As the days get longer and the sun shines through, summer sport gets under way. But it is not all red balls and tennis nets. New sports are taking over. But what are the attractions of these new sports and will the old ones survive? The Otago Daily Times takes a light-hearted look at the sporting landscape.
Traditional sport
Golf
What is it? A 6km to 7km walk, interspersed with hopeful swings at a tiny ball, trying to get it into a small hole several hundred metres away in the fewest swings possible. Rinse and repeat 18 times.
Pros: A sport which can be more mental than physical, allows a constant quest for perfection, and is a good way to spend time with mates for a few hoursCons: Takes forever — where’s the twenty20 version of golf, can get stuck behind absolute hackers halfway through a round, not a cheap sport to get involved in
Superstar: Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Lydia Ko
Future: Seems firmly implanted — not only at the elite sporting level but as a ‘‘status sport’’ in many countries, but not really a growth sport in developing countries.
Cricket
What is it? Are there any Americans reading? No? Good. You’ve got a bat, they’ve got a ball. You try to hit the ball, they try to hit the wickets or you. The rest is just an eccentric way to fill in five days.
Pros: Fabulous way to build character. The sort of sport where you fail often and then sit around dwelling on what went wrong.
Cons: Goes on and on and on and on ... zzz ... and on. There is nothing quite like watching a fielding team get through 10 hectic overs an hour.
Superstars: AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Dale Steyn, Kane Williamson.
Future: Wilting, but every four years it blooms and a new generation is inspired to take up the game.
Tennis
What is it? A game the rest of the world plays but New Zealand gave up when Chris Lewis retired in 1986. The shorts just got too long and people lost interest.
Pros: There is always plenty of parking at the tennis centre and there is something very satisfying about popping the lid on a fresh canister of tennis balls.
Cons: It is a bit posh isn’t it? And perhaps it is one of those sports you take up when you retire and switch from lager to gin and tonic.
Superstars: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Bjorn Borg — talk about short shorts. Disclaimer: Borg might not actually play anymore.
Future: The game seems in good health at the top end and who would not want to share in some of the prize money on offer.
Athletics
What is it? You run, jump or throw to see who can finish the fastest or go the farthest.
Pros: Anyone can do it, caters for different shapes and sizes, delivers impressive and easy to measure performances.
Cons: Requires a lot of commitment to reach the top level, you can train for hours to compete for 10 seconds in some cases, success can rest on genetics.
Superstars: Usain Bolt, Valerie Adams, Tom Walsh, Nick Willis, Eliza McCartney.
Future: Retaining high-achievers after leaving school has been a problem that seems unlikely to change, but will remain the world’s most talked about sport at every Olympics.
Softball
What is it? A pitcher hurls the ball at a batter who tries to hit it over the fence. Failing that, which is the case more often than not, you can try to make it around four bases.
Pros: Easy to understand, has given us some great everyday phrases such as "home run".
Cons: Is the poor cousin of baseball on the world stage, can be slow moving.
Superstar: Back in the day you had the likes of Mark Sorenson. Nowadays genuine superstars are few and far between.
Future: Struggling locally and hard to see it getting back to where it was in popularity.
New boys on the block
Twilight cricket
What is it? Cricket played in the dark by mostly drunk middle-aged men living out their glory days.
Pros: There are no lbws so you can shuffle to off and have a heave. Good times. And it is all over in three hours. Perfect.
Cons: There is always that bloke in the other team who can actually play and spoils it for everyone else.
Superstars: Tim the accountant, John the plumber and Dave, who is unemployed and has not paid any fees since the season got under way but has a hell of a pull shot.
Future: Tim will tally the averages, John will declare himself MVP — that’s Most Valuable Plumber — and Dave will have misplaced his wallet but promise to clear his debt next season.
Touch
What is it? Rugby without the crunch and touching without the fun.
Pros: You get to pretend you are an All Black for half an hour once a week. There is no training and there is always someone who can’t catch the ball or pass it to their right either.
Cons: There is always someone who can’t catch the ball or pass it to their right. Not much of a spectacle. If you are watching from the sideline, it is only marginally better than a night of karaoke.
Superstars: Everyone. Beats sitting on the couch.
Future: Here to stay. Might have shrunk from the halcyon days but it appeals to a wide section of society and fits well with modern lifestyles.
Futsal
What is it? Played indoors on the size of a basketball court. It is basically indoor football with a few other rules.
Pros: Very easy to play, played by young and old and not reliant on our fickle summer weather. Slowly getting established on the world level.
Cons: Ugly to watch, not much time on the ball, seems odd to be playing indoors in the middle of summer. Ever tried to get a park at Edgar Centre when futsal is on?
Superstars: No-one
Future: Will keep growing for the foreseeable future but hard to see it catching on as a serious sport for adults.
Sevens
What is it: Rugby played by just seven players.
Pros: Some of the quickest and most talented athletes in the sport gravitate to sevens. Very rugged. Played in some of the nicest places in the world — and Wellington. Now at the Olympics.
Cons: Gets all Mickey Mouse at times. Not a game for the short and wide which counts out a few. Breakdowns in 15-a-side are hard enough to understand but sevens is worse.
Superstars: D J Forbes, Waisale Serevi
Future: Now it is in the Olympics it will only get bigger and the women getting involved will also boost its profile.
Multisport
What is it? A variety of sports all mashed together — generally swimming, cycling and running but multi-day events can include kayaking, climbing and making an oil change on a 1975 Hillman Avenger.
Pros: A spike in fitness levels, many events are in picturesque parts of New Zealand, a sense of achievement when crossing the line.
Cons: Lycra does not suit everyone and neither does the subsequent chafing, can be a solitary pursuit (in triathlons), training takes up an awful lot of time.
Superstars: Nathan Fa’avae (adventure racing), Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (triathlons)
Future: Numbers seem healthy throughout the summer at events like Challenge Wanaka, while the Godzone Adventure Race goes from strength to strength. Expect the genre to keep growing.
