Today I won’t be writing about a date which I have done, but rather a date which I would like to go on. I asked my boyfriend if we could do this, but he told me he’d rather go with his friends, so screw him, I’m open to any offers if anyone wants to join me!
This is a more active idea for mates or dates, and not for the faint of heart. Just a 10 minute drive away from the University of Leeds campus is Team Sport in Leeds, which has a brilliant track for Go Karting where you can reach speeds of up to 40mph. Like I said – it’s not for the faint of heart, but I agree with my boyfriend, this activity would be so fun to do with a massive group of friends as well as with a partner.
Team Sport offers student prices of £28 per person, which I know seems expensive for 30 minutes of racing, but this price is actually quite cheap for Go Karting, and the venue even sells food and has a bar. I can guarantee now that any girlfriend booking Go Karting for a date would get multiple brownie points from most boys, and any group of friends will enjoy competitively racing each other around a track. Maybe the loser could buy the winner a drink or do a forfeit – depends how nice you actually want to be.
A closer option, which does not require an Uber or car ride, is actually hidden at the end of the Merrion Centre. You’ve probably wondered why when you walk past there is a murmuring whirr of engines and giggling from a small doorway. Here is Driftshop, where Go Karting becomes small-scale and much more fun. Inside is a small track, with mini electric drift karts that raise you just inches from the floor. They look more like those little toy cars you got to drive around in preschool, but they go at far greater speeds. When I walked past, I looked through the little doorway to see a couple, who were probably in their late twenties, laughing away as they perched on these little karts trying not to bump into each other and get around the track safely.
When I first tried Go Karting I was one of the only girls in that particular race – intimidating, I know – but I seemed to improve every lap. It is daunting and it is a little scary round all the tight corners, but it should not be labelled a ‘boys sport’ as girls can enjoy it just as much as boys, and I definitely did. Even a quick google showed that Abbi Pulling, a young woman at just 18 years old, won a British Karting Championship in 2018 and aspires to race at Formula 1. She began competing when she was 12, and if that doesn’t inspire you to get behind the wheel and have a go I do not know what will. You never know, maybe you will be the next Karting champion making Leeds proud!
Written by: Madeleine Brooks
Edited by: Ella Dayer