World City Guide

Sport

Sport has proved to be a wonderful way of bringing together the people of South Africa and various steps to break down the traditional racial stereotypes of certain sports have been taken and seem to be working well. Most recently, the awarding of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to the country has created ripples of celebration and excitement throughout the entire population, especially following the disappointment of losing the 2006 bid to Germany. Football has a predominantly black following and is largely seen as a sport that resists integration. It is hoped that 2010 will overthrow these perceptions.

Most of the top football teams are based in Johannesburg. The top local teams – Ajax Cape Town (website: www.ajaxct.com) and Santos – feature strongly in the national Castle Premiership league. Football’s governing body, based at Hartleyvale Stadium, Willow Road, Observatory (tel: (021) 448 8652), is the Western Province Football Association (tel: (021) 448 1649).

Other popular sports in Cape Town include cricket, rugby and horseracing.

Cricket was given a great boost after South Africa successfully hosted the World Cup Cricket in 2003. With a strong English colonial history, the city is one of the main feeding grounds for the South African international cricket squad, the Proteas. The home of Western Province cricket is at the Newlands Cricket Ground, 146 Campground Road, Newlands, where the governing body, Western Province Cricket Association, 161 Campground Road (tel: (021) 657 2003; fax: (021) 657 2020; e-mail: info@wpca.co.za; website: www.wpca.cricket.org), is located. Matches are played most weekends in summer, with international tests between South Africa and its main rivals regularly on the agenda. Night cricket is also one of the most popular pastimes in Cape Town and a good excuse to down beer and cheer at every ball that gets hit.

The city is home to one of rugby’s most famous teams, the Stormers (website: www.thestormers.com), who compete with Australian and New Zealand rivals for the top of the Super 12 Log. Newlands Stadium, 11 Boundary Road, Newlands, is home to these local heroes as well as the comprehensive SA Rugby Museum (tel: (021) 659 6768; fax: (021) 686 2151), which is located on the ground floor of the Sport Science Institute; guided tours of the stadium are also available. The home union is the Western Province Rugby Football Union (tel: (021) 659 4600; fax: (021) 659 4601; website: www.wprugby.com).

Horseracing is as much a social event in Cape Town as it is a sporting one. The hugely popular annual J&B Met is held at the Kenilworth Race Track, Rosmead Avenue.

Tickets to sporting events are available for purchase from Computicket (tel: (083) 915 8000; e-mail: info@computicket.com; website: www.computicket.com).

Adventure Sports: The spectacular natural setting of the city means that adventurous sports enjoy a huge following. There are several operators who offer a range of adventure sports, from mountain biking to abseiling, rock climbing to sky diving, hiking to bungee jumping, surfing to shark diving and canyoning (known locally as ‘kloofing’, which entails hiking into remote mountain ranges and then swimming and jumping down the gorges). Daytrippers (tel: (021) 511 4766; fax: (021) 511 4768; e-mail: info@daytrippers.co.za; website: www.daytrippers.co.za) offers hiking and kloofing tours, while Adventure Village Adventure Village (tel: (021) 424 1580; fax: (021) 424 1590; e-mail: info@adventure-village.co.za; website: www.adventure-village.co.za) offers a full range of adventure and extreme sports options, tours and expeditions, including daily abseiling expeditions down the sheer faces of Table Mountain.

Fitness Centres: Virgin Active (tel: (0860) 200 911; website: www.virginactive.co.za) has the monopoly on the fitness centres around the Western Cape, each offering a variety of facilities, including gym, swimming, squash, tennis and other sports. The city-centre club is situated on the Foreshore, 21 Lower Long Street (tel: (021) 421 5857; fax: (021) 419 7319) and includes aerobics, toning and cardio circuits, free weights, a pool, squash, sauna and steam bath facilities. Other club locations include Claremont, corner of Main Road and Brooke Street (tel: (021) 683 2402), Constantia, Main Road (tel: (021) 794 5010), Durbanville Palmgrove Centre, corner of Main Road and Church Street (tel: (021) 975 5210) and N1 City Value Centre, N1 Goodwood (tel: (021) 595 3030). A one-day guest fee is R75.

Golf: There are many golf courses in and around Cape Town and many are open to the public. The Western Province Golf Union, Mowbray Golf Club, Raapenberg Road, Pinelands (tel: (021) 686 1668; fax: (021) 686 1669; e-mail: wpga@global.co.za; website: www.wpgu.co.za) can provide further information.

Eighteen-hole golf courses that are open to the public include the Rondebosch Golf Club, 3 Klipfontein Road (tel: (021) 689 4176/7; fax: (021) 685 1447; e-mail: rgc@mweb.co.za; website: www.rondebosch-golf-club.co.za), the Royal Cape Golf Club, 174 Ottery Road, Wynberg (tel: (021) 761 6551; fax: (021) 797 5246; e-mail: bookings@royalcapegolf.co.za; website: www.royalcapegolf.co.za), and the Clovelly Country Club, Clovelly Road, Clovelly (tel: (021) 782 1118; fax: (021) 782 6853; e-mail: clubhouse@clovelly.co.za; website: www.clovelly.co.za). Green fees vary from R200 to R500 for non-members, depending on the club and season (high season is 1 October to 30 April). Further afield, Spier Country Club, located off the R44 toward Stellenbosch (tel: (021) 809 1100; e-mail: info@spier.co.za; website: www.spier.co.za), is an 18-hole course situated beneath the Helderberg Mountain range, with green fees of R200 for non-members.

Swimming: The Cape Town City Council’s call centre (tel: (086) 010 3089) can provide information on Cape Town’s public swimming pools. Newlands Swimming Pool, Sans Souci Road, Newlands (tel: (021) 674 4197), is the centre of competitive swimming, diving and water polo. The Long Street Baths, Long Street (tel: (021) 400 3302), is an indoor, heated pool, adjacent to the Turkish Baths (tel: (021) 423 9849). Entrance to the pools is R10. Many Virgin Active clubs (see Fitness Centres above) provide excellent swimming facilities. The Camps Bay Tidal Pool, Camps Bay beach (tel: (021) 434 3341), provides alfresco bathing possibilities. The best beach swimming is in the False Bay, at Fish Hoek or the St James tidal pool, although swimmers should not venture out too far as this is shark territory. Bathers should exercise caution at all times and not swim at deserted locations.

Tennis: Although there are scores of recreational tennis clubs dotted around the city, it is extremely difficult to access the courts unless accompanied by a member. Several of the golf clubs (see Golf above) also provide tennis and lawn bowl facilities. Likewise, many of the Virgin Active clubs (see Fitness Centres above) also provide tennis courts, as do several major hotels. Tennis Western Province, Lovers Walk, Rondebosch (tel: (021) 686 3055; fax: (021) 685 5293), can provide further information.

Watersports: Cape Town is an extremely popular destination for watersports enthusiasts. Zandvlei, in Muizenberg, is still quite popular with windsurfing and small craft yachting, although it is largely considered a learning ground for beginners. Hardcore wave freaks prefer to brave the breakers off Bloubergstrand, Milnerton, Long Beach and Cape Point or the Dungeons off Hout Bay. Although conditions can be excellent, False Bay is considered somewhat dangerous, as this is the favourite spot for other watersports enthusiasts, namely Great White Sharks. Downhill Adventures, Shop 10 Overbeek Building, corner of Kloof, Long and Orange Streets (tel: (021) 422 0388; fax: (021) 423 0127; website: www.downhilladventures.com) offers day and multi-day surfing courses with instruction and equipment provided, including transport and lunch. Table Bay Diving, Shop 7, Quay 5, V&A Waterfront (tel: (021) 419 8822; e-mail: info@tablebaydiving.com; website: www.tablebaydiving.com) organises diving charters (including wreck, reef, deep, night and shark cage diving) as well as diving courses. Equipment is available to purchase or hire. Ocean yachting mainly takes place in the Table Bay and False Bay, with regattas held every Wednesday in summer, with the start point at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, Duncan Road, Table Bay (tel: (021) 421 1354; fax: (021) 421 6028; e-mail: info@rcyc.co.za; website: www.rcyc.co.za). The Wind Report (tel: (082) 234 6300) provides regular updates on the wind situation, while the Surf Report (tel: (021) 788 1350) keeps surfers up to date on wave conditions around the peninsula. Surfing information and tips are also available online (website: www.wavescape.co.za).