Haifa Sports

Maccabi Sports Center

Soccer Game at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium (Photo: Zvi Roger and Haifa Municipality, CC BY 3.0)

If you are looking for a sports center that offers a variety of activities, Haifa’s Maccabi Sports Center, the A. Offman Sport Center on the Leo Baeck Campus, and the Sportan all have pools, saunas, and Jacuzzis. Offman also has a children’s pool, gym and tennis courts. For further information call (04) 833-1080. Maccabi has two heated swimming pools, wet and dry saunas, and a gym. For further information call (04) 837-3046. Sportan also has squash courts. For further information call (04) 852-9611. If tennis is your forte, try the Tennis Center at (04) 852-2721. For a  Lawn Bowling Club, call (04) 850-0319.

Challenge Sports

The X-Park is the only challenge-sport park in Israel and is located in the Congress Center at Haifa’s southern entrance. This amazing park offers all kinds of challenge sports and activities for professionals, amateurs and families with children over the age of five.

There are activities for the fearless, such as an Olympic Climbing Wall. A Rope Bridge Park has eight different rope bridges that are seven meters (23 feet) above the ground. There are also rope bridges at lower heights for children to climb on. A Giant Omega allows rappelling down a 30-meter (100-foot) wall.

A Paintball Complex allows for a virtual battlefield experience with paint balls. The paint marks where the balls land in order to mark the targets. This includes a firing range for children, a battlefield, and an obstacle course.

The X-Park also has Israel’s largest rink for skateboarding, roller blades and bicycling, plus a really great Gymboree-type of activity for children. For further information contact Adi Poliker at: 054-788-3812 or 1-599-524400.

Haifa Kite Festival (Photo: David King, CC BY 2.0)

Extreme Sports

If you are ready for a sport that will really raise your adrenaline level then you might consider paradiving or skydiving, which is jumping out of a plane while wearing a parachute. There is a Paradive Jump School near the Habonim Beach of Moshav Habonim, 20 minutes south of Haifa. Paradive offers only tandem flights, whereby a person is attached to a professional parachute diver who will open the door to the plane from 1200 feet (365 meters) and together they jump out of the plane! For about a minute you will fall at 120 miles per hour until your parachutes open! For further information call: (04) 639-1068/9.

Extreme Water Sports

If you prefer a rush of adrenaline on the sea rather than in the sky, consider kiteboarding or kitesurfing at Haifa’s Kite Club. Here, the wind propels a large kite that pulls you along at high speed while you stand on a surfboard. For further information call (04) 855-0183.

Fishing in Haifa (Photo: Golf Bravo®)

Fishing

If you are looking for a more relaxing sport suitable for families and children of all ages, then you might want to go fishing at the Dag B’Kfar Fishing Park. This is located in Yokne’am Hamoshava, at the foot of Mount Carmel southeast of Haifa. There are fishing ponds for both adults and children, tours to the nearby biosphere park and you can also rent bicycles. It’s a great place to take the kids, as it has all kinds of fun activities for children. For further information call (04) 989-4095.

Haifa Sports: Did You Know?

In biblical times, Yokne’am was a city of Levites in the area given to the tribe of Zevulun. Haifa was also in the portion of land given to Zevulun.