As the Paris 2024 Olympics gets underway, Visit Leicester has highlighted a number of opportunities for residents of, and visitors to Leicester and Leicestershire to take part in some of the sports featured in this summer’s Olympics.
If the Olympics is inspiring you to try a new sport, there are venues around the city and county where you can give them a go. Alongside local leisure centres where you can try swimming, badminton, squash, table tennis and many more, there are lots of dedicated venues where you can learn a new sport.
Practice target sports with archery and shooting at Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre. As they’re located right next to the River Soar, you can also give kayaking and other water sports a go, there as well.
Target Shooting is also available at the award-winning Field Sport UK. They offer a great package of speed shooting, moving target shooting and pistol shooting, all under the experienced eye of their expert instructors.
The summer is the perfect time to get into open water swimming, and Leicestershire has some fantastic venues for you to try out this invigorating pastime. Stoney Cove is located in a disused spring-fed quarry which is also home to the National Diving Centre, and Frisby Lakes near Melton is used as a training venue by British Triathlon.
Golf is a relatively new addition to the Olympics, becoming part of the programme in 2016 (although it was on the roster in 1900 and 1904) and there are loads of place to tee off around Leicestershire. At Leicester Golf Centre you can learn at your own pace in their relaxed environment. Sessions with top pros are available and their state-of-the-art Toptracer technology allows you to analyse your accuracy, speed and distance.
Mountain Biking made its Olympic debut in 1996 and you can test your skills at Snibston Colliery Park’s track, made on the original colliery spoil heap. Cycle over 4km of jumps and bumps that take you twisting and turning through physically and technically demanding tracks. Or for a slightly more sedate cycling experience, you can hop onto an e-bike and cycle through the heart of the National Forest, experiencing this beautiful part of the world at a slower pace.
Equestrian activities are the order of the day with horse riding experiences at the Charnwood Forest Alpacas. Trot, canter or gallop through the beautiful Leicestershire countryside with help from the experienced handlers as you build a bond with your horse.
Sport climbing will be coming to Paris 2024 with two disciplines, speed climbing and a combination of bouldering and lead climbing. You can test your skills out at Social Climbing Leicester, a fantastic indoor climbing space where you can scale walls of all difficulties. Suitable for the whole family and from beginners to experts.
Many of these venues and experiences are part of Visit Leicester’s Fitcation campaign, which is all about inspiring gentle adventures and active escapes. It is aimed at encouraging people to take part in thrill-seeking challenges, learn a new sport or just have active family fun at leisure and active entertainment facilities around the city and county.
