Olympic Sports: Get Involved

All eyes are on Rio tonight for the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Across 16 days, a record-breaking 11,000 athletes will compete to win glory for their home country in 28 Olympic Sports , and the eyes of the world will be watching.

Inspired to take part? We’ve selected some exciting Olympic events you can get involved in (at a much less competitive level…) right here in Scotland.

What a great picture of the Olympic Rings on Copacabana Beach! Photo by @gettyimages

A photo posted by The Olympic Games (@olympics) on

 

Sailing

One of the great advantages of being an island nation — particularly one boasting hundreds of lochs — is that there are plenty of opportunities to go sailing in the UK.

You aren’t likely to start off learning on the 49er (nicknamed ‘the batmobile’ of boats) seen in the video below, but there are loads of great sailing centres across Scotland where you can start getting your sea legs and work your way up to bigger, faster vessels.

At Cumbrae Sailing Centre you can learn how to sail a dinghy for as little as £50 for a day’s training.

You’ll pick up the basic operational skills, while also learning how to stay safe when out on the water.

Archery

Archery was introduced to the Olympics a whopping 116 years ago and has been a strong favourite since.

Bolstered by Katniss Everdeen’s skills with a bow and arrow in Hunger Games, the sport has become increasingly popular outwith the Olympic Stadium.

Through Scottish Archery  you can find out where to do courses in this exciting sport, and take part in target archery, field archery and flight archery.

 

Must be mad! But started shooting again lol. #archery #scottisharchery #Lochsidebowmen #backtobasic

A photo posted by Andy (@gadgets78) on

 

Boxing

This brutal sport, aside from ensuring a few lumps and bruises, also promises a fantastic cardio workout.

The Olympics has thirteen boxing medal events, defined by different weight categories, with three categories for women and ten for men.

There are loads of fantastic boxing clubs dotted around Scotland, many of which train fighters – both for fun and for competitions – from a young age.

Aberdeen Amateur Boxing Club has almost 100 years experience of training boxers and welcomes people into the sport from all ages and walks of life.

If you’re closer to the central belt, the Edinburgh Boxing Academy is a new kid on the block with plenty to offer the novice boxer. If you fancy yourself as the next Rocky Balboa or Million Dollar Baby, now’s your chance to train.

 

Trampolining

 

Trampolining’s not a sport everyone gets to try in PE, or on a trampoline in their own back garden – so Ryze Glasgow is here to help.

OK, so it’s not quite the same as the Olympic trampoline set-up, but Ryze  is an indoor trampoline park that allows you to flip, somersault and leap your way into a high-energy workout.

Jumpers pay £10 for an hour’s session (referred to as a ‘flight ticket’) and £5.00 for an additional hour.

A pricey bounce, but well worth it for the exercise.

 

Rhythmic Gymnastics

OK, so the sequins and fake tan aren’t everyone’s cup of tea – but rhythmic gymnastics takes incredible training and athleticism to master.

Rhythmic Gymnastics involves artistic interpretation of gymnastics, through choreographed floor routines involving impressing acrobatics.

There are group and individual events at the Olympics and Team GB has qualified full men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics teams.

There are only five rhythmic gymnastics clubs in Scotland and Pentland Gym is one of them.

Who knows what you’ll be able to do after a few sessions…..?

Sashulya 🌸 #Rg

A photo posted by Rhythmic Gymnastics (@rhythmicgymnasts) on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Warning: Undefined variable $deps in /var/www/web/wp-content/plugins/google-captcha/google-captcha.php on line 765