substitute.

Ultimately, for regular, full-time students who plan to exercise consistently all year, the annual packages continue to make the most financial sense in terms of long-term value. Say you visit four times a week across a standard 30-week academic year; the Complete membership works out to roughly £3.13 per session, saving you £1.25 every single workout compared to renewing 30-Day Passes.

[Rock Up & Play] offers over 60 hours of free sports sessions each week for every ability

Though, at the end of the day, no matter what option seems to offer the best value on paper, requiring students to pay large sums of money all at once is simply not always viable on a student budget.

If membership costs feel out of reach, there are still other cheaper, alternative on-campus options for you to stay moving on a regular basis.

Rock Up & Play is one of the main ways to get the benefits of taking part in sporting activities without the added worry of cost and time commitments. Available to both students and staff, the program offers over 60 hours of free sports sessions each week for every ability, including women’s only events. It gives the Warwick community the chance to try out anything from climbing to football to trampolining.

With 4,283 participants taking part in Rock Up & Play last academic year, up from the 3,893 in 2024-2025, it’s becoming an increasingly more popular way to engage with sport on campus.

The Hub also hosts free Wellbeing sessions in the fitness studios each week, including pilates, yoga, and dance fitness classes, as part of the Active Wellbeing initiative.

Though, you don’t have to stay inside the Sports and Wellness Hub building to find a way to keep active at a low cost. Taking advantage of the green outdoor spaces, there are dedicated mapped-out running and walking trails looping right across campus through areas like Tocil Woods and Lakeside that cost absolutely nothing to use.

As prices stay high, staying active shouldn’t mean breaking the bank

For those who prefer to run with others, there are free run, jog, or walk sessions suitable for all abilities available to be booked every week.

Joining the Warwick University Run Club is another option – which actually has a no-cost membership on the SU website. Winning Best New Society in the 2026 Warwick SU Societies Awards, they organise a weekly run schedule with multiple pace groups that take place both on campus and in Leamington.

The Sports and Wellness Hub is undoubtedly an amazing benefit of studying here, but as prices stay high, staying active shouldn’t mean breaking the bank. By weighing up the alternative pathways on offer, it’s possible to prioritise fitness without sacrificing financial peace of mind.