Yokohama Country & Athletic Club | SPORTS & FITNESS

YC&AC is the birthplace of most modern sports enjoyed in Japan today, and Club members continue to compete—in some cases to a very high standard—in most of these sports and more besides.

Listed below are the Club's most active or representative outdoor sports sections. If you would like to take part in any sport, simply approach one of the players or register your interest in person or by email (fitness@ycac.or.jp) with a member of our sports staff.

Note that members have formed teams for many sports in addition to those listed below—softball, ultimate frisbee and water polo to name but three—so if you would like to start or relaunch a sports section at the Club, please don't hesitate to let our staff know. Member enthusiasm remains the heartbeat of all sporting and social activity at the Club.

BASEBALL

Our Weekend Warriors play two full games of seven innings every Saturday through the summer months. The social side of this section is almost as important as the sporting, with long hours of dice being one of the healthier traditions enjoyed after the day's activities on the field.

CRICKET

Cricket represents the roots of our Club; the reason for its founding. Unfortunately, cricket is a section that has suffered in recent times, partly owing to a stricter enforcement of the Club's rules on "sports member" participation. Please register your interest if you would like to play cricket and help to re-energize this historic section of our Club.

FOOTBALL

Football is the Club's most active sporting section, with three adult teams competing every weekend throughout the season. The Club's 1st XI are regular contenders for the Tokyo Metropolis League (http://www.footyjapancompetitions.com/) title and are frequent slayers of professional outfits on tour in Southeast Asia. The 2nd XI currently play in the Second Division of the Tokyo Metropolis League, where they are always competitive and occasionally push for promotion to the top flight. The Over 35s (http://over35.wordpress.com/) are, as their name suggests, the Club's senior side. Matches over the course of the season are mostly "friendlies" against local Japanese sides; in the summer, a select squad of Over 40s plays in the Kanagawa Senior Masters League.

GOLF

One of the many benefits of YC&AC membership is the access it provides, in good company, to some of Japan's best golf courses. Our golfers assemble roughly once a month on Fridays or Saturdays and travel to top courses in Tokyo, Chiba, Shizuoka and beyond.

HOCKEY

The hockey section fields a mixed men's and women's team every weekend throughout the season in matches against a range of good local competition. Great sporting fun for players of all ages.

LAWN BOWLS

The Club's best players regularly compete for the top national prizes (one of our members, an American, recently represented Japan in the World Finals in Scotland), but don't let their accuracy intimidate you: beginners are equally welcome on the YC&AC greens. Lawn bowls is a recreation that repays regular practice with wonderful sporting moments. If you feel the slightest urge, do not hesitate to take up this sport.

RUGBY

YC&AC's rugby 1st XV are the pride of the Club today. A string of recent promotions through the Kanagawa Leagues finds the team now competing in the Japan Top Club League (for the top ten teams in the Kanto region). The rugby section also has a highly competitive (and equally sociable) Gents team, who play immediately before the 1st XV throughout the October-April season.

TENNIS

The tennis section welcomes members of all levels to join its social tennis matches on weekends (and ladies tennis matches every Wednesday morning). Just bring your tennis racket and head down to the clay courts to take part. Over the course of the season the tennis section holds many friendly social tennis competitions and tournaments as well as inter-club competitions.