Accessible sports and fitness

At the University of Southampton, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to stay active and lead a healthy lifestyle, regardless of their needs. That’s why we’re committed to making our facilities and activities as inclusive as possible.

Our gym holds several accessible pieces of equipment, know as Inclusive Fitness Items (IFI). The cardiovascular items have an LED screen with more tactile controls and the resistance items have seats that can be removed.

Supported fitness sessions

We work closely with our enabling team to support student wellbeing at University of Southampton.
Please speak to a member of the team if you need support in our gyms. We're happy to discuss any issues with you, and offer gym equipment that can be adapted to meet your needs.
We have several staff holding GP referral qualifications and Level 3 exercise for disabled clients, with the appropriate experience managing exercise with contraindications.

7 Day Free Trial - Student Disability & Inclusion

We are working with the Student Disability & Inclusion team at the university offering support, tours and a trial of our facilities to those referred to us.

SailAbility

As part of our accessibility initiatives, we offer SailAbility—a unique sailing experience for students with disabilities and additional needs. Our 38-foot yacht, Flying Formula, is based at Town Quay Marina in Southampton and provides a safe, supportive environment for participants to enjoy time on the water. Each session welcomes up to five clients, with two trained staff members on board to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Find out more about our accessible sports and fitness opportunities and how we can support you.

Inclusive changing rooms

Our changing rooms are located on the same floor as the Jubilee Sports Centre entrance and reception, and include a disabled shower and changing room.

We also offer a gender-neutral changing village with individual cubicles and showers.

Gym quiet time

We have dedicated hour-long quiet sessions twice a week at Jubilee Gym. Our music system is turned off at these times.

Quiet times are:

  • 2pm to 3pm, Tuesday and Wednesday

You're welcome to listen to music through headphones, but we ask all gym-users to help maintain a quiet atmosphere during these sessions.

Sports bursary

We support SUSU in offering a sports bursary to ensure all students can access our facilities, whatever their background.

For more information:

Accessibility and inclusivity forums

We run regular student forums on accessibility and inclusivity in university sport. If you're interested in taking part in a forum, get in touch using the contact details on this page.

Ensuring your welfare

All Athletic Union clubs are required to nominate one of their members to act as welfare officer. Welfare officers are responsible for overseeing the wellbeing of their club members.

These officers, and other committee members, are required to complete welfare, inclusivity, diversity and equality (WIDE) training.

Get in touch

Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for how we can help people get the most out of our facilities and activities.

Our equality, diversity and inclusion commitment