As an alternative to, or as well as, joining a Kingston University sports club, why not take advantage of our active lifestyles programme?
All activities are available to students and/or staff at Kingston University. Please note that some activities on the programme are run by external clubs and these may not be free. However, they will always offer a discounted student rate.
If possible please bring your own racket to the tennis and badminton sessions. We have a limited number of spare ones.
Would you like to start a new activity but feel you need someone to accompany you initially? If so then maybe the u GO i GO initiative could help. The u GO i GO initiative is a short term stepping stone for helping people access activities at the University. We can provide a fellow student to accompany you for the first couple of weeks/sessions, to provide that little bit of extra support and confidence in trying out a new activity or joining a new club. Just contact your Sport and Active Lifestyle team on 020 8417 2412/13 or via studenthub.kingston.ac.uk. All recreational sports activities are listed as events on KU Extra.
See what sports are available on:
Mind the Gap
As part of our uGOiGO scheme we are offering a FREE virtual session called 'MIND THE GAP' to help students take steps towards starting a new activity.
The title of the sessions "Mind The Gap" was created by Michael, a highly experienced yoga and meditation teacher, to give people a memorable phrase that they could use for general mindfulness sessions to help them in their everyday lives. For example, the gap between feeling and thinking, thinking and doing, breathing and releasing.
In the sessions, students will receive simple but effective breathing and relaxation techniques to help with anxiety, depression and general well-being. There are easy-to-follow guided visualisation exercises and gentle and reassuring guidance for achieving a more peaceful state of mind in a relaxed and safe environment.
Participants do not have to have their camera switched on if they so wish. Whatever works and whatever is comfortable is the most important thing. Michael is also open to Q&A after each session if people want to ask questions or share their thoughts, and all emails will be answered within 24 hours.
The sessions will not require any special equipment, just a quiet place where you can join in and enjoy the time. Students can join at any time during the term.
To sign up and join the session please email: Michael@yogahara.com
As part of the Sport and Active Lifestyle team delivery to keep our staff and students moving, Jo Heath will be running dance barre classes on Zoom. Barre sessions are a fusion of ballet technique and positions, the precision of Pilates, the alignment of yoga and the strength of Sports Conditioning. If you would like to get involved, please email Jo at J.Heath@kingston.ac.uk to register interest and then she will send you the Zoom links each week.
The classes are pre-recorded each week and sent with a link that lasts seven days so that you can do it at any time, on any day and as many times as you like until the next class is available.
Classes are free for students and staff. Ongoing classes throughout the winter break and into 2021.
If you would like to become involved in triathlon whilst at Kingston University we recommend joining Kingfisher Triathletes. The club is very friendly and welcoming and is open to all ages (18+) and abilities including complete beginners. Swim training takes place on a Monday evening at Kingfisher Leisure Centre (five minutes walk from the centre of Kingston) and on Wednesday evenings at Hampton Open Air Pool. Run training is at Kingsmeadow Athletics Track every Tuesday evening. There is a coached cycle session every Thursday and a long social club ride every Sunday morning. The club has full and PAYG member options, with a student discount, and members can attend as many or as few session as they choose. The club also organises several beginners courses during the year. To find out more and attend a free trial session, check out the club's site and then contact them directly.
Boccia is a game similar to bowls. It is played from a seated position to allow for participants using wheelchairs. It is inclusive and open to all Kingston University students, either with a disability or not. Participants do not need any previous experience playing Boccia.
This is a free recreational session for all to enjoy. The session will be led by Jayson Shetty who is a Kingston University and Bedelsford School alumnus.
This class is free for members of the More Energy Fitness Centre at Penrhyn Road campus and £5 for guests. Contact personal trainer, Simon Bent for more details at coach.king.fitness@gmail.com or on Instagram – @coach_kings.
Free sessions. There are additional tables at Kingston Hill campus (outside Kingston Business School), Clayhill halls of residence and Roehampton Vale campus for all to use. Look out for information on termly table tennis tournaments.
This session is free and for all those students wanting to play netball in a friendly sociable setting. Beginners most welcome.
This session is free and for all those students wanting to play volleyball in a friendly sociable setting. Beginners most welcome. Please book in by emailing Zino Wagner as numbers are limited due to being in Tier 2.
Run by GOMAMMOTH
For more details email hello@gomammoth.co.uk or visit the Go Mammoth site.
You don't have to be great to start but you do need to start to be great.
This is a free class as part of the "This Girl Can" campaign. Learn self defence, relieve stress, have fun and meet new people.
Team entry is free. Simply get a team together and fill in the registration form. Return the form to the Fitness Centre at Penryhn Road and we will contact you with all the details.
Simply join our join our sports activator for a kick, game of badminton, tennis or volleyball as you are passing. Just pick up a racket or ball and join in. If there is no activator on site then please go to the Yorkon building to sign out the sports equipment for your own use. Plan to meet friends at this time for regular recreational fun and maybe warm up by running the Fitness Trail located around the Kingston Hill campus grounds.
This class is free for members of the More Energy Fitness Centre at Penrhyn Road campus and £5 for guests. Contact personal trainer, Simon Bent for more details at coach.king.fitness@gmail.com or on Instagram – @coach_kings.
Free sessions as part of the ongoing 'This Girl Can' campaign to encourage more girls to take part in physical activity. Studio windows will be covered and the sessions are for women only, led by qualified female instructor.
Simply turn up at the Fitness Centre, Penrhyn Rd ready to join the running group. Members of the athletics club lead the group.
This is a free class for KU students and staff as part of 'This Girl Can' campaign for women only. It is a great workout and stress buster. Contact Yaasmeen the instructor for more details: yaasmeen_muhammad@outlook.com or on Instagram - @IAMF_T
Simply join our sports activator for a kick around, game of badminton, tennis or volleyball as you are passing. Just pick up a racket or ball and join in. Or, you could plan to meet at this time for regular recreational fun.
Contact Leigh Martin to confirm dates and more details. Or visit the Back to Netball site. Back to Netball sessions are running across England and provide women of all ages with a gentle re-introduction to the sport. Run by passionate and enthusiastic coaches, sessions cover the basics of the game including passing, footwork and shooting. Sessions finish with a friendly game to put the skills you have learnt into practice.
Kingston University students and staff can book free tennis courts at Tolworth Court sports ground between 8.30am and 4.30pm.
Courts must be booked in advance by calling First Response on 020 8417 7523 or by email.
Following the latest LTA update, outdoor tennis courts can remain open for individual exercise, and for people to use with others within your household, support bubble, or with one person from another household. One-to-one coaching outdoors is therefore also permitted.
This is a free class. A great workout and stress buster. Also available on zoom. contact Yaasmeen the instructor for more details: yaasmeen_muhammad@outlook.com or on Instagram – @IAMF_T.
Simply join our sports activator for a kick around, game of badminton, tennis or volleyball as you are passing. Just pick up a racket or ball and join in. If there is no activator on site then please go to the Yorkon building to sign out the sports equipment for your own use. You could plan to meet friends at this time for regular recreational fun and maybe warm up by running the Fitness Trail, located around the Kingston Hill campus grounds.
Just turn up ready to either walk, jog or run around the Fitness Trail. A great place to organise a walking book club (for two people at social distance) to get out in the fresh air and enjoy some forest bathing and exercise at the same time.
This class is free for members of the More Energy Fitness Centre at Penrhyn Road campus and £5 for guests. Contact personal trainer, Simon Bent for more details at coach.king.fitness@gmail.com or on Instagram – @coach_kings.
Come along to this FREE recreational session, ready to play, led by a Level 2 qualified coach. All welcome. We encourage you to bring your own racket if possible.
This is the closest thing to going to a club that you are likely to find at the moment. This is for everyone and the emphasis is on enjoying yourself through movement. The instructor will guide you through the moves and get you throwing some shapes to a club sound track. Please book in by emailing Jasmine and to receive the Zoom link.
Bodybalance is a unique workout which incorporates Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates to help improve flexibility, build strength and leave you feeling relaxed and calm. You will carry out a series of stretches, poses and moves to create a holistic workout that brings the body and mind into a state of harmony. Please book in by emailing Jasmine and to receive the Zoom link.
Come along to this free recreational session, ready to play, led by a Level 2 qualified coach. All welcome. Please book in by emailing Dan as numbers are restricted due to being in Tier 2.
There are additional tables at Kingston Hill campus (outside Kingston Business School), Clayhill halls of residence and Roehampton Vale campus for all to use.
This is a free class. Improves flexibility and core strength. Contact Yaasmeen the instructor for more details yaasmeen_muhammad@outlook.com or on Instagram - @IAMF_T.
There are additional tables at Kingston Hill campus (outside Kingston Business School), Clayhill halls of residence and Roehampton Vale campus for all to use.
For more information about all of the active lifestyles activities above please contact Jo Heath by email j.heath@kingston.ac.uk or call 020 8417 2412.
Here are the walking challenges for the New Year.
For everybody, every day in January.
We are all in this together and would like to invite everybody to come ‘out out' with us in January.
Starting on the 1 January, set yourself a goal to get ‘out out' in the fresh air every day in January, no matter what the weather.
Join us by...
If you would like to take up this challenge and be in with a chance to win a cash prize please register your interest with the Sport and Active lifestyle team by emailing Jo Heath.
To win the cash prize, submit a daily photo throughout January to show us that you are ‘out out' doing your thing.
We will record all those who complete the challenge and enter them into the draw.
The winner will be announced on Friday 4 February 2021.
You might want to go a step further and also sign up for R.E.D. January – the charity event run by ‘Sport in Mind', the mental health charity that use sport to empower and improve lives. You could be doing this challenge and raising money to help others beat the January Blues whilst getting active yourself every day.
The weather may be 'Wet Wet Wet' out there but that doesn't stop us finding 'Love Actually' in our local surroundings. February's challenge is to get outdoors every day and take a photo of a heart shape that has been formed by nature. This could be in the branches of trees, moss on brickwork, clouds in the sky or a shape of a puddle.
Valentine's day is around the corner and the Sport and Active Lifestyle team would like to encourage you to keep your hearts healthy by taking up this challenge. Go on a long walk, jog, run or out in your wheelchair and get your pulse racing whilst searching for love (heart shapes) in your local area. Physical activity and focusing the mind on something other than work will bring a welcome relief from stress and anxiety. Really connecting with nature is so good for our mental health and wellbeing and so the more you can 'soak' up, even on those rainy days, the better you will feel. Be kind to yourself and share the love by signing up to this challenge and passing it on to a friend to do the same.
This is open to all KU students and staff and the local community. There will be a cash prize for KU students only. This will be awarded to the student who completes the challenge with the most heart shape entries during the month of February. If you would like to take part in this challenge please register your interest with the Sport and Active Lifestyle team by emailing Jo Heath
The challenge starts on Monday 1 February and finishes on Sunday 28 February 2021.
Offers training for riders looking to improve their cycling. Our wattbike lab just on the Kingston Bridge, offers wattbike classes seven days a week. Yoga and strength & conditioning classes for cyclists are also available. Find our schedule on the Njinga app or visit our site.
All new customers entitled to our new customer offer of two classes for £14.
*Cancelled until further notice*
Student Wellbeing Group:
Sport and Active Lifestyles
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 2413
Email us
Student Wellbeing Group:
Sport and Active Lifestyles
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 2413
Email us