Oakbank Primary School - Sport and Recreation

Sport and Recreation

St. Johnstone is the city's professional football club. The team play in the Scottish Premier League at their home ground, McDiarmid Park, in the Tulloch area of the city. There are also two junior clubs also based in Perth – Jeanfield Swifts and Kinnoull. The senior rugby team, Perthshire Rugby Football Club play their games on the North Inch in the Scottish Championship League B. Between 1995 and 1998 the professional Caledonia Reds played some of their home matches in Perth at McDiarmid Park before they merged with Glasgow Warriors.

Perth Leisure Pool, to the west of the railway station on the Glasgow Road, is the city's swimming centre. The modern leisure pool complex was built in the mid-1980s to replace the traditional public swimming baths (established 1887) which used to sit just off the Dunkeld Road.

There is a large sports complex, Bell's Sports Centre, to the northwest of the city centre, at the western edge of the North Inch. Prior to the building of the Greenwich Dome, it was the largest domed building in Britain. An identical structure exists at Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. Perth hosts Scotland's largest volleyball event every May - the Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament. There is a highly-competitive indoor competition held inside Bell's Sports Centre alongside both a competitive and fun outdoor event played on the North Inch. Teams competing traditionally camp alongside the outdoor courts with the campsite being administered by local cadets. The Scottish Volleyball Association's annual general meeting is also held at the same time as tournament.

The Dewar's Centre, which includes an eight-lane ice rink, has long been a main centre of curling in Scotland. Many top teams compete in this arena and many major events are held here each year. Curling is available from September to April annually. There is an indoor bowling hall, hosting major competitions. Historically Perth had a successful ice hockey team, Perth Panthers, who played at the old ice rink on Dunkeld Road. The rink at Dewars is the wrong shape for ice hockey, so when the team reformed in 2000 for two seasons they played their home games at Dundee Ice Arena.

Perth is also home to two main parks, namely the North Inch and South Inch. The Inches were given to the city in 1377 by King Robert III. The North Inch is located directly to the north of the city centre. It is bordered to the south by Charlotte Street and Atholl Street and to the southwest by Rose Terrace. Its western perimeter consists of part of the exercise path that circumnavigates the entire park. The River Tay bounds it to the east. A little farther to the north is the Inch's eponymous golf course

Situated half a mile south of the North Inch, directly across the city centre, is the South Inch. The Inches are linked by Tay Street, which runs along the western banks of the Tay. The South Inch is bordered to the north by Marshall Place and Kings Place; to the east by Shore Road; to the south by South Inch View; and to the west by St Leonards Bridge. The Edinburgh Road passes through its eastern third. The South Inch offers various activities, including bowling, an adventure playground, a skate park, and, in the summer, a bouncy castle. The Perth Show takes place annually on the section of the Inch between the Edinburgh Road and Shore Road.