What's the Best Sport for Networking?
Blog, Employers, Job Seekers
Golf has been synonymous with business networking for a long time but there are a few other sports that are great for your health and your career!
We'll start with the classic; the gentleman's game has been a stalwart for the (mainly male) business community. With plenty of downtime to actually talk and accessibility for all ages, it's a great sport for networking. And like most of the sports on this list, the cost to participate self-selects a certain calibre of players.
It's often been said "cycling is the new golf". Growing extremely fast in popularity, cycling mixes exercise, competition and camaraderie. Cycling's equivalent of the 19th hole is the post-ride coffee. Our own Headhunters team has a number of enthusiastic cyclists, many of which participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer this year!
Bound to get your heart rate pumping, squash is a short but intense game making it easier to organize and faster to meet a range of people. Also, many courts are only available in private clubs (there's that self-selecting aspect again).
No Canadian sports listing would be complete without mentioning hockey. While it may not have the same 'accessibility for all ages' aspect that golf has, casual leagues are a great way to build relationships through friendly competition.
Often seen as quite elitist, sailing is probably the most self-selecting of all the sports. With a yacht being decidedly more expensive than a squash racquet, it's an extremely expensive sport to participate in. But once you get into the illustrious club, you can find yourself amongst some valuable connections.
Like squash, tennis/racquet clubs can offer great networking opportunities. Traditional clubs with stricter rules of etiquette and traditional white attire can make this sport quite the polished affair.
While it may seem strange to network while practicing your downward dog, the huge popularity of yoga makes it a valuable networking opportunity. It would most definitely be frowned upon to try to strike up a conversation during a class, but mingling around some of the more impressive facilities can be a handy mixer.
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