Events and Resources for Business Professionals Who Want to Get in on the Sports Action
from November/December 2007
Interested in getting in on the sports action? These boxes present a selection of events and resources, chosen with an eye to the business professional who values high-quality facilities and networking opportunities. Depending on age and physical ambition, there are varying levels of competitive and recreational activity, and always, of course, there are the informal venues of your backyard, club, and vacation facilities.RUNNING
Road Runners Club of America
The best way to get into running, and train for a race, is to join a club. It provides motivation, structure, training partners, and, perhaps most important, diversion from the tedium of piling up all those miles. The Road Runners Club of America oversees more than 700 clubs in all 50 states and has 180,000 members. To find a club near you, go to www.rrca.org/clubs/ .
Corporate Championships
Ready to race? The United States Corporate Athletics Association sponsors an annual two-day national championship. A nonprofit group that encourages fitness among business employees, the USCAA has its roots in informal corporate runs of the late ’70s and early ’80s. The championships feature everything from a 10K to relays to shot put and high jump, with competitors ranging from recreational runners to former collegiate stars. There’s also an annual USCAA marathon, which will be held next in Austin, Texas, on February 17, 2008. For more information, visit www.uscaa.org or contact the USCAA at 860-226-6177.
Hash House Harriers
Prefer a more, shall we say, enthusiastic running environment? The Hash House Harriers is an informal global group whose members mix runs—usually between three and six miles—with a drink or two or four. Located in most major cities in 178 countries, Hashers emphasize the camaraderie of running more than competition. The idea: A pack of hounds (runners) follows a trail set by a hare (a single runner) in what is a mix of scavenger hunt and bar crawl. At the end, friends are made, beers are downed, and everyone gets a nickname. For more information or to find a club near you, see www.gthhh.com .
TENNIS
CEO Tennis Challenge
This annual competition is open to CEOs, owners, presidents, or C-level executives of companies with at least $5 million in annual revenue ($2.5 million for women). The tournament includes singles and doubles matches. For more info, go to www.ceochallenges.com , call 720-222-3043, or e-mail president and director Ted Kennedy at ceochallenges@gmail.com .
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
A gorgeous spot located off the coast of South Carolina 21 miles south of Charleston, Kiawah is currently ranked as the No. 1 tennis resort in the country by the users of www.tennisresortsonline.com , a prime resource for finding good tennis. The resort has two tennis facilities, both run by former touring pro Roy Barth, and has hosted the U.S. Clay Court Championships and Fed Cup matches. To contact the pro shops, call the Roy Barth Tennis Center, 843-768-2838; West Beach, 843-768-2820.
Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa
One of the best tennis resorts in the West, the Boulders features five hardcourts and three clay courts. Its array of elite corporate clients makes doing business here an attractive option. For details, call the pro shop at 480-488-2570. (Farther west, California’s Carmel Valley Ranch runs corporate events on its 12 tennis courts; call 831-625-9500.)
BASKETBALL
Michael Jordan’s Senior Flight School
For hoopsters, this is the premier fantasy camp. Coached by current and former NBA and NCAA coaches, including the likes of Mike Fratello and John Thompson, and overseen by Jordan himself, campers spend three days playing, learning, doing drills, and competing in five-on-five games. You must be 35 or over to attend, and given the price ($17,500 this year) and prestige, the camp is by its nature a prime place for corporate networking. Held annually; locations vary. For more information, go to www.mjflightschool.com or call 503-402-8688.
Basketball City
There are scores of corporate leagues around the country, and some of the best play at or in conjunction with Basketball City, which operates facilities in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The Atlanta contact is Mike Manning, mike@basketballcity.com . For Boston, contact Brian Holden, brian@basketballcity.com ; for Chicago and Los Angeles, Josh Steinberger, josh@basketballcity.com ; for New York, Bruce Radler, bruce@basketballcity.com .
NY Urban Professionals Summer Basketball League
This is the best corporate league in the Big Apple (though Chelsea Piers also runs a good one). Urban Professionals games are played all over Manhattan and offer various levels of competition. Last summer the league boasted more than 230 teams. Players can join as “free agents” or with their own team. The cost of an eight-game season is $1,080 for a team, $108 for an individual. For more info, call 212-877-3614.
Other Courts
If you’re traveling and looking for a health club (or a blacktop) to play at, check out the book Hoops Nation: A Guide to America’s Best Pick-Up Basketball (University of Nebraska Press). It rates hundreds of courts around the country.
TRIATHLON
Interested in triathlons but don’t know where to start? The website www.beginnertriathlete.com provides everything from training tips to online coaching. When you’re ready to find a race, go to www.trifind.com or check out the following:
Annual Florida Challenge Triathlon (Half-Ironman)
If you want to work up to the full-length triathlon, here’s a half-Ironman, which means a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile run. For details, send an e-mail to eventinfo@triamerica.com .
Soma Half- and Quarter-Ironman Triathlon
Another good choice for working up to the full Ironman, this offers both a half- and a quarter-Ironman (0.6-mile swim, 28-mile bike, and 6.5-mile run for the quarter). The e-mail address is suffolk@sbcglobal.net .
CEO Challenges Ironman
CEO Challenges runs multiple competitions each year in conjunction with triathlons. More information is available at www.ceochallenges.com , by phone at 720-222-3043, or by e-mailing president and director Ted Kennedy at ceochallenges@gmail.com .
SOCCER
New York Corporate Indoor Soccer League
Billing itself as the city’s “most upscale league for professionals,” this group has teams in a competitive division and a less serious recreational division. The style of play for each is called futsal, a derivative of soccer played with five-man teams on basketball-style courts, with no walls and a ball that doesn’t bounce as much as the one used in regular soccer. For details, e-mail info@corporateleague.com or call 212-777-0800.
Adult Soccer League, Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation hosts two adult seasons per year. There are eight different leagues, allowing for a wide variety of skill levels, and games are played all around the city. For more information, call 818-246-5613 or e-mail soccer.munisports@lacity.org .
FISHING
CEO Fishing Challenge
This event, held most recently in September at the Lodge at Palisades Creek in Swan Valley, Idaho, features three days of fishing competition in partnership with Wild on the Fly Travel. Anglers head out in two-man boats for guided fishing; the top three competitors receive trophies. The price is $2,900 per CEO participant, all-inclusive for a double-occupancy cabin, or $3,600 for single occupancy. Information on the 2008 schedule is available at www.ceochallenges.com , by phone at 720-222-3043, or by e-mailing president and director Ted Kennedy at ceochallenges@gmail.com .
CHALLENGE SPORTS HEROES
Ultimate Sports Fantasy Camp
For a pretty penny, here’s a chance to trade elbows—or serves, or jabs—with sporting heroes. The camp is held each year in Marina del Rey, California, and the 2007 version featured legends Peter Sampras (tennis), James Worthy (basketball), Frank Robinson (baseball), and Sugar Ray Leonard (boxing). Rather get behind the microphone? Dick Enberg ran the sportscasting camp. For more information, including costs (which vary according to the sport you choose), go to www.ultimatesportsfantasycamp.com .
COMPETITION ONCE YOU'RE 50
For men and women age 50 and over, the National Senior Games Association coordinates yearly sports competitions in all 50 states, culminating in the biannual Summer National Senior Games—The Senior Olympics, which will be held next in San Francisco in 2009. Eighteen sports were included in the 2007 Senior Olympics in Louisville, Kentucky: archery, badminton, basketball, bowling, cycling, golf, horseshoes, racewalking, racquetball, road racing, shuffleboard, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, triathlon, and volleyball. For information, go to www.nsga.com .
