Outdoor sports are hugely popular in Victoria BC.  Those who are living in Victoria benefit from the mild climate on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and make the most of it; taking advantage of the fact they can get outside and play all year long.  This means that amateur sports of all sorts thrive here, and almost any type of outdoor sport you can think of (and maybe some you’ve never heard of) are played here.

Regardless of age, everyone can enjoy and benefit from outdoor sports.  Fresh air and exercise are important for children, youths, adults and seniors, and the social aspect of getting active, whether you choose a team or an individual sport, is good for our mental well being.

One of the most popular amateur outdoor sports in Victoria is soccer.  There are numerous leagues offering recreation and high level teams for all age groups, by gender and coed.  “Footy” is a relatively inexpensive sport, all you need in the way of equipment is a pair of cleats, shinpads and of course, a ball! 

Another outdoor sport played by thousands in the Greater Victoria area is baseball.  You can choose from hardball or softball (fastpitch or slowpitch).  Whatever your game there is likely a team to match your skill level with competitive and gender based leagues across all ages as well as coed and recreational “beer” league baseball.

North American style football, lacrosse and rugby all offer an outstanding test of physical and mental toughness, as the many boys and girls, men and women who participate in these gritty outdoor sports will attest to.  Both box lacrosse and field lacrosse are growing in popularity with youth, men and women living in Victoria.  There are rugby leagues for men, women, youth and juniors, and there are women’s, men’s and youth football leagues offering tackle, touch and flag football in Greater Victoria.

Running and bicycling are popular individual sports here; combine them with swimming and you have Triathlon, a sport that’s growing rapidly both locally and internationally.

Some sports can be played indoors or outdoors, depending on appropriate venues.  Equestrian sports, tennis and even swimming are sometimes outdoor sports.  Elk Lake regularly hosts open water swimming races.

A few other outdoor sports that those who are living in Victoria participate in include:

Lawn Bowling;
Rowing;
Track and Field
Cricket, and
Disc sports like Disc Golf, Ultimate and Goaltimate (the last two are team field sports involving a frisbee rather than a ball).

This group represents the main organised amateur outdoor sports that are played in Victoria, BC.  There is probably at least one among them that you would enjoy participating in, so get out there and play!