Florida's Unique Sports

When you cruise to Florida this fall, you can catch the tail end of baseball and the kickoff of football season, but other regional sports are also worth the price of admission. Some are high octane sports that leave you marveling at displays of exceptional athleticism; others are nuance sports measured in inches and require strategies that feel like a chess game on a grassy lawn. All of them reflect the diverse societal influences that make Florida a splendid melting pot of sports and cultures.

Jai-Alai

Faster than a baseball pitch, golf swing or a tennis serve, jai-alai balls are flung at speeds ranging from 160-180 m.p.h., with the fastest on record hitting 204 m.p.h. Think racquet ball ramped up on steroids. Players wear a long, curved wicker basket glove on one hand to hurl balls at rates that can shatter bullet-proof glass around a three-walled indoor court called a fronton.

Originating in the Basque region of Spain centuries ago, the game is popular worldwide especially in Spain, France, Latin America and the Philippines. It was introduced to America at the 1904 World’s Fair and reached its heyday in Florida and New England in the 1940s and ‘50s, attracting thousands of spectators from high-roller gamblers to Miami’s social elite. While today’s popularity of the sport has dropped off, you can watch professional jai-alai players at the Dania Beach Invitational Tournament on November 29, 2024, or catch Miami’s spring season that starts in early February. Amateur leagues are found throughout St. Petersburg, Miami and south Florida.

Pétanque

Pétanque falls into the “boule” category of games where balls are tossed at a target ball. They date back to ancient Rome and were popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Pétanque was invented in 1907 in the French town of La Ciotat by a boule player named Jules Lenoir whose rheumatism prevented him from running before he threw the ball. For him the rules were changed, requiring pétanque players to stand inside a circle that’s 20 inches in diameter while pitching balls toward the target ball. It’s like the French cousin of Italian bocce played with smaller metal balls on a hard dirt or gravel surface.

After pétanque spread to Western Europe and the French colonies, it arrived in America in the 20th century and found an enthusiastic fan base in Florida. The largest tournament in the Americas takes place at the Pétanque Amelia Island Open (Nov. 15-17, 2024) and draws thousands of players and spectators. To watch or join a pétanque match while visiting Florida, consult the American Pétanque Directory listing of about 30 local clubs, courts or resorts where games are played.

Polo

The thunderous sound of horses galloping down the field at up to 40 m.p.h. and the athletic skills of men and women clutching a horse’s reins while whacking a three-inch ball with a mallet, makes polo a sport that everyone should experience at least once. What began thousands of years ago to train Persian cavalry men for war has spanned the globe and forged a stronghold of fans in Florida.

In 1954, Florida’s first polo club was established in Palm Beach, which remains a haven for equestrian sports. The Sunshine State harbors 28 polo clubs, several are in Wellington, FL, which is the epicenter for U.S. polo and home of the National Polo Center. High season runs from January to April and features a variety of tournaments from the U.S. Open Polo Championship and the Gauntlet Series of Polo. Club members and the public are welcome to attend the spacious grounds for events. Other noteworthy polo clubs are located in The Villages and Sarasota. If you get hooked on the sport, the Museum of Polo in Fort Worth, FL, is a fun stop.

Croquet

The backyard game of croquet that reminds us of summer cookouts harkens back to mid-19th century England where it was invented and then fanned out to the British colonies. Despite its growing popularity, Boston clergymen in the 1890s railed against the drinking, gambling and raucous ways that accompanied the sport, so wooden mallets were stashed away until about the 1920s. A resurgence of the sport peaked in 1977 when the United States Croquet Association was established, and the game regained international status with professional and recreational players.

Today’s six-wicket sport has evolved into highly competitive tournaments centered around the National Croquet Center in Palm Beach, FL. Its 12 sculptured lawns sprawl out over four acres of gorgeous land and present events such as the United States Croquet Association’s Golf Croquet National Open (Jan. 6-11, 2025) and various fundraisers and competitions through April. The Center also welcomes visitors to learn and play the game and attracts thousands of attendees to its fall and winter events.