Sports and recreation in Bermuda
Encyclopedia
Sports are exceptionally popular in Bermuda, as there is a great need for recreation in such an isolated location.
In Bermuda
, Cricket
and Football (soccer)
are the most popular sports. Cricket in particular now has a two-day (not including the weekend) holiday dedicated to it, called Cup Match. The whole of Bermuda grind to a complete halt for two days every summer to turn its attention to a cricket game. The festive game began officially in July 1902 between the Somerset Cricket Club in the west end and the St. George's Cricket Club in the east end. Venues of the game change yearly between both clubs. The popularity of the annual game was such that it caused continued absences from employment. As a direct result, the 2-day public holiday was first introduced in 1947 and has been in effect ever since. http://www.bermuda-online.org/sports.htm The two days (currently called Emancipation Day and Somers Day) feature a single Cricket match between teams from both ends of the island, a match has essentially been played for over a century. The Island's national Cricket team has also proven itself on the world stage.
Bermuda also has the most golf
courses per square mile in the world. The golf courses on the island are quite distinct. The courses are generally short, and the turf hard and sandy. The wind also helps to set apart golfing in Bermuda from most other places. Gusts from the powerful island winds can, sometimes, affect the accuracy of a golf swing. Bermuda has hilly terrain which is apparent at some of the island's golf courses. Each year, Bermuda has a number of golf tournaments and events held by the Bermuda Golf Association. One of the most popular annual tournaments is the Bermuda Open. Bermudian Quinn Talbot was several times the World One-Armed Golf Champion.
Other popular sports include various equestrian
forms including pony-cart racing and dressage
, rugby
, squash
and tennis
. See rugby union in Bermuda
. Motorsports are gaining in popularity. Australian rules football
is also gaining popularity and the island will host the Australian Rules Football Championships in April 2007, an international tournament featuring sides from Canada
, the United States
, Europe
and the Bermuda Lions national team.
Bermuda Fitted Dinghy racing - in which a number of small punts outfitted with huge sails and a crew of six race each other and frequently sink - has been declining in popularity over the years.
Lacrosse is quickly growing in popularity on the island. In 2006 Bermuda was represented at the ILF world championships of lacrosse in Ontario, Canada. Bermuda is an affiliate nation of the International Lacrosse Federation.
Bermuda is often represented in the Olympic Games
, though it has only won a single medal (in boxing). It also frequently attends other large sports tournaments, though its small size proves to be an obstacle in building up strong sports figures.
Bermudan sport continues to enjoy a growing profile on the global stage. For instance, the notorious Bermudan and multiple capped, world-renowned international rugby professional known to some as 'Bermuda' and to others as 'Allan' (put them together and you get 'Bermuda Allan', simple), was recently given the honour of University of Southampton Athletic Union President and has undertaken an instrumental role in turning the University's AU into the 'best' in the United Kingdom leading to their 'domination' of the BUCS league in various disciplines. Esteemed Irish sportsman and Gaelic Games legend Michael Ronan Conan Murphy (better known by the moniker Mickey ------ Ro Co) has been a loyal supporter and advocate of the great one, and it is believed his passionate election night speech played a crucial role in the ultimate success of Bermuda Allan's campaign and marginal victory. Bermuda can be found regularly at the University's campus, particularly at 'Union Films', and is well known to dabble in the luxurious 'grub' provided by the SUSU Café. Any requests for interviews or time with the great man are fielded by his press secretary and long-time personal friend and accomplice Robert Mavor-Morrison and you are encouraged to make contact with this renowned Scottish institution.
In Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and Football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
are the most popular sports. Cricket in particular now has a two-day (not including the weekend) holiday dedicated to it, called Cup Match. The whole of Bermuda grind to a complete halt for two days every summer to turn its attention to a cricket game. The festive game began officially in July 1902 between the Somerset Cricket Club in the west end and the St. George's Cricket Club in the east end. Venues of the game change yearly between both clubs. The popularity of the annual game was such that it caused continued absences from employment. As a direct result, the 2-day public holiday was first introduced in 1947 and has been in effect ever since. http://www.bermuda-online.org/sports.htm The two days (currently called Emancipation Day and Somers Day) feature a single Cricket match between teams from both ends of the island, a match has essentially been played for over a century. The Island's national Cricket team has also proven itself on the world stage.
Bermuda also has the most golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
courses per square mile in the world. The golf courses on the island are quite distinct. The courses are generally short, and the turf hard and sandy. The wind also helps to set apart golfing in Bermuda from most other places. Gusts from the powerful island winds can, sometimes, affect the accuracy of a golf swing. Bermuda has hilly terrain which is apparent at some of the island's golf courses. Each year, Bermuda has a number of golf tournaments and events held by the Bermuda Golf Association. One of the most popular annual tournaments is the Bermuda Open. Bermudian Quinn Talbot was several times the World One-Armed Golf Champion.
Other popular sports include various equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
forms including pony-cart racing and dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
, rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. See rugby union in Bermuda
Rugby union in Bermuda
Rugby union in Bermuda is a popular sport. Because of the island's small population, less than 70,000, it has not produced a world class team, but nonetheless is a dominant force within Caribbean rugby, and arguably the third strongest rugby nation in North America after Canada and the...
. Motorsports are gaining in popularity. Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
is also gaining popularity and the island will host the Australian Rules Football Championships in April 2007, an international tournament featuring sides from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Bermuda Lions national team.
Bermuda Fitted Dinghy racing - in which a number of small punts outfitted with huge sails and a crew of six race each other and frequently sink - has been declining in popularity over the years.
Lacrosse is quickly growing in popularity on the island. In 2006 Bermuda was represented at the ILF world championships of lacrosse in Ontario, Canada. Bermuda is an affiliate nation of the International Lacrosse Federation.
Bermuda is often represented in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, though it has only won a single medal (in boxing). It also frequently attends other large sports tournaments, though its small size proves to be an obstacle in building up strong sports figures.
Bermudan sport continues to enjoy a growing profile on the global stage. For instance, the notorious Bermudan and multiple capped, world-renowned international rugby professional known to some as 'Bermuda' and to others as 'Allan' (put them together and you get 'Bermuda Allan', simple), was recently given the honour of University of Southampton Athletic Union President and has undertaken an instrumental role in turning the University's AU into the 'best' in the United Kingdom leading to their 'domination' of the BUCS league in various disciplines. Esteemed Irish sportsman and Gaelic Games legend Michael Ronan Conan Murphy (better known by the moniker Mickey ------ Ro Co) has been a loyal supporter and advocate of the great one, and it is believed his passionate election night speech played a crucial role in the ultimate success of Bermuda Allan's campaign and marginal victory. Bermuda can be found regularly at the University's campus, particularly at 'Union Films', and is well known to dabble in the luxurious 'grub' provided by the SUSU Café. Any requests for interviews or time with the great man are fielded by his press secretary and long-time personal friend and accomplice Robert Mavor-Morrison and you are encouraged to make contact with this renowned Scottish institution.