GOOD SPORT

Alternative sports all within a few miles of Preston Hollow ... and a few in our own backyard

STORY BY EMILY TOMAN PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO & CANTÜRKYILMAZ

Did you know that tug-of-war, hand tennis and live-pigeon shooting have been Olympic sports? Well, the bird-shooting thing was held just once, in 1900. But doesn’t it go to show that what is considered a sport is subjective? And sports — even ones with funny names like cornhole or mushball — can be life-enhancing. Whether you’re looking for improved physical fitness, healthy competition, camaraderie or pure silliness, there’s a sport for you. You just might not know it exists.

Archery

Preston Hollow resident and Southern Methodist University alumnus Clint Montgomery has been practicing archery since his mom said “no” to the BB gun, he says. He has played other sports — tennis, football, basketball — but he always liked the bow and arrow, despite the fact that it wasn’t exactly mainstream. As the director of the Dallas Archery Club, he hopes to make it more accessible.

Many years ago, you could find people practicing archery at public parks and bowling alleys all around Dallas, Montgomery says, but times have changed. Now, we’re in an era where we must be protected from ourselves. The Dallas Archery Club, which started long ago in Lake Highlands as a benefit for Texas Instruments employees and recently opened facilities in Plano and North Dallas, aims to change all that and make archery available to everyone. To that end, they offer opportunities to try the sport at little or no cost.

The sport has enjoyed a surge in popularity, thanks in part to the teen drama “The Hunger Games,” Montgomery says.

“Since we’ve made [archery] accessible, every race, creed, size and age and ability — a kid in a wheelchair, even — can be seen side by side here at the range. Everyone is the same on the [shooting] line.”

The club is working with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department to create mobile ranges at public parks around the city. Montgomery says he hopes the club will have 50 or so ranges throughout the region in the near future. Once you take up the sport seriously, the equipment — a bow and arrows — runs around $200. But it’s sort of like golf in that you can spend what you want to spend — the fancy stuff is upward of $2,000.

STARTSHOOTING // An intro to archery class is held 11 a.m.-noon Saturdays and 6-7 p.m. Wednesdays at the Texas Archery Academy Indoor Range, 600 Accent Drive, Suite B, in Plano. It’s $10 per person, and all equipment is included. You can try archery for free 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays at the Elm Fork Shooting Range, 10751 Luna. It’s $5 to practice longer. Visit dallasarchery.com to learn more.

Silk

Becky Foster was 49 when she donned her first sparkly unitard.

Having never practiced gymnastics or ballet as a child, the middle-aged mom joined the Lone Star Circus School, dangling on the silk alongside spry 20-year-olds.

“People think you’re crazy,” Foster says.

Lone Star is a local nonprofit organization founded by Fanny Kerwich, an eighth-generation circus performer. It was originally created for children, but four years ago, Preston Hollow resident Stephanie Stewart convinced Kerwich to open the school to adults.

“It’s kind of a lost art,” Stewart says. “I had such a passion for it, and I thought there had to be other adults interested in it, too.”

The silk involves two long pieces of fabric that hang from the ceiling. Performers climb the silk while moving their bodies into different positions. The first step is to master the climb.

“Most people can’t climb at first, so we start out slow. It may feel intimidating, but everyone else is in the same boat. Once people realize how it really is, the intimidation goes away.”

Stewart says people will notice a difference in their bodies after three weeks of practice, building strength and endurance. Serious students such as Foster develop a dancer’s body with long, lean muscles.

“It’s all-encompassing. You feel energized and not so eager to just go home and watch TV.”

In addition to the silk, advanced students can learn other circus tricks — most of which involve suspending the body in the air on the trapeze or the lyra (a hoop).

Kerwich says she hesitated to make circus performing accessible to everyone, fearing that the art form would become watered down. After all, it’s not just a pastime — it’s her heritage.

“You don’t give that away,” she says.

She came around after considering the impact it could have on people’s lives in a world overrun with technology and endless streams of information.

“In this time, we don’t know what to feel anymore. This is very, very pure. It’s a beautiful way to be happy.”

Perform silk // The summer session runs through Aug. 25. Adult classes meet on weekdays at the Palaestra Gym, 4335 N. Beltwood. The cost is $20-$22 per class or $140 per month for unlimited classes. Private lessons also are available. For details and to register, call 214.206.1449 or visit lonestarcircus.org.

Cornhole

Get the bag in or near the hole. Players, two per team, take turns throwing beanbags at a hole located at one end of an elevated platform. Though it is one of the few sports that allows you to hold a beer in one hand as you compete, it can get serious. Play cornhole // You can find a cornhole league any season of the year. Dallas Sport and Social offers a league that plays weekly at Draft Picks, 703 McKinney. The cost is $68.50 for a team and $38.50 for an individual player. For details, visit dallassportsleagues.com/leagues/ cornhole.

DoDgeball

Getting smacked in the face with a speeding foam ball doesn’t hurt that bad, says Tom Wakefield, commissioner of Dallas Dodgeball.

“We had a lady get hit right in the face, and she just laughed,” he says. “It’s a sport that anyone can play. It’s the most natural sport there is.”

The group hosts co-ed, open-play games every other week near the Galleria for children and adults — including soccer moms and 6-year-old girls — with plans to launch a league later this year.

Wakefield and his son formed the group eight years ago, inspired by the 2004 comedy

“Dodgeball.” After watching the movie, they searched the internet for local leagues. They didn’t find any, so they started their own.

“Other people must have been looking for leagues, too, because we had 40 or 50 people sign up in the first week.”

The rules of dodgeball are lengthy, but the objective is simple: Grab a ball, and hurl it at an opposing team member to try and eliminate him or her from the game. Repeat. The last team standing wins.

Most people play recreationally, but there a few serious athletes. Wakefield took his best players to the Toronto Dodgeball Tour- nament in February 2011 where they placed fifth out of 20 teams from the United States and Canada.

Play dodgeball // Dallas Dodgeball hosts recreational games 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturdays at alternating venues: Sole Roll Indoor Soccer, 4435 McEwen by the Galleria, and the Dunford Recreation Center in Mesquite. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. The Dallas Dodgeball Shootout is an open tournament for ages 17 and up, set for 9 a.m.5 p.m. Oct. 13 at Sole Roll. Registration is $200 per team with a cash prize. For details, visit dallasdodgeball.com.