On an island surrounded by the sea, the top sport has to be sailing, from those who sail to Mallorca in their own boat or hire one here to go dinghy sailing or surfing. Other equally good ways of enjoying the sea anywhere in Mallorca are organized boat trips or boat or pedalo-hire. Courses are also run in sailing, scuba diving, canoeing, diving, swimming and water-skiing in many different parts of the island. Aided by the good weather, cyclists pedal up or down the sometimes gentle, sometimes steep mountain slopes, whilst on the flat others play golf at one of the eighteen available clubs. Others go paragliding, gliding or take a hot-air balloon trip. There are many different possibilities for those who love open spaces. Those keen on horse-riding can choose from more than a dozen clubs at which to enjoy their favourite sport. Alternatively, they can learn how to do it either in the clubs’ premises or on rides across the surrounding countryside. There are also two race-tracks, in Palma and in Manacor. Here, at weekends, trotting races with light horsecarts are held. You can play many other sports during your stay in Mallorca: tennis, indoor football, volleyball, pétanque, go-karting etc, not to mention others like hiking, climbing or underwater fishing (accompanied of course by a monitor and after all the necessary training). Palma also has five sports centres and municipal swimming pools, like that of “Son Hugo” (opened on the occasion of the Palma 1999 Student Olympics). Recent wins by “Real Mallorca” and its new Stadium, “Son Moix”, have led to increased interest in the football team all over Europe and every two weeks you can see them in action.