World Travel Guide

City Guide  - St Petersburg  - Sport
Sport

Russia has some world-class soccer teams like Moscow Dynamo, however, the St Petersburg team, Zenit, which plays at the Kirov Stadium on Krestovsky Island (tel: (812) 235 4877), is unfortunately not one of them. Games are played on Saturday afternoons throughout the summer season. Tickets are available from ticket outlets in hotels.

Winter sports are the most popular activities in St Petersburg. The city has several ice hockey teams, the best of which is SKA St Petersburg, who also play at the Kirov Stadium. There are plenty of opportunities for cross-country skiing and the many canals freeze in winter to provide perfect ice skating.

The waterways are also the most popular recreation in the summer, when boating takes over from skating and sledging. Not strictly a sport, but very popular, is the Russian banya or bath-house - an extremely hot sauna and steam room, where participants beat themselves with birch twigs, followed by a plunge into an ice cold pool, then a comforting drink of tea before starting the whole process again.

Bathing: Nevskiye Bani, Marata ulitsa 5/7 (tel: (812) 311 1400), is the major modern bath-house.

Boating: There are rowing boats (from 3-ya Yelagin Bridge) and water bicycles (from Yelagin Palace) available for rent on Yelagin Island. For those who wish to venture further onto the broad waters of the River Neva and the Gulf of Finland, fully crewed yachts sleeping 6-8 can be hired from the New Yacht Club, Martinova Naberezhnaya 94, Krestovsky Island (tel: (812) 235 2722). Rental starts at around US$150 per day including catering.

Golf: There is no golf course in St Petersburg although there are some local enthusiasts who would like to change that.

Tennis: Courts can be reserved at a number of tennis clubs in St Petersburg. These include Lawn Tennis Sports Centre, Metallistov prospekt 116 (tel: (812) 540 1886) and Tennis Club, Konstantinovsky Proezd 23, Krestovsky Ostrov (tel: (812) 235 0407).



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