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Inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic athletes in the 2024 summer of sport?
You don’t have to be a pro to have a go – from cycling to climbing and sailing to skateboarding, Hampshire has some excellent facilities where you can try out Olympics sports whatever your ability – let the Games begin!
Cycling: Calshot Activities Centre and Queen Elizabeth Country Park
The Great Britain Cycling Team is the most successful Olympic and Paralympic sports team in British history and they’re hoping to bring home more medals in 2024.
Calshot Activities Centre in Southampton has the only indoor banked velodrome in the south of England and has been used by many international standard cyclists including some of Great Britain's Olympians. Cyclists of all abilities can have a go on the track – if you can ride a bike, a coach can help you give the velodrome a try.
If mountain biking is more your thing, then Queen Elizabeth Country Park in the South Downs is a great place to visit with two dedicated mountain bike trails: a 3.7-mile intermediate trail (blue route) and a 4.6-mile advanced trail (red route).
Find out more about Calshot Activities Centre
Find out more about Queen Elizabeth Country Park
Find out more about cycling and mountain biking in Hampshire
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Sailing: The Solent
The British Sailing Team always puts in a top performance at the Olympics and Hampshire hero Ben Ainslie is one of the most successful sailors in Olympic history – you can see his honorary gold post box for his 2012 gold medal in his hometown of Lymington.
Hampshire’s 230 miles of coastline along England’s sunny southern shores and the Solent, lends itself perfectly to sailing. First Class Sailing offers a full range of RYA practical sailing courses from its base in Southampton, and Escape Yachting is a skippered yacht charter company catering for all levels of experience.
Find out more about sailing in Hampshire
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Windsurfing and kitesurfing: Hayling Island
iQFOiL will replace RS:X as the windsurfing class at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 introducing a foil element to the sport.
Windsurfing originated on Hampshire’s Hayling Island and its shores remain one of the best places in the UK to practice windsurfing and other wind watersports like kitesurfing and wing foiling.
For lessons and coaching, Windwise is a windsurfing school run by Simon Bornhoft, a former national champion, and Olympics BBC windsurfing commentator. And the Hayling Island CBK Kitesurf School is the longest running kitesurf centre in the UK.
Find out more about windsurfing, kitesurfing, and wing foiling in Hampshire
Skateboarding: countywide
When Sky Brown won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she became Great Britain’s youngest ever medallist and inspired many to take up the sport. As she bids to bring home another medal from Paris at just 16 years old, skaters of any age can have a go at one of the many skateparks in Hampshire.
Hayling Island, Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Fordingbridge, and New Milton all have excellent outdoor skateparks; Southsea Skatepark is one of the oldest and most iconic skateparks in the UK; and the Pitt St. Skatepark in Portsmouth has converted a former supermarket into an indoor skatepark for all wheeled sports.
Archery: New Forest Activities
Archery first became an Olympic sport in Paris in 1900 making it one of the most historical events with its origins dating back to hunting and battles.
A former royal hunting ground for William the Conqueror, the (actually very ancient) New Forest is the perfect place to take part in this medieval sport. New Forest Activities offers archery experiences for you to aim towards learning new bow and arrow skills.
Find out more about New Forest Activities
Climbing: Calshot Activities Centre
A relative newcomer to the Games, climbing made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan and it’s set to take to new heights in 2024.
Climbing is growing in popularity and Hampshire has the tallest climbing wall in the south at Calshot Activities Centre. Calshot has 1200sqm of climbing including an interactive laser wall, speed climbing, and a dedicated bouldering wall, all with a range of experiences suitable for all skill levels.
Find out more about Calshot Activities Centre
Equestrian: countywide
Team GB has enjoyed great success in Olympics equestrian events including Hampshire Olympian Peter Charles who has his own post box painted gold in honour of his 2012 medal in the village of Bentworth.
As the British Olympic Squad prepares to jump towards more medals in eventing, there are plenty of places in Hampshire where hippophiles can try out horse riding in Hampshire from bridleways and trails to riding schools and equestrian centres like Wellington Riding in Hook.
Find out more about horse riding in Hampshire
Find out more about sports in Hampshire
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Related
First Class Sailing offers a full range of RYA practical sailing courses, including Competent Crew, Day Skipper and Yachmaster courses.
Escape Yachting is a skippered yacht charter company. They focus on high quality, professional service on our sailing days, weekends and holidays. Escape Yachts is passionate about sailing and sharing that enthusiasm with those who sail with them. The guests range from complete novices to Yachtmasters - so you need not worry about your levels of experience.
New Forest Activities offer a variety of safe and enjoyable activities for families, couples, individuals and groups of all ages and abilities led by expert outdoor instructors. For tours with a difference, take to the water with Canoeing and Kayaking on the Beaulieu River Nature Reserve.
Wellington Riding is an international competition venue and leading UK equestrian training centre with an outstanding reputation and luxury facilities.
Based in Hampshire, Windwise offers bespoke courses, coaching around the Hayling and Hampshire area. Simon Bornhoft is one of the worlds top coaches and has coached literally thousands of windsurfers of all levels to make great improvements and get the most out of their time on the water.
Hayling CBK Island kitesurfing school and the kitesurf shop have been established for 10 years now. However with the introduction of the kitesurf club this now allows all three core activities to be co-ordinated under one organisation.
