Play these sports safely outdoors
JOBURG – Try out these safe new sports this year.
Exercising safely outdoors is difficult to navigate with the coronavirus in its second wave in South Africa.
You could throw on your buff and run around your neighbourhood but two sports specifically are both relatively new to Joburg and practise social distancing and the use of one’s own sports equipment.
Disc golf is played at Inanda Country Base in Kyalami and at Delta Park in Randburg, with 18-hole courses at both venues that you can use privately or in small groups.
Last man stands (LMS) cricket, on the other hand, might see you come into limited contact with people but has smaller teams than normal outdoor cricket.
Whether batting, bowling or fielding, you generally stay some distance away from other people, and the safety protocols put in place at Zoo Lake Sports Club, Marks Park Sports Club, Old Eds, and Wendywood and Sandringham high schools ensure no one with a high temperature or who has any Covid-19 symptoms is allowed onto the property.
When it comes to disc golf, a player will use their own designated disc or can purchase a disc for permanent use.
The rules are similar to traditional golf, but high-speed flying discs are used instead of balls, and the target is a metal ‘basket’ with chains, also known as a discatcher.
The sport is regarded as environmentally friendly and inexpensive to play, and the discs are durable and easy to find.
LMS cricket involves T20 matches played between teams of eight players. To get a team out within the allotted 20 overs, the opposition has to take every wicket, unlike in standard cricket.
When a batsman scores 50 runs he/she has to retire so the next batsman can bat.
A six hit off the last ball of the innings yields 12 runs – this is called a ‘home run’, and more than 20 matches have been won in Joburg in this way.
With fewer fielders and a smaller risk of being run-out, the format encourages explosive batting. Furthermore, singles are not allowed so batsmen have to run two runs if a boundary is not scored.
Matches only last up to two hours and another deviance in the rules is that if a ball is hit into the air, it can result in both a catch and a run-out.
Details: Disc golf discgolfsouthafrica@gmail.com or 079 491 7034; LMS cricket joburg@lastmanstands.net or 071 612 1674.
