Features

[The Outdoor Issue]

Offbeat sports and where to play them

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Get your Bocce on.
Photo: Christopher DeVargas

On the hot afternoons Vegas enjoys some 200-plus days a year, it’s perfectly natural for you to prefer air-conditioned spaces, like movie theaters, to non-air conditioned ones, like basketball courts and baseball diamonds. But you don’t have to give up on playing outdoor sports during the balmy months; just make a switch to less strenuous sports that can be played at night, maybe with a beer in one hand.

Start by becoming familiar with Judge Myron E. Leavitt and Jaycee Community Park. You might be know its skate park or lighted sports fields (the artificial-turf soccer field is wildly popular), but have you noticed the shuffleboard courts? The horseshoe courts? How about the 10 bocce courts? Bocce might be just your speed; the Italian lawn bowling-style game is relatively easy to learn and play. Bocce sets are pretty cheap, and the Italian American Club of Southern Nevada, located adjacent to Leavitt/Jaycee, has a detailed rule set at iacvegas.com/iac_bocce-info.html. (The IAC also hosts league play on Wednesday evenings, but you’re not ready for that just yet, bambino. Those folks can roll.)

Or how about disc golf? It’s got all the relaxed, urbane fun of golf without the 30-pound bag of metal sticks. There are at least a dozen disc golf courses spread across the Valley—at Peccole Ranch, Sunset Park and even on Mount Charleston, among other places—and some of them are even lit for nighttime play. Check out dgcoursereview.com for a searchable list of Vegas’ disc golf courses and their respective amenities.

Finally, if you’re bound and determined to work at having fun but don’t want to go to soccer extremes, the World Adult Kickball Association, now known as CLUBWAKA (kickball.com), can connect you with local kickball and dodgeball leagues. Just don’t let them see you sweat.

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