Sport

Cammag is the national sport of Mann. It is similar to the Irish hurling, and the Scottish game of shinty. Once the most popular sport on the island, it ceased to be played by the start of the 20th century, but has recently been revived, with an annual match at St John's.

The Isle of Man has nine golf courses (eight 18-holes and one 9-holes).

Even if you're staying only a few days you'll have the opportunity to visit a number of different golf clubs - no one course is much more than 45 minutes by car from any other.

The Island's courses can tax even the 'Nick Faldos' of this world, and there is one additional and major distraction when golfing in the Isle of Man...the breathtaking views. Whichever course you play, you'll be surrounded by sensational scenery, stunning coastal views and heather moorlands..

Where else in the British Isles can you scale the peaks and explore rugged coastline all in one day? All the beauty and diversity of the British Isles can be found here on the Isle of Man. Cycling here varies in difficulty, with trails for all levels of capability. Bikes can be carried at modest cost on both the Steam Railway and Manx Electric Railway, subject to space being available.

We believe there's no better place in the British Isles for mountain biking, whether its competition you seek or just an opportunity to explore. The Manx landscape can be challenging, but riders are rewarded with stunning views.

There are many events staged over the year, including a downhill series, junior events and the famous End2End, which in 2010, attracted a record 1,400 riders.

The numerous forest trails on the Island provide great terrain for time trials. The newly established South Barrule Mountain Bike trails site has two way-marked trails. They include singletrack, board walk and technical sections. There is an intermediate 1km Blue Kipper route and the Advanced 5km Red Viking route.

Situated in the Gulf stream, the Isle of Man enjoys a mild climate with stunning seasonal scenery, the perfect destination for all. There are many detailed walks for all abilities from gentle Glens to the challenge of the 95 mile Coastal walk.

Raad ny Foillan (English: The Way of the Gull) is a long distance footpath in the Isle of Man. The route starts and finishes at the Millennium Bridge over Douglas Harbour. The circular path, which is 95 miles in length, is way marked around the Manx coast on signs showing a gull on a blue background.

The walk was created to mark the Island's 'Heritage Year' celebrations in 1986 and generally follows the coast comprising terrain varying from shingle beaches at the Ayres to over 600 ft high hills and cliffs.

The route comprises the following sections:

• Douglas to Castletown (13 miles)
• Castletown to Port St Mary (7 miles)
• Port St Mary to Port Erin (5 miles)
• Port Erin to Peel (16 miles)
• Peel to Kirk Michael (6 Miles)
• Kirk Michael to Jurby (5½ miles)
• Jurby to Point of Ayre (13½ miles)
• Point of Ayre to Ramsey (7 miles)
• Ramsey to Maughold (5 miles)
• Maughold to Laxey (8 miles)
• Laxey to Douglas (9 miles)

The Bayr ny Skeddan (English: Herring Road), a 14 mile walk between Castletown and Peel based on the route once used by Manx fishermen.

The IOM Heritage Trail is a 10½ mile walk along disused Isle of Man Railway lines from Douglas to Peel.

With its fast flowing streams, well stocked reservoirs and accessible coastline, the Isle of Man offers keen anglers a contrast of experiences. If you enjoy small scale, intimate fishing, there's usually Sea Trout in the major streams by June with Salmon arriving later. The reservoirs are regularly stocked with Rainbow Trout and range from sheltered lowland to exposed upland waters. Fishing from beaches, piers and rocks is a pleasure and a wide variety of species can be targeted from shore. Charter boats can also be hired by anglers wishing to go further out to sea. Fishing licences are available for purchase from the numerous outlets including online.

The main international event associated with the island is the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race, colloquially known as "The TT", which began in 1907. It takes place in late May and early June.

Taking place over a two week period, it has become a festival for motorcycling culture, makes a huge contribution to the Island’s economy and has become part of Manx identity. For many, the Isle carries the title "road racing capital of the world".

2011 is the Centenary of the Snaefell Mountain Course in the Isle of Man.

The Manx Grand Prix is a separate motorcycle event for amateurs and private entrants that uses the same 60.70 km (37.72 miles) Snaefell Mountain Course in late August and early September.

The Southern 100 Races are a series of motorcycle races usually held in July on the 4.25-mile Billown Circuit, near Castletown, Isle of Man.

The Island not only has the best road racing circuit in the world, it also has a network of 'green lanes'. There are about 45 green lanes, the longest being about 5 miles. Taking you through some of the most stunning scenery in the Isle of Man, these routes are both thrilling and challenging, depending upon your requirements, and in a usual day you can cover about 90 miles.

The Manx Telecom (Manx National) Rally is a major fixture in the Manx sporting calendar. The rally, which has been in existence for over 30 years, is held on the predominately fast and twisting tarmac country lanes of the Isle of Man.

Rally Isle of Man (previously the Manx International Rally and formerly the Manx Trophy Rally) is a rally competition held in the Isle of Man. It was first held in 1963, and later became a well-known event in the British Open Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship (until 1996). In 2002, it became part of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in addition to the British Rally Championship. The most successful drivers in the history of the rally include the five-time winner Mark Higgins and the four-time winners Tony Pond and Russell Brookes.

The rally is run on public roads closed for racing by the provisions of an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man). The event is characterised by special timed stages that use narrow farm-lanes with high grass banks, stages over open moorland and Monaco style around-the-houses stages in Ramsey or Castletown in the Isle of Man. The longest timed special stage is the 21.46 mile Milerisk stage and the shortest is the 1.46 mile Balley Cashtal stage in Castletown.

The Governor's Sprint, started from the TT Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road and travelled through the Governor's Dip to finish on the A18 Mountain Road, near The Nook on the TT Course 'old road'.

The Sloc Hillclimb, ran over asection of the A36 road through open moorland north of Port Erin and south of the "Round Table" in the Island's southern hills.

Lhergy Frissell Hillclimb, out of Ramsey on the world-famous TT Course, taking in the famous Ramsey Hairpin, Waterworks and Gooseneck. This climb encorporates part of the original Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trails course of 1904.

The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games will be the fourth Commonwealth Youth Games which started in 2000. They will be held on the Isle of Man.

The sports at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games are to include: rugby sevens, boxing, athletics, cycling, gymnastics, swimming and badminton.

The mascot is a Manx cat called 'Tosha' which is in Manx Gaelic and means 'to be first' or 'the winner'.

The King George V Bowl (commonly known as The Bowl) is a multi-use stadium in Douglas, Isle of Man. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home of the Isle of Man national football team. The stadium has a capacity of about 3,000.

The Douglas Bowl at the National Sports Centre, Douglas will stage the opening ceremony on 8 September 2011. The closing ceremony will be held at Douglas promenade & the Villa Marina.

In April 2008, Douglas Borough Council confirmed that they were looking to redevelop The Bowl, and that it could become a national stadium for the Isle of Man. The scheme which would see pitch improvements and better spectator facilities which the council hope to have in place in time for the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games which will be staged on the island, would see capacity at the stadium rise to 8,000 including 4,000 temporary seats in a covered section as well as the installation of a giant screen. The plan being for the stadium to be used for different sports as well as staging concerts and to be used as a community facility complementing the nearby National Sports Centre (NSC), which is owned and run by the Department of Tourism and Leisure of the Isle of Man Government.

The National Sports Centre (also known as NSC) in Douglas, Isle of Man is a large multi-sports centre and athletics stadium and is one of the venues for the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games. The athletics stadium will stage the opening ceremony on 8 September 2011 as well as all the athletics events. The Swimming pool will stage the swimming events and the main Sports Hall will stage badminton with seating for 1,000 spectators.

The NSC is owned by the Department of Tourism and Leisure of the Isle of Man Government and operated by the Manx Sport & Recreation.

The NSC is built on the site of the former Belle Vue and King George V Park with phase one being opened in 1991. The centre is Quest Accredited (the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure) and has maintained its highly commended status since it was first awarded in December 2001. The 2001 Island Games were held on the Isle of Man with the NSC being used for some of the sports and the closing ceremony.

Outdoor facilities

The three outdoor facilities have six group/team changing rooms and two en-suite changing rooms for match officials. For individual competitors there are separate male and female changing areas equipped with lockers, toilets and showers.

Athletics stadium

The athletics stadium has a 400 metre, six lane (eight lane straight) fully floodlit synthetic running track with a 500 seat grandstand.

The track has a current United Kingdom (UK) Athletics Certificate and there is an 11 metre hammer/discus cage.

Synthetic pitch

Alongside the athletics stadium is a full size (7,000 sq. metres) floodlit all-weather synthetic pitch. The pitch was renewed by AstroTurf in 2002 with a water based playing surface. The pitch is used for various sports including Sunday league football and hockey.

Raceway

The other outdoor facility is an 800 metres fully lit tarmac raceway, which forms the perimeter of the outdoor provision and has a competition and training facility for Cycling Criterium racing, Racewalking and Road running.

Swimming pool and leisure pool

The competition pool is a 25 metre state-of-the-art Short course pool with two floating floors and a retractable boom to divide the pool lengthways. The leisure pool has flume rides and a flow pool with a separate shallow pool a children's beach area and a spa pool.

Sports halls

The NSC has a full-size sports hall with an electronic scoreboard and a PA system and a four-court secondary sports hall. The main hall can be divided into ten badminton courts. The secondary sports hall can be divided into four badminton courts with facilties for cricket and archery practice.

Fitness Zone gym and spa suite

The Fitness Zone gym and spa suite has a range of cardiovascular fitness and resistance equipment. The health suite has sauna cabins, steam room and a whirlpool spa.

Bowls Hall

The Bowls Hall has five rinks and a master scoreboard, electronic digital lane scoreboards and a spectator/refreshment area. Portable tiered seating units can be installed to house 100 spectators for special events. The centre is home to the Isle of Man National Sports Centre Indoor Bowls Association.

Squash Centre

The Squash Centre has six squash courts. Four of the courts have glass backs, three of which are portable and can be moved to create two show courts. These can then accommodate fifty spectators for each court in portable tiered seating units.

Bar and café

The NSC has a bar and café in the main atrium between the pools and dry sports facilities with views of the athletic stadium.

In March 2008 the NSC was announced as one of 73 venues earmarked as possible training venues in North West England for the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the NSC listed for Road cycling, Mountain biking, Handball and Shooting.

The centre hosts the annual Manx Youth Games. The opening ceremony is held in the athletics stadium and there are twelve different sports staged throughout the venues in the centre with teams from all over the island.