SPORTING EVENTS

Summer is all about baseball, hot dogs and bocce. Wait, bocce? Queens offers both great sporting events and quality facilities in which to perform sports. Here’s a taste.


Meet The Mets
N.Y. Mets Baseball
Shea Stadium
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
(718) 507-TIXX
www.nymets.com

 


Home of the Mets, Shea Stadium.

For those in Queens who have been living in a vacuum since April 3, there is an exciting baseball team here in the borough that is one of the best in the league.

The New York Mets, whose new stadium to be completed in 2009 means that you should take the train to as many games as you can to catch this hot team, are in fierce competition with both division rivals, and distant opponents from the left coast.

But there is more to the team itself that makes it such a warm- weather treat – it is Shea Stadium, that loveable dope of a venue that gets picked on because it is the worst in the league, because hitters can’t easily drive the ball over the wall and because the wind shifts have been known to blow pop flies from right field to left.

Shea is a Queens classic – it is just as much an underdog as the team that has played there since 1964 – yet it is also the home of champions, and may get one more banner to hang before the lights go out in 2009.

So get out to the stadium, see the best Mets team in several years, enjoy the Queens favorites at the park (like sandwiches from Mama’s and ice cream from Carvel) and cheer on the team to repeat as NL East champions from the worst ballpark in the Majors while you still can.

 


Dodging Dragons
Dragon Boat Races
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
(718) 767-1776
www.hkdbf-ny.org
Aug. 4 & 5

One of the oldest Chinese traditions in history, Dragon Boat racing is a test of strength and endurance on the waters of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Boats in the shape of dragons with a horde of men and women rowing until their arms hurt compete to reach the finish line first.

The Dragon Boat Festival has become an annual summer tradition, and this year’s festival promises to be just as exhilarating as those of years past.

Dragon boats are 40 feet long, weigh more than 2,000 pounds and are built in the likeness of the scaly, fire-breathing beast of folklore. Most boats, made of either teakwood or fiberglass, are manned by 16 to 18 rowers. Paddlers row in sync to the rhythm keeping of a drummer, who sits on the ship with the racers. The narrow boats make quite a spectacle under the bright summer sun. More than 100 teams will compete for $60,000 in prizes.

In Chinese legend, the regatta commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a minister in the kingdom of Chu who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. When the country came under the rule of a tyrant, the honorable Qu Yuan clasped a large stone and leaped into the Mi Lo River. The dragon boat races symbolize the frantic attempts by fishermen to rescue Qu Yuan.


Go For A Drive
Golden Bear Driving Range
Alley Pond Park, Northern Blvd. at 221st St.
(718) 225-9187

Pull back your club, keep the arm straight and release, sending your ball soaring through the air. What better way to let out the stresses of the 9 to 5 than to just sneak away to the green for a few short hours?

The Golden Bear Driving Range located in Alley Pond Park is the best way to get in touch with your inner golfer, amateur or trained, at one of the city’s most beautiful parks.

Those who rise with the sun can get in a few swings before work at the range’s 6 a.m. sessions. And if the summer heat gets the best of you during the day, you can stop in for evening sessions that run until midnight.


Stars Shine
U.S. Open
 Flushing Meadows Corona Park
www.usopen.org
Aug. 27-Sept. 9

 


Serena Williams gets ready to volley at the 2005 U.S. Open

As soon as the last week of August rolls around it’s time to break out the visors and sunscreen, for the qualifying tournament of the 2007 U.S. Open is about to begin.

Along with some of the best tennis and entertainment in the world, the U.S. Open has been drawing in Queens tennis fans for decades. But it hasn’t always been the two-week extravaganza it is today. From a single men’s tournament held as an entertainment diversion for high society at the turn of the 20th century, the Open has turned into a sporting event hosting five major championships.

There’s more to the Open then just the tennis though. From the exciting array of ethnic cuisine to the stars on hand, the excitement doesn’t just stop at the court. Kids also get into the action during Arthur Ashe Kids Day, a prelude to the start of the Open.

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Minor League Fun
Brooklyn Cyclones
Keyspan Park, 1904 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn
(718) 449-8497
www.brooklyncyclones.com

Shea Stadium is not the only place in New York City where Queens residents and Mets fans can find professional baseball. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Single A team affiliated with the Amazins’ that can crack homeruns with the best of them. Being inaugurated in 2001, the Cyclones already have a championship title under their belts (from their opening season) and are out for more.

As an affiliate of the Mets, the Cyclones have helped many legendary ball players that have donned the blue and orange remain close to the organization. Howard Johnson, Tim Teufel and Mookie Wilson have all served as team manager at one point. In 2005, the Cyclones led the New York-Penn League in attendance, averaging 7,939 fans per night. They also held last year’s All-Star Game in Keyspan Park.

The Cyclones are back on the diamond for the 2007 season. For tickets, call (718) 507-TIXX.


Putt Away
Pitch ‘N Putt Mini-Golf
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
(718) 271-8182

 


The Pitch ‘N Putt in Flushing Meadows affords all the fun and frustration of full-sized courses.

It may look like your typical shrunken golf course with its zigzag patterns, hilly terrain, water and brightly colored golf balls, but don’t be fooled.

This 18-hole course at Flushing-Meadows Corona Park, next to the USTA Tennis Center, at certain holes is a par-3 masterpiece just waiting to see what the amateurs and professionals have to offer.

Weekday rates range from $12.50 to $15, while on weekends it costs $16 after 6:29 p.m. Discounts for seniors and juniors are available on weekdays.

Just be careful of the water along the sides, even though there are nets lining the course in case your ball drops in.

 


Gunks And All
Minnewaska State Park
NY Route 44/55
(845) 255-0752

For the slight fee of $7 per vehicle (less if you just walk into the park), you can experience one of the most incredible features of the Hudson Valley.

Carved into the very foothills of the Catskill Mountains is the Shawangunk Ridge – a mountain sliced apart leaving sheer rock faces that tempt the professional climber and the ordinary thrill-seeker. Nestled in and near Minnewaska State Park, “The Gunks” are known as some of the best climbing in the Eastern U.S.

You can get your gear at the bottom of the mountain in New Paltz or you can simply walk through the park, enjoying the beautiful views, scary heights and beautiful water – but no swimming is allowed in most places – don’t say we didn’t warn you.


Arther Ashe Kids’ Day
USTA National Tennis Center
 Flushing Meadows Corona Park
www.usopen.org
Aug. 25

“One important key to success is self confidence. An important key to self confidence is preparation,” Arthur Ashe, the first African American to be ranked the number one tennis player in the world, once said.

And preparation is exactly what kids at the annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, which coincides with the U.S. Open, receive. Special tennis shows and free clinics with lots of activities and an obstacle course puts the little ones at the top of their games.

It’s not all work for kids though, from free autographs of touring tennis players on hand to affordable concerts by today’s top teen artists, Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day is the perfect way to spend a summer Saturday and get your kids away from the TV.

A portion of the proceeds from Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day is donated to the National Junior Tennis League, co-founded by Ashe.


Tubes To Go
Tubing on Esopus Creek
Phoenicia, Ulster County
(845) 688-5553
www.towntinker.com
June 26-Oct. 30


A climber scales the Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County.

Forget those paltry, childish inner tubes at your local pool or water park – for a real tubing experience, take a drive up north and brave the waters of the Esopus Creek. Winding through the picturesque scenery of the Catskill Mountains, Esopus Creek combines calm, relaxing views with heart-pounding excitement as it carries riders downstream.

When you arrive at one of several tube rental shops (a popular one, Town Tinker, is listed here), prepare to be wrapped in a wetsuit, helmet and life jacket, then handed a doughnut-shaped piece of rubber, all which will serve as your only protections between you and furious whitewater and strong currents.

You then must choose which course to travel, novice or advanced. While people say the instructors will not dissuade beginners from trying the advanced course, be warned: the tougher course is actually challenging (though not particularly dangerous). The novice course is for those who simply want to glide and gawk and the surroundings; the advanced is for those who want to be thrown from side to side and take a face plant or two into some rapids.

Either route takes about two and a half hours, and transportation is provided to pick you up at the end. For everything, the entire day will cost about $30 (less with a group discount).