MEMBERSHIPS

Our mission is to move Badgers to play hard, get fit, and live well. Every day we serve thousands of people in our facilities and programs. Each person comes with a personal motivation, including health, performance, self-care, a sense of community, and more. Wherever you are on your wellbeing journey, we celebrate your purpose and hope you’ll pursue it with us.

See all our specific membership details here:
Campus Affiliates | Community | Household Youth

INVEST IN YOU

We're here for you before work, during your lunch break, between meetings, or on your way home.

Sign up today

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

FREE TRIAL WEEK

We offer seven free days to first-time Campus Affiliates members. Stop by any of our facilities to sign up and see if we're a fit for you.

A photo of someone playing basketball at the Nick.

NICK VIRTUAL TOUR

Get an insider's view of the Nicholas Recreation Center. At the Nick there's fitness spaces with strength and cardio equipment, 5 studios, 8 courts, and a 50-meter Olympic-style swimming pool with a diving well and more.

An exterior photo of the Nicholas Recreation Center

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

We offer flexible member options and benefits depending on your affiliation with the university. Our Campus Affiliate and Community members have the option to purchase memberships for access to the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, Nicholas Recreation Center, and Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Passes, programs, and services are sold separately.

The recurring monthly credit card program is designed to be a convenience for our Campus Affiliate and Community members. Click here to view the full details, cancellation policy, and options for updating settings for this program. If you would like to cancel your monthly recurring membership, locker, pass, or towel service please fill out this form.

Purchase a membership

Campus Affiliates

ELIGIBILITY

UW-Madison faculty, staff, retirees, emeriti, and alumni (see below) are eligible to purchase the Campus Affiliate membership. Your direct affiliation with campus qualifies you for a discounted membership compared to that of non-affiliated members.

Please make sure to obtain your Wiscard at least one day prior to purchasing your membership or using our facilities.

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Emeriti and Retired Members

UW-Madison retirees & emeriti faculty can continue and/or begin a Rec Well membership as a Campus Affiliate. In order to gain appropriate status for this membership, the following steps need to be taken:

  1. Contact your Human Resources department and have them send a request to RetiredID@ohr.wisc.edu to change your status to retired/emeritus.
  2. If you are continuing a Faculty/Staff Membership after retirement, please email us after Step #1 is complete so we can check your status & update your membership type accordingly.
  3. If you are not continuing a current membership, once your status is updated in our system as Emeritus/Retired eligibility, you will be eligible to purchase a Rec Well Membership. You can have us check your status by sending us an email.

UW-Madison Alumni

Proof of graduation can be provided using any of the following forms:

Bring a photo ID with birthdate and one of the above forms of proof to any University Recreation & Wellbeing Member Services office. If you still have a valid Wiscard, please bring it to reactivate upon purchasing your membership. If you do not have a Wiscard, a Rec Well ID card will be issued to you. Proof of graduation will only be required at initial membership purchase.

Membership Benefits

Your Campus Affiliate membership includes access to the following amenities and spaces:

  • Unlimited access to the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, Nicholas Recreation Center, and discounted rates at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
  • Cardio and strength training equipment
  • Basketball courts
  • Indoor track
  • Pools

You also receive member pricing to purchase the following programs and services:

Self-Guided Tours Available

Want to see more? Stop by the front desk at any of our buildings for a tour. All free tours are self-guided and available during open hours. Use of equipment, programs or services during tours is not allowed.

RATES

wdt_ID Membership Type Rate
1 Monthly Recurring* $45/month
2 Day Pass $15
3 Week Pass** $30
4 Nielsen Tennis Stadium* $30/month

*No end date; renews automatically until member cancels. One automatic renewal charge is required before cancellation. Please review our full cancellation policies before purchasing a monthly recurring membership.
**Seven consecutive days

Community

ELIGIBILITY

Members (18 years or older) of the greater Madison community with no affiliation to campus are eligible to purchase the Community membership.

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Purchasing Your Membership or Pass

Bring your photo ID with birthdate to any Rec Well location to get started. If you are purchasing a Recurring Monthly Membership a Rec Well ID card will be issued to you. A photo ID  with birthdate is required for all membership or pass purchases.

Member Benefits

Your Community membership includes access to the following amenities and spaces:

  • Unlimited access to the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, Nicholas Recreation Center, and discounted rates at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
  • Cardio and strength training equipment
  • Basketball courts
  • Indoor track
  • Pools

You also receive member pricing to purchase the following programs and services:

RATES

wdt_ID Membership Type Rate
1 Monthly Recurring* $60/month
2 Day Pass $15
3 Week Pass** $40
4 Nielsen Tennis Stadium* $45/month

*No end date; renews automatically until member cancels. One automatic renewal charge is required before cancellation. Please review our full cancellation policies before purchasing a monthly recurring membership.
**Seven consecutive days

Household Youth

ELIGIBILITY

The Household Youth membership is available for dependents (younger than 18 years old) of Rec Well members or current UW students. This membership provides access to the Nicholas Recreation Center and Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center on Saturdays and Sundays, and discounted court rates & lessons at Nielsen Tennis Stadium everyday. Pricing below is per youth. Youth under 3 years old are free.

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Purchasing Your Membership

  • Youth member must be sponsored by a legal guardian with a current Rec Well membership or current UW-Madison Student status.
  • Youth Memberships need to be purchased and renewed in-person at the Nicholas Recreation Center, Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, or Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Legal guardian must be present for purchase and renewal of Household Youth Membership.
  • Proof of guardianship or residency must be provided at time of purchase and renewal of membership. This can include birth certificate or proof that child currently resides with the legal guardian.
  • The youth’s legal guardian must have a current Rec Well membership or current UW student status.

Member Benefits

  • Access to the Nicholas Recreation Center and Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center on Saturdays and Sundays.
  • Ages 16+ may utilize the courts, pool, track, climbing wall, sport simulators, and strength & cardio equipment.
  • Ages 3 – 15 may utilize the courts, pool, climbing wall, sport simulators, and track. Ages 3 – 15 may not use strength & cardio equipment.
  • Discounted court rates & lessons at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
  • Member pricing for Youth Programs.

RATES

wdt_ID Membership Type Rate
1 Semester $40
2 Weekend Pass $10
  • Guardians must have a Rec Well membership or purchase a Day/Week Pass to sponsor HHY.
  • Household Youth must be accompanied by their guardian (current Rec Well member) at all times. Accompanying youth is defined as being in the same activity area and under constant supervision.
  • Youth participating in Rec Well programs are not permitted to utilize the facility or family hours outside of their scheduled program. Exceptions to this include Household Youth members utilizing the facility during Family Hours.
  • Youth are unable to participate in non-youth specific programming/services (group fitness classes, intramural sports, personal training, etc.).
  • Strollers and stroller wagons are not permitted in the facilities.
  • Youths in facility must abide by all facility and space policies.
  • Pool Hours for youth swim will be Saturday & Sundays from 11a -7:30p. Pool hours are subject to change due to availability. For updated hours, please check our daily schedule.
  • During family hours, a section of the pool floor will be at 4 feet 2 inches. Additional lanes for lap swim will be available at a floor height between 8.8 – 9.8 feet.
  • Guardians must remain on the pool deck and supervising their youth at all times.
  • Youth age 13 and older can be on their own in the water at the discretion of the lifeguard. If a lifeguard has any concern about a swimmer’s ability, a guardian must be in the water with them, within arm’s reach.
    • Youth under the age of 13 should be within an “arm’s length” of the guardian at all times, which means the guardian must be in the water with them.
  • The required ratios are as follows:
Ages Youth: Guardian Ratio
Newborn – 12 months 1:1
1 – 3 years 1:1
3 – 6 years 4:1
6 – 12 years 6:1
  • For the 1:1 ratio, guardian cannot also be watching another child, in or outside the water.
  • Lifeguards do not count as a guardian.
  • All personal floatation devices must be Coast Guard Personal floatation device verification information can be found here.
  • Toys, rafts, balls, sinking devices, etc. are not allowed in the pool.
  • All pool policies must be followed at all times. Additional pool polices can be found here.

RECURRING CANCELLATIONS AND REFUND POLICIES

We do not offer refunds for periods in which any Rec Well facilities or spaces are closed due to campus closures, holidays, periods between semesters, weather-related, scheduled events, and closures for maintenance. Check out our hours here. Refund policies differ depending on type of purchase. Please review the information below and email us at hello@recwell.wisc.edu if you have any questions. To cancel a recurring monthly membership, pass, or service, please complete the Recurring Cancellation Form.

Recurring Cancellation Form

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Memberships, Services, Passes, and Programs

Rec Well memberships, services, and passes are non-refundable and non-transferable. In the event of an emergency campus-wide closure, memberships will be halted and resume when at least one Rec Well facility is permitted to reopen.

Faculty and staff who leave the university during the duration of their membership will lose their eligibility and their membership will expire at the end of the month (recurring) or at the end of the membership (Week Pass). No refunds will be given, but access will be provided up until the expiration date.

For programs, no refunds will be given as of 3 days prior to program offering start date.

All refund requests for the COVID facility closure were due before October 1, 2020. Refunds will no longer be provided for COVID facility closures.

Merchandise Purchases

Merchandise purchases are non-refundable. If merchandise is defective upon opening, this must be reported to the purchase location within the duration of your visit when merchandise was purchased. A replacement item will be given with no additional cost. Defective merchandise must be returned at that time.

Refund Request and Processing

All refund requests must be submitted via the Refund Request Form below. A cancellation processing fee of 10% of the refund amount or $10 minimum (should refund amount be less than $10) will be applied for all approved refunds. Any refund amount under $5 will not be provided. Approved refunds will be returned in the following methods:

  • Credit card payments will be refunded to the original card used at the time of payment.
  • Cash and check payments will be refunded via campus-issued check and may take up to 30 days to process.

Once offered a refund, the refund recipient has 30 days to provide refund information, if needed.

Refund Request Form