Memes, jibes at fellow members, and never-ending good morning messages make up most WhatsApp groups. But some have a new-found purpose. Vellore Turfkings, for instance, has now ‘evolved’ to become a group where football strategies are discussed with the seriousness that was earlier reserved for decisions like “where to order biryani from”, according to one of the admins of thegroup, who plays at Kilpauk’s Tiki Taka every week. It’s not just about organising weekend party plans or game nights anymore.
Tiki Taka is among the new crop of sporting facilities in the city that are also places to hang out with friends and unwind. Says Varshini Kapoor, who runs an online fashion store, “Our Sunday evening futsal sessions have become a part of our weekly routine; something we look forward to through the week. It’s easy to coordinate groups of six or more people, because everyone loves to play.”
But for S Shivdhanya, her bi-weekly sessions at Rush Hour, an indoor multi-sports facility in RA Puram, is “80% sport, 20% socialising.” She was a State-level basketball player who lost touch with the sport after getting into college. But with the advent of comfortable sporting facilities, the wedding planner says her game is back on. “I play badminton during the week and basketball in the weekends. Now our WhatsApp group has expanded to 80 members. Recently, we were able to recreate our exact same school basketball team from 15 years ago. It was a reunion like no other.”
A team sport
It was much the same for Lakshmanan Chidambaram, who runs Rush Hour with five of his best friends, all die-hard sports fans. “We wanted to start a business together; perhaps a café so we can both work and ‘chill’ at the same time. While we were in the process, we realised the importance of team sports in forming our friendship and wanted that to be passed on to others. People who play together, stay together,” he says, stating how 50-75 people walk-in on a weekday compared to over 125 during the weekends.
For many, it’s the chance to find like-minded players who play at a uniform level that makes the difference. “With a public ground or court, the problem is that we might have to play along with people who are either much better than us or those who are not serious at all,” adds Shivdhanya. “With such spaces, we can reserve our own time slots so we can control who we play with and at what level.”
The fact that these facilities are reconnecting working adults to sports is as much about the location of these places as it is about their infrastructure says Gautham Rajendar, who manages Whistle, an urban sports hub that’s located on Pycrofts Garden Road. “The place where we operate was earlier just a vacant piece of land which we developed to convert into a football turf and three badminton courts,” he adds. “The central location works to our advantage. It also helps that there will always be in demand for both badminton and football in the city.”
More than cricket
It’s awareness among youngsters that has given rise to this new sporting sub-culture. “Cricket will always be a religion, the only sport for a lot of youngsters. But when places like ours open up in and around the city, it gives people access to facilities and training which will eventually lead to better sporting.”
And for many, it’s an important part of their work-life balance. “We find many people who come to play after a stressful day at work. An hour of intense sport and a bit of socialising and they’re relaxed and stress-free. The advantages are many-fold.”