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| City Guide - Johannesburg - Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport Beaches: Johannesburg's favourite sports are soccer, road-running, rugby and cricket (in that order). Early each Sunday morning, road-runners gather in their tens of thousands to take part in road races organised by dozens of athletic clubs, such as the RAC (Rand Athletic Club), Benoni Harriers, Pirates and Varsity Kudus. There is a great web site (www.worldofendurance.com) for running information, as well as cycling, mountain biking, adventure racing, canoeing and triathlon. In general South Africans are soccer mad and the Joburg clubs play either in the PSL (Professional Soccer League) or the MTN Supersport Leagues. In the PSL, top Joburg teams and fierce rivals are the Amakhozi (Kaizer Chiefs), The Birds (Morocca Swallows), and Buccaneers/Bucs (Orlando Pirates), which are based at the big city's Johannesburg, Rand and FNB stadiums respectively. The Wits University team, Clever Boys, is right up there with the best of them and, with a player membership of over 1500, is one of the world's largest clubs. The city's best under the MTN banner are Katlehong City and Alexander United, who play at the Alexander and Reiger Park stadiums. The web site (www.soccermania.co.za) is the easiest way to find out everything about soccer clubs, fixtures, venues and tickets. Home to the Gauteng Lions, the formidable Joburg rugby team, Ellis Park is arguably the world's most famous rugby stadium. The web site (www.superrugby.co.za) can provide information. The famed Highveld Strikers are based at Johannesburg's renowned Wanderers Stadium, Corlett Drive, Illovo (tel: (011) 788 1008) and this provincial team takes part in the prestigious Supersport and Standard Bank Cup series. There is an extremely informative web site (www.rsa.cricket.org) for South African cricket. Most tickets for major sporting events are available through Ticketweb (web site: www.ticketweb.co.za) or Computicket (www.computicket.co.za). Golf: There are dozens of good golf-courses in and around Johannesburg, including: Bryanston Country Club, Bryanston Drive, Bryanston (tel: (011) 706 1391), Houghton Golf Club, Second Avenue, Houghton (tel: (011) 728 7337), Randpark Golf Club, Setperk Street, Windsor Park (tel: (011) 678 5361) and Royal Johannesburg Golf Club (tel: (011) 640 3021). Gyms: With the recent demise of the extensive Health and Racquet Club chain, which had over a dozen branches in Johannesburg, Branson's Virgin Active has stepped in to refurbish the gyms (tel: (0860) 200 911). Swimming: There are sparkling, well-maintained public pools in the suburbs of Brixton (tel: (011) 837 2440), Ellis Park (tel: (011) 402 5565), Linden (tel: (011) 888 3750), Parkview (tel: (011) 646 8754) and Roosevelt Park (tel: (011) 782 2474). Tennis: Public courts are available at the Municipal Marks Park complex on Judith Road in Emmarentia (tel: (011) 486 1963) and at various recreation centres, such as Paterson Park in Norwood (tel: (011) 728 7250). Many of the golf clubs listed above have their own tennis courts. |
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