Sport of the Month London Sport In London - Getting Started

With the London 2012 Olympic Games just around the corner, Londoners are becoming more interested in participating and watching sports. London is an ideal city for sport with its abundance of green spaces, including approximately 100 parks. The beautiful River Thames provides an ideal setting for all watersports, such as rowing, sailing, and kayaking and canoeing, but the river is also a scenic backdrop for many other organised sports or just an afternoon run, walk or cycle.

London is very pedestrian friendly, with fantastic opportunities for running, cycling and walking as part of a commute, a lunch break, fitness training or just relaxation time after work.  A stroll around any of the parks in London during the spring and summer seasons will show games of cricket, especially Clapham Common, as well as football and touch rugby matches in every park.

Modern leisure centres like Westway Sports Centre, Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre and Sobell Leisure Centre provide excellent facilities for indoor sports, including badminton, squash, indoor climbing, and swimming. “Pay and play” memberships are attractive to individuals who want to take advantage of the various fitness classes and sport courses available in one place without a long-term commitment. These locations offer leagues and teams for organised and competitive sports in London, and hundreds of sport clubs choose to operate out of leisure centres for the convenience of accessibility. Typical leagues available at leisure centres include netball, football, and tennis.

Joining a sport club is an opportune way to try a new sport, improve fitness levels, or compete at the highest levels of sport. London’s more popular sports of running, cycling, tennis, squash, badminton, and golf have hundreds of clubs in each region of the city. Many sport clubs organis leagues and tournaments to provide members with to play sport competitively, and coaching options are available for refining technique, skill and strategy.

 

Beginner athletes have many options to get started with a new sport. First, check out Totally Sporty’s Sport of the Month features to learn more about specific sports and the best venues for playing them. Featuring more than 1,500 London sports clubs, the Totally Sporty Club Directory is also a convenient place to find detailed descriptions of each sport club, operating times, venue sizes, and directions.

Getting started with sports in London:

Most popular sports in London

The top sports which Londoners regularly participate in:

- Football
- Tennis
- Running
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Golf

Based on Totally Sporty member's profiles.