URFit Squad

This club welcomes students into the fitness environment and boasts big goals on the horizon

pall agarwal contributor

In a world where fitness is seen as a routine, it is reaffirming to believe that it could be something beyond that. Sid Khan, Andrew McLennan, and Mohammad Shahazeb Kamal, with the motivation to foster positivity in the fitness community, founded and launched the URFit Squad. This is not only a club identified by the University of Regina Students’ Union, but it offers an experience beyond social events and projects that a club typically aims to deliver.

URFit Squad, unlike other clubs, has a fee of $20 per semester for the purpose of facilitation, logistics, and financing equipment. In a conversation with co-founder Khan, he explained the structure of this community which functions in groups. Registered members are divided into different groups with a squad leader who helps each member achieve their fitness goals and train with others as well. “We want to give members access to a more focused-group community,” says McLennan. With a goal of at least 50 members divided equally in specific squads who have access to proper training equipment, the club is open to membership all throughout each semester.

The classes are mostly held in-person, and the founders plan to add Zoom classes for better access to people who cannot go out. The URFit Squad have a variety of avenues to explore from meditation to boxing, weightlifting, Zumba, and yoga, and they aim to add spin classes to the list as well. If you have questions about these options and would like to get in contact with the group, they can be reached via Instagram (@ urfitnesssquad) and e-mail (urfitsquad@gmail.com).

The founders mentioned during the interview how the environment of a gym and working towards fitness can be overwhelming for some. Thus, to “make it more approachable to students,” says Khan, the founders plan to take the Fit Squad ahead in their lives. This community is for students who wish to come out of their comfort zone and help themselves get more fit every day. “I want to be in my best shape and feel stronger,” said Kane, a newer member in the URFit Squad. He has been working on achieving his fitness goals since the beginning of this semester, as he finds winter harsh and wants to make sure he continues to stay fit and active.

The club has a well laid out plan of expanding their services and getting in more community engagement. They wish to engage more with the city seasonals, track, workouts, and expand their horizons of sport. Collaboration with the Centre of Kinesiology, Health & Sport and with UR Mindful University Project could help students across campus have a holistic approach to health and fitness. They also wish to add snowboarding in the future to help students realize that fitness is about more than life inside a gym doing training and workouts.

Who knew fitness could be a fascinating learning curve for many? Students at the University of Regina now have access to groups like URFit Squad to get personalized guidance on their fitness and learn together with their community. In the hustle and bustle of university life, students can now engage in a routine-focused fitness journey with like-minded people all around campus.

It is indeed essential to acknowledge the importance of both mental and physical health as students undergo a lot of stress during their course of study, which the URFit Squad aims to lessen. It’s a golden opportunity for students to improve their lives and become more fit every day.

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Photo: Max Gao

Athlete profile: Roger Federer

This record-maker’s professional career has drawn to a close, but coaching may not yet be off the table

sophia stevens s&h writer

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer will go down in history as being one of the best men’s tennis players to ever play the game. He represents a generation of extraordinary tennis which saw the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as his main competitors. Federer has won a total of 20 grand slams which includes six Australian opens (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018), one French open (2009), eight Wimbledons (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017) and five US opens (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).

He has been ranked number one in the world for 310 weeks total, which included a record of 237 consecutive weeks at number one. Federer has also won 103 ATP single titles throughout his playing career. From 2003 to 2009, Federer also played in 21 major single finals out of 28 opportunities, which is a massive accomplishment for any athlete. Federer was known for his net game and his ability to execute diverse volleying skills which always seemed to leave his opponent guessing. His best known return skill was hitting the ball between his legs facing away from the net, which he saw succeed many times.

Federer faced injury setbacks like many athletes, which included a knee surgery and a back injury in 2016. However, Federer came back in 2017, and saw major success which continued into 2019. In 2020, Federer reached the Australian Open semifinals after a hard-fought battle against Tennys Sandgren in the quarterfinals. He would end up losing to Djokovic in the semifinals.

In February of 2020, he would have to undergo an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which led to some setbacks as he recovered which required him to undergo another procedure on his knee. During the 2021 season, Federer struggled to regain form due to lagging injuries, and he only reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals that year. In July of 2022, Federer became unranked for the first time in his career, since he hadn’t played a game since his quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon in 2021.

In September of 2022, he announced his impending retirement from the game of tennis, citing that the Laver Cup that month would be his last. Federer noted that he would continue to play tennis, but that he would not be playing for Grand Slams or going on tour. Federer’s career would end in a doubles match at the Laver Cup, with his doubles partner being his long-time rival Rafael Nadal. His last match was his 1,750th career game on tour.

When asked about whether or not he would coach in his retirement years, Federer said “I mean, never say never. Stefan Edberg said the same, he will never coach, until he got the phone call from me, and I invited him over for practice and he said ‘Ok, let me try for a year.’”

Federer coaching is not out of the realm of possibilities going into his retirement years. Federer’s passion and love for the game has not gone unnoticed. He helped to revolutionize the game of tennis for generations of tennis players. His expertise on the tennis courts will be missed greatly, along with the amazing rivalry games when facing Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.