Sports Dates, Be Active While On A Date

Go-Carting (“Karting”) See Who Can Drive Better!

Much like relationships, you can drive really fast, really slow or crash repeatedly into those around you. Go-carting is a fun way to let your competitiveness come out, and driving in enclosed circuits is probably where most of us belong anyway. We’ve rated the tracks for their “post-race” activities as well. After all, you can’t drive all day.

 

Horseback Riding Trails, Get Back In The Saddle

What smells like it hasn’t taken a shower for weeks, snorts, picks its food up from the ground and has a following of flies wherever it goes? If you answered “my date”, our sympathies. Horses are supposed to be every girl’s dream, though we think bicycling is just as fun, and cheaper too. One-hour trail rides cost $25/person and usually leave on the hour. Be sure to call ahead to confirm your horse!

 

Batting Cages, Hang Out In The Baseball Cage

Like dating, baseball can often be a “swing and a miss” affair. So we go on dates to places such as Baseball Games to talk and see if there is any hope of a long time relationship. Batting cages are for those who like baseball and would rather be a participant than a spectator. Batting cages are generally found in amusement centres – not as standalone establishments such as Golf Driving Ranges. As such, don’t expect to spend a lot of time by the cages. You can probably get a good 15-30 minutes of action before you’ll want to move on to something else

Boating, A Date On The Water

The perfect summer date, boating (especially pedal-boating) meshes activity and conversation opportunity together like peanut butter and jelly (without any allergic reaction). As Toronto happens to sit right beside a very big lake (not that we suggest swimming in it…), the ability to boat all around is both available and readily accessible.

 

Fruit Picking, A Day On The Farm

No, we’re not about to recommend going to the local grocery outlet for your date (though a late-night shopping spree can be fun and spontaneous). Instead, go to the source and see how “picky” your date really is. Are they discriminating in taste or just another apple in the barrel? Formerly relegated to school-trips, the fruit picking experience is making a strong dating comeback.

Golf Courses, Who Is The Better Golfer

Forget about Mini-Golf or Driving Ranges… this is the real thing. So what if it says “Par 4” on the scorecard and you’re up to shot 16? Fishing out a lost golf ball can be an adventure in itself. While golf pros may want to complete the entire 18 holes a course offers, dating pros know not to push it past nine if its looking like the date is not clicking or the weather isn’t cooperating.

 

Golf Driving Ranges, How far Can You Hit The Ball

Much like Mini-Golf recreates the final segment of the golf experience (although in an off the-wall way), driving ranges recreate the initial challenge: hitting the ball as far (and accurately) as possible. As a date, this is enormously advantageous, as it is a physical activity without true exertion. The only drawback we found was that it can be a short-lived diversion.

Hiking Trails, A Great Day In The Outdoors

Sometimes you have to get dirty to really know the person you’re dating. Hiking provides this and a great workout too. If you can scale a fallen tree across a raging river (or trickling stream, as may be), you may emerge confident enough to tackle any hurdles in your relationship.

 

Laser Tag, Fun Times With No Pain

Shoot first - date later. Laser tag is fun, but short and relatively expensive. You can actually have variations of this date: play against your date or team up and go after everyone else. The former may make you look like a stalker… the latter may make you look too dependent.

Paintball, This Can Hurt So Watch Out

If pain were truly close to pleasure, everyone would ‘paintball date’. Paintball is genuinely fun (and messy) if you are into it, but realize that you won’t score any “points” if you shoot your date - these things really hurt.

Rock Climbing, Gain Trust And Strength

Rock climbing has, for us, become quite a controversial date idea. On the one hand, it is a lot of fun and it requires trust as the one climbing requires the other to “belay”. On the flip side, it is not for everybody. You have to be both athletically fit and minded. In addition, you have to wear [tight] climbing clothes, which can turn into a real problem if either you or your date is not comfortable with that proposition.

Roller Skating (Indoor) Learn To Skate

Like Ice Skating, roller-skating is a great fun/romantic date. Unlike ice-skating, though: if you fall, it hurts. But round and round you go, usually in the dark with music blasting… so you can’t talk so much, but still its fun and active. Not to be confused with outdoor rollerblading (though you can roller skate in Rollerbladestm), roller-skating takes place indoors in a rink.

 

Skiing / Tobogganing / Snowboarding, Fun In The Snow

While some see snow as an annoyance, GOIT dating veterans realize that good can come from the Canadian white fluff we call snow. Whether you’re into the rush of downhill skiing/snowboarding, the barrel-rolling of tobogganing or just attempting cross-country, you can’t go too wrong playing in the snow. See City of Toronto Parks and Recreation if you’re looking for a local hill to sled down. Warm up after at a café or lounge.

Tennis – Tennis Courts, A Game For Two

Grab a couple of racquets and lots of tennis balls and head to court! Half the fun of tennis is figuring out how to play. If you’re not into the sport, don’t let little details like rules ruin a perfectly fun dating experience. We’ve listed every free outdoor tennis court in the city, and some of them even have night lighting. How can you go wrong with a game that is scored with “love”?

 

Ice Skating, Romantic Time On The Ice

Ice skating is quite romantic and fun, in a chilly kind of way. You are really just going in circles, but isn’t that what dating is anyway - circling different people until you close in on the one you want to keep.

 

Bicycle / Walking / Rollerblading Paths, Get Active Outside

Bicycling is fun and active and, most importantly, makes your heart race even if your date doesn’t. There is no shortage of bicycling routes in Toronto and you can plan a short date or a very, very long one. These make for great walks too. Of course, with good GOIT planning, you can bike or rollerblade, ever so conveniently, to an ice shop and make up whatever calories you’ve burned getting.

 

Bowling, Who Is The Better Bowler

Bowling is one of those non-sport sports that has persisted despite itself. It also remains a clichéd date idea… one that still continues to this very day. This, in the face of the fact that it is not really a conversation conducive activity nor particularly romantic. Perhaps because bowling is indoors and an activity (a step beyond mere sitting and talking), people gravitate toward it. The addition of glow- in-the-dark helps too.

Baseball Go Watch A Game

Baseball, as a date, involves sitting and talking while the game acts as a distraction during lull moments. But what exactly are you watching? Exciting stuff it is not.

Nevertheless, you and your date can always take a walk around the stadium… or try to sneak your way down to the dugouts.

Basketball Shoot Those Hoops

Fast paced and fun, you can see other people sweat without breaking into one yourself.

Hockey A True Canadian sport

A true Canadian date deserves a true Canadian sport. Hockey games have action, roaring crowds and the occasional fight. All this adrenalin and drama can make for an exciting date, if you can get into it.

Just don’t expect any significant relationship discussions during commercial breaks. Go Leafs Go!