Recreational activities is a very important component for students to live a healthy and happy life. Recreational activities improves mental health, concentration skills and the ability to manage anxiety and stress. Recreation also improves social skills which is very important for students when it comes to teamwork. Standford university is one of the largest universities in the United States, has over 5500 yearly participants in recreational activities such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, running, walking and biking trails. Standford also has physical education classes, group fitness and aquatics for students to participate in. The next university we are going to look at is Columbia which is situated in New York City. Columbia has Recreational areas such as Tri-level fitness area, Blue gym, Fitness studio, Aerobics, Track running, Squash and a Ursi pool. Sports include basketball, football, soccer, baseball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, and track. The last university we are going too look at is one of the most famous universities in the world. Harvard university has the following variety of leisure activities, cycling, pilates, Hit workouts, yoga, and Zumba classes which all students can take part of. Harvard sports which is also their varsity teams include the following, baseball, basketball, crew, cross-country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby, sailing, skiing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. All three universities has a total of 31 varsity teams. The main reason college sports are so popular in America is pure entertainment. The history, the rivalries, the tournament, the overtimes, sports betting, and the excitement of the game all contributes to America's love of college sports. Nwu has 3 campuses which provides sports such as badminton, martial arts, squash, swimming, rugby, field hockey for men and women, netball, track and field, boxing, sport dance, climbing, indoor soccer, basketball, rugby, tennis and volleyball. American universities has a bigger variety sports and also more fitness related activities such as classes which students can participate in without being part of a sport as where Nwu has the basic sport variety and only students that is associated with varsity teams are permitted to use the recreational centers. South Africa is mainly all about the big three sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket. Because Nwu has the basic recreational activities, most students does not want to be part of varsity teams or participate because there sport of choice isn't available at the university as where overseas, there is a bigger variety for students to choose from. Nwu has 16 recreational activities where the three international universities has a variety of 23 and up. North-west university has the values and the right idea in mind when it comes to student health from participating in leisure activities but the excucution of the marketing of these activities is wrong and also the fact that private students or students who aren't apart of varsity teams can not participate in any activities. This makes is impossible for some students to participate and enjoy recreation without paying for the enjoyment. International universities are far more involved when it comes to recreational activities on campus. These universities has fitness centers and class instructors for students who needs leadership. Our university has non of those things which does not motivate students tobe part of activities and does not give students the safe feeling of trying something new without being judged for doing it wrong which can be resolved with help from instructors. The conclusion is that local universities are far behind international universities when it comes to recreational activities and students don't feel motivated to be part of something they already "tried" in highschool.