This used to be the small stadium of Tomar. It was here that the local football club, União de Tomar used to play top teams like Benfica, Porto and Sporting of the first division of the Portuguese football championship. In time things changed dramatically. União de Tomar is now playing soccer in the lower divisions and the stadium became just a football and athletics track at Mouchão Park.
This is the former stadium of Tomar where the local club União de Tomar, used to play in the Portuguese Premier League
In time the football stadium of Tomar at Mouchão Park, became a soccer field and an athletics track
To the left of the soccer field there is a sports pavilion and it's the end of Mouchão Park in this area
There’s no beach in Tomar as this city is located in the centre of Portugal. In fact the nearest beach by car is about 80 Km away in a town called Nazaré. Yet you can play beach volleyball in Tomar as you can see on this set of photos. The popularity of sand volleyball originated in Hawaii and California, has grown so much worldwide that Tomar couldn’t help but also get into the action.
Though there is no beach in Tomar, there is a beach volleyball court in town, located at Mouchão Park
This sand volleyball court in Tomar, close to the soccer field, offers the opportunity for enthusiasts of this worldwide popular game to be played in a beachless place
Another view of the beach volleybal court of Tomar, which is right next a basketball court at Mouchão Park. Notice the Japanese type of garden used to decorate this area
I have already mentioned that canoeing is a popular sporting activity in Tomar and I was even lucky enough to have witnessed a canoeing competition at Nabão River on a Sunday morning, organized by the Portuguese Federation of Canoeing (Federação Portuguesa de Canoagem). I don’t know who won as I don’t follow this sport closely, but I noticed how enthusiastic they all were about this sport. As someone who doesn’t know much about canoeing I found it to be very relaxing and colourful as you can see by these photos.
The gentleman in the blue and yellow canoe is a canoeing instructor as I saw him direct the youth paddling other canoes around him, at Nabão River in Tomar
This young canoe rider was paddling his red canoe with great energy, during training at Nabão River in the city of Tomar. I was on a small bridge at Mouchão Park when I shot this picture
A group of canoe riders relaxing on the green waters of Nabão River in the City of Tomar. They were getting ready for the hard competition that would follow
When I lived in the City of Nova Lisboa (now Huambo) when Angola (Africa) was still a Portuguese colony, I used to play basketball at a club called Atlético Clube do Huambo, which I think still exists. I played mainly junior basketball and that allowed me to travel to other cities in Angola like Malange, Luanda, etc. Anyway when I saw this basketball court at Mouchão Park in Tomar, all those memories of my youth came back to me. At the time I shot these photos, no one was playing but I sure felt the need to throw a few balls into the basketball hoop if the court was open and I had a ball on hand.
This basketball court in the City of Tomar is located at Mouchão Park, but on the other side of the Island of Mouchão. Thought you can't see it in the photo, on my right is the soccer and athletic field of Tomar
This area of Mouchão Park in Tomar is covered with sporting structures to play basketball, tennis, soccer, swimming, practice athletics and there's also Nabão River nearby for canoeing
Memories from my days as a basketball player came to my mind and at this moment I wish I could have access to this basketball court in Tomar and throw a few balls into both hoops.
There was a time this soccer field and athletics track in Tomar, located at Mouchão Park, was a small stadium, mainly dedicated to soccer. There was a wall around it and seats for the public who attended soccer games, usually between the local soccer team União de Tomar and other Portuguese teams. There was even a time when the soccer team of Tomar played in the Premier League of Portugal, against teams like Benfica, Porto, Sporting Lisbon, etc. There was also a time where the most famous Portuguese soccer player of all time, Eusébio, played here when this was a stadium, and in the twilight of his career he even played for União de Tomar. Now the local club is in the lower divisions and the stadium was transformed into a soccer field and athletics track, mainly for the benefit of the youth of Tomar.
There used to be a wall around this soccer field when it was a stadium. The Town council of Tomar decided to eliminate the wall and the seats and include a track for athletics
The former stadium of Tomar, which used to be employed only for soccer games, is now a track and field. Here used to play the local soccer team, União de Tomar, which was once in the Portuguese Premier League
Soccer game being played by two youth soccer teams at this track and field, in the City of Tomar. At one time when this place was a stadium, the best Portuguese player of all time, Eusébio, played here
Tomar may be a small city but there are people living there involved in all kinds of sporting activities, as you can see in the photos below. I know that there is nothing special about this, as this happens in most towns all over the world, but with these photos I am just trying to underline the fact that my home town, not only is an historical place and a beautiful city, but it is also alive with leisure and sporting activities.
Happy cyclists on a Sunday morning riding their bikes in the City of Tomar in Portugal. They noticed that I had frozen this moment and a couple of them looked right at me while I was pressing the shutter button of my camera
This is a photo of a tennis court in Tomar, shot from an hill where the Chapel of Senhora da Piedade was built. Portugal doesn't have a tradition in tennis, but there are a few enthusiasts of this sport in Tomar
Photo of the main entrance to Vasco Jacob swimming pool in Tomar. This is an old pool which I used to go when I was about eight years old. Vasco Jacob was a swimming teacher and he taught me how to swim
When I left Portugal more than 20 years ago, you couldn’t see many floating vessels at Nabão River (Rio Nabão), except for a very small number of boats stationed near Santa Iria Inn (Estalagem de Santa iria), in Mouchão Park, for tourist purposes. Nowadays there is a thriving sporting activity in the City of Tomar, called canoeing. Hardly a day went by that I didn’t see someone riding a canoe or groups of young guys and girls practicing this paddle sport in the waters of Nabão River. Here is a few photos of people enjoying this water-based sporting activity in Tomar.
Large group of canoeing enthusiasts gathering at Nabão River in the City of Tomar, Portugal
Canoeing in a very popular sporting activity in Tomar. Many people, especially boys and girls practice this paddle sport at Nabão River in Mouchão Park
Two young canoeists paddling around Nabão River near the wood bridge that crosses both sides of Mouchão Park in Tomar