Sports
The first time 19-year-old Alan Zavala went fishing in Marina Bay, he caught a leopard shark. He was hooked. The next day, he went to buy a fishing license. “It’s fun when obviously you’re getting bites and catches,” said Zavala, who’s been fishing for six months. “You also feel adrenaline doing that.” Zavala wanted to try fishing because of videos he saw on TikTok. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, social media influencers have attracted large audiences with content about fishing. Kaitlyn…
The Pinole Valley High School Marching Band will perform at the halftime show of the Golden State Warriors game Tuesday at the 18,000-seat Chase Center in San Francisco after months of preparation. The 33-member band will perform a two-song mashup of “This is Berk” by John Powell and “Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. Under the supervision of rotating substitute teachers, the students have been running their own rehearsals since September, when the band director went on administrative leave. …
Luna Angulo held various wetsuits up to her body to model all the options the kayakers could borrow as they set off from Point Molate Beach Park. “These are called Farmer Johns,” Angulo said, displayng a sleeveless, knee-length design that resembled a swimsuit from the 1920s. “Super sexy.” Everyone laughed. It was late November and even though the sun was out, no one wanted to think about capsizing. All seven were fully covered as they piled into kayaks Saturday for the…
Community organizers are expecting hundreds of Richmond residents to gather, play soccer and celebrate at Lucas Park on Saturday, as part of a community-led “Picnic & Play” event. Since April, multiple community organizations have held weekly free wellness and sports events in an effort to revitalize the park in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood. In October, Lucas Park hosted over 30 events. Bordered by train tracks and a highway overpass, the park has struggled to attract visitors. Saturday’s event will be…
To the untrained eye, roller derby seems like pure pandemonium — players falling over like bowling pins, knocking into each other left and right. But hours of weekly training have taught them how to dodge, shove, turn and jump on four wheels to control the chaos and rack up points. For members of the Bay Area Derby league, it’s more than just a sport. Players are there to destress, build relationships with each other, uplift their communities, and work collectively…
El Cerrito Principal Malcolm Norrington was at the center of a student walkout this week, after a letter surfaced in which Norrington apparently reported to the California Interscholastic Federation that the school would forfeit six football games because of ineligible players. The student protest also was in response to the West Contra Costa Unified School District’s decision to place the team’s head coach, Jacob Rincon, on administrative leave in September. The district has not said why it suspended Rincon –…
Richmond youth soccer teams are struggling to hold practices and compete in matches because of rising field reservation fees and sparse access to outdoor recreation facilities. Officials representing three Richmond soccer clubs say the scheduling system imposed by the West Contra Costa Unified School District has kept them from accessing fields and forced them to play home games in Berkeley and Alameda. “It shouldn’t be this hard to get our kids to play soccer in Richmond,” said Samantha Torres, executive…
Standing on either side of the portable nets, pickleball players swing their paddles, creating a “pop-pop-pop” symphony at Booker T. Anderson Park, the only outdoor place to play pickleball in Richmond. Booker T. Anderson Park now features two permanent pickleball courts and four multi-use courts for both tennis and pickleball. Since there are not many parks near BTA for residents, especially seniors and children, to enjoy, both the city and the neighborhood council agreed that sharing the courts for different…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: Do West Contra Costa kids have enough sports and recreation opportunities? “I feel like there’s a lot of sports opportunities. It’s just about looking for it. She’s into ballet. She’s a different kind of sport. So it’s harder to find that type. I haven’t found a dance team or anything for her.”…