How to Be an Olympian for the Day in NYC

This story is part of Summer & THE CITY, our weekly newsletter made to help you enjoy — and survive — the hottest time in the five boroughs. Sign up here .

Some of the world’s most talented athletes will go for gold at the summer Olympics, which kick off later this month in Paris, France.

Watching the competition may inspire you to try some of the sports out on your own — regardless of whether you could ever make the national team.

We’ve compiled a handful of Olympic sports and where you can learn, practice, and train for them across New York City:

Table Tennis

Competitors first began playing table tennis at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul , with China dominating the sport. (Don’t be fooled; it is not quite the same as ping pong .)

Here in New York City, there are multiple ways to play — from high-end clubs like Spin to the Brooklyn Table Tennis Club in Midwood.

NY Indoor Sport Club in College Point has rows and rows of tables, annual membership with unlimited use, and coaching for aspiring stars. Those include Wang Xinyue, who plays on the U.S. women’s team (but is not headed to the Olympics this year).

The Wang Chen Table Tennis Club on the Upper West Side offers a summer camp for kids and private lessons from Chen , a former U.S. national and world team member.

Beach Volleyball

This sport first joined the Olympics at the 1996 games in Atlanta, after appearing as a demonstration sport in Barcelona in 1992.

The 1990s was also when beach volleyball started catching on in New York City, according to Matthew Winkler, AVP-certified coach and director of the NYC Beach Volleyball Club .

“It started out with one beach volleyball court built in Central Park in the late 1990s,” he said, with interest only growing since then.

The city Parks Department offers beach volleyball courts, including at Hunters Point Park in Long Island City and in Central Park. There are also courts on Rockaway Beach, at Beach 26th Street, Beach 73rd Street and Beach 108th Street, according to the Parks Department. You can also play indoor beach volleyball at QBK Sports in Sunnyside, Queens.

At Hudson River Park, there are three regulation-size beach volleyball courts at Pier 25 in Lower Manhattan.

The courts can be pricey, running $100 an hour with 12 people maximum allowed on. Three leagues, including Zog Sports and Big City Volleyball, play their games there.

There are also six courts at Pier 6 inside Brooklyn Bridge Park, which also hosts multiple leagues but also allows for walk-up games, according to its website.

Winkler said some of the courts allow pick-up games and most players are very friendly — if also competitive.

“The more people that have access, the more the sport gets to grow, which is a positive thing,” he told THE CITY.

Sailing

Sailing at the Olympics tests how well experienced sailors can harness the power of the wind to win their races.

Although you won’t find high-intensity racing in New York City, there are still plenty of opportunities to learn how to sail.

The Hudson River Community Sailing offers adult lessons at different levels, from a 3-hour introductory course to an 18 hour weekend class that teaches fundamentals like learning how to rig and derig a boat and forecast weather patterns. The weekend classes cost $560 plus the $65 certification fee.

You can also gather friends for a private lesson — or just book a sunset sail or family sail, where you can kick back and pretend you’re an Olympic star, without breaking a sweat.

The Manhattan Sailing School also offers multiple courses in the New York Harbor, with the most popular being the weekend basic sailing from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Those cost $590, with discounts if multiple friends book a trip.

Sail Rockaway offers tours, youth programs, and lessons on Jamaica Bay for around $550 a person (there’s a discount if two or more friends sign up for the same session.)

Surfing

Surfing became an Olympic sport in the 2020 games in Tokyo, although this year they’ll be far from the Parisian waters and instead held in Tahiti.

You don’t have to travel that far to learn how to surf here in New York City. Rockaway Beach, home of the city’s only oceanfront stretch of beach and the largest public beach, offers multiple surf schools.

There’s Locals , New York Surf School , Skudin Surf , Sierra Surf School and so many more dotted along the Queens shorefront. (We wrote last month about free surf camps for kids offered by the Laru Beya Collective .)

Skateboarding

Skateboarding first arrived at the games in the 2020 Olympics, and skaters will be carving and kickflipping at the Place de La Concorde in Paris this year.

There are dozens of skateparks across New York City to join in on the fun, with four more city skateparks to be added in The Bronx and Brooklyn by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk’s foundation.

You can find a list of the city’s best street skate spots here, like the John F. Kennedy Airport Banks in Queens or the Bryant Triangle Park in The Bronx.

To learn the basics, you can take a lesson at Goskate in any borough, No Bad Weather in Brooklyn, the Skate Everything School and more. If you need to rent a board and gear, find a skate shop in your neighborhood here .

If you are looking for a group to hit the half-pipe with, NYC Girls Skate hosts skate parties, skate jams and lessons all year. Thousands of New Yorkers are members of Ghostskate New York City , which hosts frequent free events that are open to the public. Overflow skateboarding hosts weekly meet-ups at piers along Manhattan’s west side.

Rowing

Rowers made their Olympic debut in 1900, though the women’s event was introduced in 1976. And since the turn of the 20th century, and especially because of recent Hollywood attention, the boys in the boat have attracted many to get on board.

Although you won’t find rowing shells on the Hudson, there are still plenty of opportunities to join a crew. Harlem River Community Rowing offers free learn-to-row opportunities for anyone over the age of 18 with a six-session program at the Muscota Marsh in Inwood. If the learn-to-row is smooth sailing or you have previous rowing experience, they offer coached weekend sessions for their Master’s Rowing team from mid-April to mid-November.

Row New York , with locations in Harlem, Queens and Brooklyn, offers youth and adult programs and camps all year round.

If you are not ready for the open-seas, you can still train like a rower at Row House in either of their two locations in Midtown. Row House offers coached workout classes on rowing machines, with the first class free.

Tennis

Tennis took a hiatus from the Olympic games in 1924 and didn’t return as a medal sport until 1988.

Here in the city, even during a heat wave, the more than 75 tennis courts are busy with serves and rallies. At some of the city’s smaller, unstaffed courts, you may be able to walk on without a permit, although competition can be fierce to nab a spot. At the city’s larger courts, you will need either a seasonal or a single-play permit and a reservation, which you can make in-person and, at some courts, also online .

Many clubs and leagues have opportunities to jump on the court for singles or partner matches. There are also many tennis Facebook groups to find players up for a match near you.

TennisNewYork offers a competitive league for $35 a season, with flexible scheduling and events. Although Metrotennis offers competitive recreational and corporate leagues throughout the year, they also offer a monthly tennis party on Roosevelt Island for drinks and matchplay.

The Metropolitan Tennis Group, New York’s LGBTQ+ tennis club, hosts everything from beginner’s parties to competitive leagues . They have events scheduled all year, with a membership fee of $35 for 6 months.

If you want to learn from square one, many tennis clubs and centers offer beginner lessons at a range of prices. But for less, borrow or rent a racket and head to your local park or field and practice against the caged walls .

Rugby Sevens

Rugby sevens games — like regular rugby but with shorter matches — were first played at the Olympics in 2016. The game is seven players playing seven-minute halves instead of 15 players playing 40-minute halves.

The Rockaway Rugby Club hosts the city’s biggest beach sevens game every June, and the team is open for all skill levels to join throughout the year. Some of the city’s oldest clubs, like the New York Rugby Club and Brooklyn Rugby Club , are among those who have teams for sevens tournaments.

To start testing out your flying kick and tackles, clubs like Gotham Knights Rugby Club don’t require any prior experience. You can use this club finder to locate the closest club to you.

THE CITY is a nonprofit newsroom that serves the people of New York. Sign up for our SCOOP newsletter and get exclusive stories, helpful tips, a guide to low-cost events, and everything you need to know to be a well-informed New Yorker. DONATE to THE CITY

The post How to Be an Olympian for the Day in NYC appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News .