Water
Sports
Water sports have always
been traditionally popular in Spain: sailing, especially in
the Mediterranean; angling; scuba-diving; and windsurfing, with
Tarifa, a legend in its own right. Over one hundred yacht clubs
and marinas are scattered around the country.
Tunny fish and shark in Atlantic waters are two attractions
beckoning the deep-sea fisherman, whereas the river and lake
angler can look forward to salmon, trout, barbel and other species.
The Medes Isles in Catalonia, along with inshore areas around
the coasts of the Balearics and Canaries, are a real paradise
for scuba-diving, a sport which in Spain enjoys ideal conditions
insofar as clarity of light and water temperature are concerned.
Outdoor Sports and Activities
Nature, in all its
changing faces, favours sports such as hiking, amidst natural
surroundings of great beauty, with pony- and horse-trekking,
closely tied in with traditional culture, and cycling, particularly
mountain-biking, becoming ever more widespread.
Rock-climbing, whitewater rafting and canoeing are yet more
fascinating adventure sports, a category which necessarily includes
aerial sports, with over 50 flying clubs around Spain. In addition,
ultralight aircraft can be flown and both para- and hang-gliding
enjoyed under equally favourable conditions, depending on local
climate and topography.
Hunting
From Autumn to Spring,
Spain's mountains and hunting reserves fill with hunters eager
to bag chamois, red and roe deer, moufflon, ibex and wild boar
among the prizes in the bigger game category (caza mayor) and
rabbit, patridge, duck, egret, woodcock and quail among other
species of smaller game (caza menor)
Golf
Around 200 clubs, the
vast majority provided with 18-hole courses, are a sure guarantee
of round-the-year golf and represent the possibility of over
half a million hours of total playing time per year. Modern
course-landscaping and -design, with the promise of varied layout
and the pleasure of superb scenery, topflight sports equipment,
expert course-professionals and ancillary services (gyms, swimming
pool, saunas, etc.), taken together with the warmth of a climate
that ensures the visitor 300 days of sunshine and golf a year,
make Spain a Garden of Eden for the keen golfer.
Tennis
Hundreds of clubs and
tennis courts in the thousands are dotted around the country.
Clay courts, in which the Spanish specialise, offer the chance
of playing on a surface which has taken Spanish players into
the ranks of the world tennis elite. On the premises of almost
all hotels of certain standing, the tourist is sure to find
one or more courts for hire, as well as tennis coaches and even
invitation tournaments for guests.
Skiing
From the Pyrenees in
the north down to the Sierra Nevada Range in Andalusia, Spain's
ski resorts cover the country, with top quality installations
and hotel and leisure facilities to match. A wide spectrum of
packages and rates accounts for the unprecedented boom in this
sport in recent years.
Competitive Sport
Keen interest surrounds
competitive sport in Spain. Football, basketball and handball
clubs and championships rank among the best in Europe, and volleyball,
waterpolo, hockey, swimming and athletics are not lagging far
behind. Spain has been chosen as the venue for sports events
of world relevance, such as the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona,
the 1996 World Ski Championship in Sierra Nevada (Granada) and
the 1999 World Athletics Championship in Seville, with Spanish
sportsmen and -women recording outstanding performances in a
number of individual and team sports and events. |