Want to learn an Olympic sport? Take a lesson without leaving the Ocean State

If watching the Olympics gives you the urge to get off the couch and try your hand at a new sport, like surfing, sailing , fencing, rowing or even breakdancing, we've got some answers on where you can get lessons in Rhode Island.

You might not advance enough to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but you could find an enjoyable new hobby and learn enough to lecture family and friends on the finer points of the en garde position or the difference between tacking and jibing while watching the Olympics four years from now.

Surfing in Rhode Island: "If you can surf here, you can surf anywhere"

What's more Rhode Island than surfing? Well, maybe coffee milk and pizza strips , but they're not Olympic sports, so here goes.

Narragansett Surf and Skate offers a day camp for kids, as well as classes and private lessons for adults and kids. Still, surfing looks tricky, which left us wondering whether the average person can hang 10 after a little instruction.

"For the most part, we can get you standing on a wave and having fun," says the surf shop's Tricia Pan.

This is the first time surfing will be part of the Olympics, and Pan thinks it could spark some additional interest in lessons.

"Rhode Island is a great starting point, because if you can surf here, you can surf anywhere," Pan says. "We are the Ocean State. We get a lot of wonderful waves."

"We have a lot of adults that like to come to our classes because it's a fitness thing as well as a fun thing," Pan says. "I tell people it's a practice. No matter how good you are, you can get better."

But watch out. You could get hooked.

"It's like an addiction," she says. "It's a love. You'll never lose it."

Swells, access, parking: Everything you need to know about surfing in Rhode Island

Olympic sailing has long roots in Rhode Island

Sailing is another sport that might make Olympic watchers feel like a piece of the Rhode Island has, well, sailed to France. This being the Ocean State, with 400 miles of shoreline, there are a lot of places to learn sailing.

For example, The New England Sailing Center offers a variety of levels of instruction, including a two-day basic keelboat course. "You will experience a mix of classroom and on-the-water training that will enable you to skipper an 18- to 27-foot keelboat in a safe, confident manner," the sailing center says on its website.

Sometimes beginners want additional instruction to gain more confidence before embarking on their own, and that's an option with the beginner course, says Gina DeVivo, director of the sailing center's New England campus in Jamestown.

For those whose interest is piqued but are unsure if they want to commit to lessons, the New England Sailing Center also offers "Discover Sailing" options. Prospective students can go for a sail with an instructor, get an idea of what it's all about and, if they'd like, trim some sails or take over the tiller for a bit, according to DeVivo.

In the cooler months, the sailing center shifts operations to the British Virgin Islands, so that's another option.

Rowing

Heading inland to the Seekonk River, members of the Narragansett Boat Club in Providence will be watching the Olympic rowing competition with interest since Olympic rower Emily Kallfelz of Jamestown rowed with the club before heading off to Princeton University.

Three other club members have also competed in the Olympics, according to Eric Watne, adult programs manager of the Narragansett Boat Club, which is the oldest boat club in the country, founded in 1838. Many other club members have gone on to compete at Ivy League colleges, Watne said.

However, many other club members enjoy rowing just for the social connections, for the chance to relax out in nature and for the workout, he said.

"It's the best exercise because you're using every single muscle in your body," Watne said, noting that a lot of former runners take up rowing because it's easier on their bodies. The club has rowers in their 70s and 80s who are on the water three or four times a week, he added.

The club has programs for both youth and adult beginners. They start in wide, stable barges, using one oar. As rowers progress, they graduate to narrower boats, learn to work with two oars, and get in sync with other rowers in the same boat.

"When everyone is swinging together, it really is a great feeling," Watne said.

Club membership isn't a requirement for taking courses.

2024 Olympics: From basketball to sailing and everything in between here's how RI is contributing

Feel like a sword fight? Try fencing

Moving off the water and indoors, fencing offers a lot of benefits, according to Jill Ripa, director and coach for the Rhode Island Fencing Academy and Club in East Providence.

It builds focus, athleticism, coordination and problem-solving skills, Ripa says. It's a demanding sport that builds self-confidence, she says. Ripa says she often hears from the parents of young women who say the sport has given their daughters "a sense of empowerment."

"It's wonderful to hear that," Ripa says.

As with the Narragansett Boat Club, many of the members of the Rhode Island Fencing Academy are involved mainly for the exercise and camaraderie, while others also embrace competition. Several academy members have gone on to fence for their college teams, according to Ripa.

Beginner classes for adults and children are separate. "We have learned adults prefer to be with other adults," Ripa says.

The organization has members from seven to 70-something years old, she says.

Breaking down breakdancing as an Olympic sport

Dance will be an Olympic sport this year with the introduction of breakdancing.

"I feel like it's about time," says Krissy Phillipino, owner of Krissy's Dance & Fitness Studio in North Providence. "I think it will be really cool to see."

"I think people are always fascinated by breakdancing," she says.

Finding a place to learn breakdancing in Rhode Island is a lot more difficult than finding a place to learn to sail or surf. Phillipino, who teaches a wide variety of dancing styles, doesn't offer a class specifically in breakdancing, but she does offer instruction in hip hop, which shares its top rocking moves with breakdancing.

Her classes, for men and women 18 and older, can get people moving and learning different steps, she says.

To pull off its acrobatic moves, breakdancing requires a lot of strength and coordination. She says, "There's a steep learning curve."

Phillipino will be watching the Olympic breakdancing competition with an eye for creativity, the moves that wow her, as well as the "cleanliness" of transitions between moves.

And Phillipino says, "I think the attitude, of course, needs to be there, the look."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Want to learn an Olympic sport? Take a lesson without leaving the Ocean State