Sports

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

From fencing to LARPing there is a club for everyone

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Make Sporting a Social Event
For an informal, boozy way to play sports, consider the Rhode Island Sports and Social Club. This multi-sport organization welcomes anyone over 21, and always has some kind of game going, whether its kickball, softball, hockey, dodgeball, volleyball, football, basketball or even lower exertion choices like horseshoes, mini golf and cornhole. Here’s how it works: you play, you have fun, you go back to the sponsor bar after the game, you have more fun. Sound like a good time? We thought so. We just don’t make any promises about accruing actual health benefits. 

Play With Swords
If you’ve always fantasized about foiling your opponents, fencing might be for you. There are several local clubs, including the Blackstone Valley Fencing Academy in Woonsocket, Ocean State Fencing Academy in Lincoln and the Rhode Island Fencing Academy and Club in East Providence and Warwick. Our cover model Christina Morra heads up the URI Fencing Club, which is open to the public for a membership fee. With so many options for fencing clubs, the hardest part will be learning to exclaim “en garde!” with a straight face. 

Roll With It

For a smashing good time, bring family and friends to the all-female run and played Providence Roller Derby. Not only are these gals indomitable in the rink, but they also make it a priority to give back to the community. While this year’s tryouts for teams has passed, there is always next year. In the meantime, attend one of their clinics to get the skills necessary to make it onto a team in the future.

Kick Some Balls
Believe it or not there is a place where you can repeatedly kick some balls and not have to suffer any consequences. The Providence Kickball League provides such an outlet every week in the summer at Dexter Field on the West Side. Although sign-ups have come and go, there’s no reason not to bring a lawn chair, a cooler with your beverages of choice and root for whichever team suits your fancy. There’s also a chance to join an already formed team by signing yourself onto the Free Agent’s List. Whichever way you choose, support the self-proclaimed “Best Show on Dirt.” 

LARP Yourself Silly
For a different kind of swordplay, consider the local branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, the wildly popular hobbyist group of medieval live action role players (LARPers, for those not of the realm). The Crown Barony of the Bridge (Rhode Island’s chapter) of the East Kingdom (the Northeast chapter) of the SCA hosts fencing practice every Sunday afternoon in Hopkinton. The Barony will be out in full force May 17-19 at the Mohr Faire at the Marian Mohr Library in Johnston. The three-day medieval faire will have armored, rapier and youth swordfighting, and will crown the next baronial champi- ons. (Not kidding.) There will also be dancing, arts and crafts and wandering minstrel performances for those not so athletically inclined. 

Playing The Field
Keep history alive and play it too with the Providence Grays Vintage Base Ball Club. They are looking for players 18 and up with a passion for history, a love of baseball and a dozen or so free weekends May through September. Or, if you just want to enjoy a good old fashioned game of baseball played with vintage gear, stop by one of their games and show your support. 

Dip, Dive and Dodge
You won’t have to dodge a wrench to be part of the Rhode Island Sports and Social Club’s Dodgeball League. With team names as colorful as “Balls In Your Face” and “Cougar Hunters,” it’s clear the caliber of athlete dodgeball attracts. If you think you are up for the challenge of a creative team name and taking down an opponent by throwing your balls in their face, then dodgeball is for you. 

Rhode Island Sports and Social Club’s Dodgeball League, Providence Grays Vintage Base Ball Club, Society for Creative Anachronism, The Providence Kickball League, Providence Roller Derby, fencing, Rhode Island Sports and Social Club

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