Sports and fitness in Cape Town
Sport is a serious matter, and staying fit is one of the priorities of Cape Towners. The lifestyle revolves mainly around outdoor activities. Indeed, Cape Town, located between the sea and the mountains, with its Mediterranean climate and its omnipresent nature, is an invitation to practice outdoor sports. There is so much to do, jogging, hiking, surfing, paddling, paragliding, cycling...
With its immense forests and natural reserves, hiking is one of the main activities practiced in Cape Town. The natural park of Table Mountain offers routes for all levels. Lion's Head, the summit of Table Mountain, is the most popular trail for its panoramic view of the city and the ocean. But there are also Cape Point Nature Reserve, Chapman's Peak, Kalk Bay Mountain and many others to explore near Cape Town.
Biking in Cape Town
Cycling is also very popular in Cape Town, and the roads are very busy on weekends. Bike paths have been built in the city and on the roads.
Every year in March, the Cape Town Cycle Tour, also known as the Argus Cycle Tour, takes place with more than 35,000 participants, including 4,000 internationals. This 109-kilometer race, which starts in the city center of Cape Town, goes down to Simonstown and then along the coast before climbing Chapman's Peak; it is the largest timed cycling event in the world.
In March, there is also the Absa Cape Epic, a 680-kilometer mountain bike race that takes place over eight days. The course changes every year, but the race is always held in the Western Cape.
The FNB Wines2Whales is a mountain bike race that takes place in October over three days. The event starts at Lourensford Wine Estate, passes through Oak Valley Estate and ends in Hermanus (a Western Cape resort famous for its whale watching).
Walking and jogging in Cape Town
Fans of walking and jogging are particularly spoiled in Cape Town with all the routes through the city, whether on the road, the seaside, or the mountain trails: the Lion's Head trails, Tafelberg Road, Newlands Forest, Sea Point Promenade, Green Point Urban Park.
Sea Point Promenade and Green Point Urban Park have an area with exercise equipment (bars, elliptical machines, weights) that allows those who wish to work out to do so.
Several marathons are run each year in Cape town, including the Two Oceans Marathon, reputed to be the most beautiful in the world as its course takes place along the magnificent landscapes of the Cape Peninsula.
Activities for adrenaline junkies in Cape Town
For those who love thrills, they can go diving with great white sharks at Gansbaai (2 hours east of Cape Town) or go paragliding or tandem skydiving from Signal Hill and Lion's Head.
The most popular sports in Cape Town
When we talk about team sports in South Africa, we obviously think of rugby which is the emblematic national sport of the country because it has strongly contributed to reunifying the country at the end of Apartheid. Rugby has about 650,000 members nationwide. It is the sport of choice for the Afrikaner community. The Newlands Stadium in Cape Town hosts national and international rugby matches, and the Cape Town rugby team, "The Stormers”, is considered one of the best in the country.
Cricket, long reserved for the white elite, has now become a national sport, and matches are played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. Soccer, with its 3.5 million members nationwide, is much more popular among the black and colored community. Ajax Cape Town plays at Green Point Stadium.
Other sports played in Cape Town
Many tennis courts, with views of the ocean or Table Mountain, allow players to practice.
There are many golf courses in and around Cape Town.
Cape Towners rarely swim because the Atlantic Ocean is very cold all year round, from 9 to 15 degrees. The waters south of the Peninsula are a little warmer, from 18 to 22 degrees. But the Capetians are fans of surfing, kite surfing, canoeing, paddling, etc. Every year, the Red Bull King of the Air, an international kite surfing competition, takes place in Cape Town.
There are also fitness centers, dance classes, yoga classes, and martial arts centers everywhere in the city.
The choice is so vast that it is difficult if you want to practice a sport not to find your happiness in Cape Town.
The South African education system emphasizes the personal development of the children and leaves a lot of room for sports activities that take place in the afternoons within the schools. From a very young age, children join team sports clubs and inter-school competitions are very popular.
