2016 - 2017 Fact Book

Outdoors
Introduction
Skateboard enthusiasts have plenty of locations at which to enjoy their activity.
CRAIG RUBADOUX/FLORIDA TODAY
Brevard perfect hot spot to soak up sporting life
FLORIDA TODAY Staff
Brevard County is home
to just about every
sport imaginable.
Whether you like to
participate or watch, chances
are you’ll find something you
enjoy.
Local waterways offer
some of the finest boating and
sailing, and an ideal
environment for water skiing,
wake boarding, stand-up
paddleboarding, kayaking and
canoeing, as well as
competitive and recreational
rowing. Kite-boarding is
gaining in popularity, along
with more traditional forms of
board-sailing.
Though wave conditions
are not always perfect for
surfing — or perhaps because
of that — Brevard County has
produced several major
surfing stars, including world
champion Kelly Slater of
Cocoa Beach and the Hobgood
twins, C.J. and Damien,
veterans on the World Surf
League. Local contests are
conducted annually from
Cocoa Beach south to
Sebastian Inlet.
Kiteboarders enjoy their sport.
Surfers often share their
favorite inlet break with
anglers in search of a
treasured taste of snook or a
fight with a tarpon. Those are
two of the many species
available along the county’s
coast and in its lagoons and
inland waterways.
Super boat races come
every May to Cocoa Beach,
bringing in some of the fastest
boats around.
If water sports aren’t your
RILEY SHORTT, FOR FLORIDA TODAY
thing, Brevard is home to
many challenging public and
private golf courses designed
by some of the great players.
Tennis facilities from
Titusville to south of
Melbourne Beach include just
about every surface. There is
also a women’s pro
tournament at the Kiwi Club
in Indian Harbour Beach.
And then there are the
county’s many parks, where
everything from bocce ball to
cricket, horseshoes, disc golf,
sand volleyball, softball and
soccer — to name a few — are
available year round in
addition to miles of running,
hiking and mountain biking
trails. There also is an
equestrian facility and
archery range at Melbourne’s
Wickham Park.
The Washington Nationals’
spring training move from
Space Coast Stadium to
Broward County will mean no
more major league baseball in
Brevard after this season, but
the Brevard County Manatees
of the Class A Florida State
League play at the stadium
from April through August.
There also are numerous
facilities offering bowling and
billiards. Ice skaters and
hockey fans gravitate to the
Space Coast Ice Plex in
Rockledge while extreme
sports enthusiasts take
advantage of several
first-class skate parks. There
also is a rock climbing facility
in West Melbourne.
All in all, the Space Coast
offers something for just
about everyone.
64 Fact Book 2016-17 Floridatoday.com