The UK has a long-standing love affair with sports, with traditional favourites like football, tennis, rugby and cricket having amassed large followings of avid fans over the years. But over recent years, we’ve seen the sporting landscape undergo an exciting evolution, with a host of exciting international sporting pursuits arriving on our shores, and as their popularity continues to surge, the nation now enjoys a more diverse range of sports than ever before.
Thanks to the expansion of the the number of media channels available to us and an increasing coverage of global sports on TV, the radio and online, everything from American football to MMA fighting is being given a platform in ways they never would have been some 20 years ago, and as a result, we’re seeing more individuals inspired to watch and even take part themselves.
The UK has become increasingly health and fitness centered over the past decade in particular, and with this new found awareness of the importance of physical health and wellbeing, the opportunity to explore new sporting activities is more appealing than ever.
Add to that the huge success of some of the UK’s best athletes in international sports, which has shone a spotlight on them and brought them firmly into the public eye, and it’s easy to see why we’ve fallen head over heels with everything from triathlons and MMA fighting to parkour.
Here, we take a look at the biggest emerging sports that are making waves in the UK this year and beyond.
Cycling
It’s fair to say that cycling isn’t exactly anything new here, with Olympic gold medallists including Victoria Pendleton, Jason and Laura Kenny and Bradley Wiggins bringing glory to the nation over the last few tournaments. The UK’s spectacular green landscapes make the country a great place to enjoy outdoor cycling, which has always been popular, and from the scenic coastal paths of Devon and Cornwall to the rolling hills of Yorkshire and the Scottish Highlands, it’s a great way to combine spending time in nature and exercise.
But more recently we’ve seen a surge in the number of people taking up indoor endurance track cycling, inspired by seeing Team GB triumph in edge-of-your-seat Olympic events such as the omnium, scratch racing and elimination racing.
Parkour and freerunning
Parkour – the art of moving rapidly through urban environments by running, jumping and performing other body-only moves to get from point A to point B, has been garnering attention amongst young urbanites of late, and free-frunning, it’s more expressive freestyle counterpart, has become particularly popular in cities thanks to its accessibility. To participate in free-running, you don’t have to train or learn any specific moves, and no equipment is required to begin – all that’s needed is your body, and a city landscape, and you’re good to go. With this in mind, it’s easy to see its appeal, and it has become a favourite pastime of adrenaline junkies and thrillseekers. As parkour and freerunning communities continue to expand, dedicated training spaces are popping up in major cities for those who want to take the sport more seriously and desiccated events starting to take place across the UK.
Baseball and softball
The much-loved American sport of baseball and close offshoot, softball, have been gaining steady popularity in the UK, and while cricket and football are still our first loves, their appeal has surged since Major League Baseball (MLB) tournaments began taking place in London. Providing a national stage for this global sport, the move has brought a number of high-profile teams to the UK, attracting fans not just from across the nation but from further afield in Europe.
Grassroots efforts such as amateur leagues and youth programmes in baseball have also sprung up in recent years, making the sport more accessible to the masses, and with online streaming options now more readily available than ever before, it’s easy for anyone to tune in and follow the sport online. Supplies and equipment, too, have become available in mainstream sports shops and online, too, so if you’re keen to get started then a great way to practice your batting is by investing in a pitching machine for softball and spending some time fine-tuning your swing before you seek out a local club or team to join.
Esports
Competitive sports-based video gaming has grown rapidly in the UK over recent years, with professional gaming teams, leagues and tournaments all starting up and attracting all types of enthusiastic players. Whilst it’s fair to say that this type of sport isn’t exactly about getting fit and healthy, it still requires plenty of skill, and esports has quickly become recognised as a legitimate form of competition.
In fact, such is its credibility in the modern world, that some universities are even offering scholarships for esports players
