Queen’s students are raising concerns about crowding and access to equipment at the ARC amid growth in the student population.
In a statement to The Journal, Executive Director of Queen’s Athletics & Recreation Linda Melnick said the department has welcomed a “record number” of students to the ARC this fall.
Melnick said on the second day of the academic year, the ARC had 7,259 visits, marking a fall-term record. During the first two weeks of this year’s fall term, the ARC experiences 5,300 average daily visits with 92 per cent of these being full-time students.
“The high volume of student engagement, activity, and attendance, reflects the important role the ARC plays in supporting the health, well-being, and community building that makes the student experience at Queen’s exceptional,” Melnick said.
ARC visits increased 3.5 per cent from the 2023-24 to the 2024-25 academic year, with another 0.5 per cent increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26, the statement said.
The ARC opened in December 2009. In fall of 2018, Mitchell Hall opened and expanded usable gym size with three new gymnasiums, an indoor turf zone, and additional weight and cardio space in an area named ARC South. These facilities are connected to the main centre through a lower-level tunnel. In 2019, the ARC was renovated and the Women’s Fitness Zone on the third floor was expanded.
According to a Queen’s 2009 Enrolment Report, the University had 18,023 full-time students, 22,351 students total if you count all “part-time, Theological College, and Post-Graduate Medical students.” In the 2025-26 Enrolment Report, Queen’s full-time student enrolment was 28,561.
Jack Rollins-Mondoux, ArtSci ’29, uses the ARC facilities roughly five times a week. In an interview with The Journal, he said that the ARC hours are fine and that they are open “decently late.”
However, he noted that the chest fly machine and Smith machine always have people waiting to use them, while the cardio areas are emptier.
“Even though there’s a large population of people that use the cardio stuff, I don’t think I’ve ever gone up there and actually seen them full,” he said.
He said the only cardio machines he has seen lines for are the stair-climbing machines.
“The cardio machine that most people use is the one they have the least of,” Rollins-Mondoux said.
Natasha Oliveira, ArtSci ’29, uses the ARC daily. In an interview with The Journal, she said the ARC’s weekday hours are good, but she wishes the facility opened earlier on weekends so she could work out before she goes to work.
Oliveira said she enjoys the basement area in the ARC because of its open space, layout, and turf area.
The basement area is superior compared to the Women’s Fitness Zone located on the third floor in the ARC, according to Oliveira.
She described the women’s area as “suffocating” because it becomes so crowded. She said there is barely space to walk around.
When asked about the demand for machines, Oliveira said there should be another leg press machine, specifically in the women’s zone, and more cable machines.
Since the cable machines take up a confined amount of space and offer many exercises, the waits can exceed 10 to 15 minutes, according to Oliveira.
When asked what they would change about the ARC, both Oliveira and Rollins-Mondoux pointed to the addition of more machines.
Melnick acknowledged that there are waitlists for intramurals, not enough space to accommodate all student activity requests, and wait lines for machines in the fitness centre at peak times.
Athletics & Recreation is launching an initiative this fall to “further evaluate ARC student access,” according to Melnick.
The initiative will take the form of a feedback campaign where students and ARC members can comment on what is working well at the ARC and where improvements could be made.
“This campaign will help amplify student voices and collect critical information to help shape the future of Athletics & Recreation spaces and programming,” she said.
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