After a very long and weird winter, spring is finally coming to the Carolinas, which also means the return of spring sports! We’ve all heard of the classics like baseball, soccer, softball, track, and golf, but there are a lot of other spring sports that are less common. Here are 5 examples of niche spring sports you might want to try this year!
Archery
Have you ever wanted to be Katniss Everdeen? If so, you might want to give archery a shot! While the modern sport of archery isn’t exactly like what you see in a fantasy book, it still involves the same principles of precision, focus, and control and you’ll still look super cool doing it. Traditionally, archery was used for hunting and in combat. Today, the sport involves
shooting arrows at a target as accurately as possible, with each ring on the bullseye target being assigned a different point value. Archery can be practiced both recreationally and competitively, and there are tons of places where you can rent bows, arrows, and targets so you can try out the sport without fronting the cost. You can even look into joining an archery club so you can develop your skills with some new friends!
Rowing
More interested in team sports or want something more aquatic? You might want to try rowing, also called crew here in the US. Rowing is exactly what it sounds like: Teams of people competing to see who can get their boat across the water the fastest using sheer manpower. It’s divided into two disciplines: sculling, where each person has two oars (1 per
hand), and sweeping, where each person has one oar. Crew is a popular sport up north, especially in places like New York and Michigan which are full of lakes for practice. Rowing is a super cool sport that requires teamwork, communication, discipline, rhythm, coordination, and strength. The only downside is that rowing programs can be both expensive and hard to find down here in the South. Getting to practice might be a bit of a drive depending on your proximity to a lake, but it’s still a great option for people looking to try a water or team sport.
Lacrosse
Am I slightly biased towards liking this sport because it’s the one I play? Yes. But lacrosse truly is an amazing option for those looking for a team sport or anyone who wants to get as
close as possible to playing competitive Quidditch. Lacrosse is sort of a combination of soccer, basketball, and field hockey and it's so much fun. The objective is to use sticks with nets on the end (called heads) to throw and catch a tennis ball-sized rubber ball and shoot it into the goal, all while the other team does their best to keep you from throwing, catching, and shooting. If you play men’s
lacrosse, you get to whack people with your stick and generally beat up the other team since you will be wearing helmets, gloves, and pads. If you play women’s lacrosse, you have to be a lot more careful with hitting other people since you will only be wearing goggles and mouth guards. Lacrosse is a game of strategy, teamwork, communication, endurance, and good old-fashioned skill. It can be a little expensive to start since you have to purchase all the necessary equipment and sticks can be a lot of money if you get a really good one, but there are places you can rent equipment from if you just want to try it out. Finding clubs to play for is also easier than it used to be, as lacrosse is growing in popularity down here. It still isn’t as popular as in the northeastern US, but there are a good number of competitive and recreational teams to choose from.
Water Polo
Do you like the idea of soccer but want it to involve more water? Well, then water polo might be the sport for you! Water polo is, at its most basic, a sport where 2 teams of 7 players each (6 outfield players and 1 goalie) try to earn the most points by throwing a ball into the other team’s goal. They achieve this by passing and pushing the ball around the pool, all while treading water. It reminds me a lot of soccer or handball, just in a pool and with slightly different rules. Water polo requires endurance, strength, strategy, communication, and teamwork. Players have to tread water the entire 32-minute game and cannot touch the bottom of the pool, which makes this sport deceivingly difficult. But this sport also looks exciting and fast-paced, which I think would make the endless treading worth it. Water polo isn’t super common in North Carolina, but there are a few established clubs with locations throughout the state.
Rock Climbing
I think everyone has been a rock wall at some point in their life, but did you know that rock climbing is both a recreational activity and a competitive sport? There are three types of competitive rock climbing: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. Speed climbing is the most straightforward. The goal is to get to the top of the route as quickly as possible, essentially sprinting the climb. Bouldering is all about completing the route (called a problem in bouldering) in the fewest number of tries and by using the most difficult moves. Lead climbing involves seeing a route and evaluating it on the spot before trying to get as high as possible within a six-minute time limit. All of these forms of competitive rock climbing involve incredible strength, strategy, and flexibility. Rock climbing also just looks fun and based on what I’ve seen online, it is a thriving community of both competitive and recreational climbers who are always cheering each other on. This one is a little cheaper to start than the others, especially if you can get a chalk bag, harness, and climbing shoes second-hand. It also may be more convenient, as climbing gyms are more widespread.
Whether you prefer team sports or individual, aquatic or on land, there is a sport out there for you. Finding it might take a little work, but being active and part of a team or community is so fun and rewarding that it more than makes up for it. Spring is a great time to jump into a new activity and I highly recommend trying one of these more obscure spring sports!
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