Ask HN: Hobbies/Skills which can be picked in 30s and compete at world level?
What are some skills/hobbies you could start in your 30s and there are not many disadvantages to compete at world/regional level?
Many physical things become difficult.
Most of the other things statistically work out when you start as a kid.
What are some sports, creative activities which don't have to be your full time thing but still you could spend years to understand and excel it?
Running comes to the mind, what would be other examples?
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 143 ms ] threadIn addition, you meet new people by discussing solutions to problems (routes on the wall), which is a major benefit for people in their 30s.
I guess the more niche the sport, the better and it would be better if you already have a background in something similar. E.g. good surfers turn to hyrdofoiling, kite surfing, SUP, kayaking etc.
Maybe highlining?
The more niche the sport and the easier recovery requirements the better.
He then went and did a bunch of research into what sports are most (and of course least) competitive, landing on fencing as the best candidate. He also took advantage of being eligible for Irish citizenship, where the pool of potential competitors is smaller. I don’t know if he ever made it to the Olympics, but he was definitely heading in that direction.
My friend represented Uganda in the World Freestyle Kayaking Championships this year. He's English but has lived there for some time and as long as you've never represented your own country you can do this according to ICF rules.
I don't think there's a single person who has competed in the bouldering world cup or olympics over 30, let alone who _started_ over 30.
Every boulderer at a world level started in their teens at least.
I welcome you to provide me a single counter example of someone who has qualified (not even won, just qualified) for a bouldering world cup who started climbing at 30.
I amazes me evertime over and over again to have a conversation with someone living 10000km away from me without having to rely on other peoples/companies infrastructure. Especially when you are able to power your station with solar energy.
I've picked up this hobby with 40 and the only thing I regret is not having it picked up earlier. Also a great hobby for parents since you can operate from home at night times when everybody else is asleep.
So where the hell do I start? Any recommendations for a beginner?
I'm in the UK if it makes a difference.
Basically you need to take a course, take a test, and then you can get started.
Your local chapter will organise a reach out event once a year or so, that is a good opportunity to get started. There might also be fares.
* I decided that I want to get the beginner license first, then do a second exam for the big license
* bought some books for exam preparation
* bought a cheap 30€ handheld radio to listen to local repeater traffic while studying
* downloaded an exam preparation training tool
* worked through the material halfway through
* have registered for an exam
* stood up every morning at 5 and learned 2h before the family woke up for two months
* did the exam, got the beginner license
* studied another two months
* got the big license
* met other amateur radio operators a year after that ;)
Here are some links:
* this is the site of your country's club: https://rsgb.org/main/clubs/club-finder/
* the amateur radio subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/
There is so much more to write and I don't know where to start, but here are some fun facts:
* you don't have to learn morse code anymore for the license in most countries
* for local communicaiton, a budget of 30-100€ is sufficient
* for world wide shortwave communication, a budget of 400 to 700 can be sufficient when buying used
* you can do digi modes (computer to computer communication) instead of talking to people. This helped me the first year to get into it since i was mic shy.
* the community is awesome, people share their knowledge and help each other
* you can buy a digital handheld radio for around 200€ and work the world without any antennas over the internet. For some not the real thing, for others a blast.
And if you dig around the rules there are _lots_ of awards. e.g. I was the highest scoring QRP station in the Illinois QSO Party a few years ago.
I'm currently working on learning Korean. Also working on my private pilot license. And then there is my constant work towards a sub 3 hour marathon (I'm almost there). Dabbling with music production too.
My 20s were mostly boring, but my 30s are awesome - adventurously and intellectually so. (I'm 36)
Sure, I'll never be world class at anything, but I will constantly challenge myself. That is enough for me.
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[1] Or grow up again… I grew up too much in late teens / very early 20s and have been working my way down since.
And yet, in practice, almost all chess grandmasters have started young. I don't know of any grandmaster who started playing chess seriously past 30 (and chess.com didn't have any concrete examples that I saw: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/gmsims-who-started-...)
Physical sports are obviously out, as the world level is dominated by people under 30 for all of them.
I'll also comment further on two things you wrote in your original question:
1. "compete at world level" and 2. "don't have to be your full time thing"
In practice, the majority of things that have world competitions will also have people who will devote themselves, body and soul, to it, so if you are intent at not spending all your time on this, not making it your passion, then you should not reasonably expect to "compete at world level".
I think you might do better by classifying "compete at world level" as being very broad, like considering writing a "new york times best seller" to be competing at writing at the world level (in which case, yes, some authors started after 30). If you broaden it to simply "be able to have fun", I think you'll have a far better time of it, and at that point almost any physical activity now becomes something you can start past 30.
To add to this, I think most people don't understand how incredibly exhausting, mentally (in the sense of mental strain) and physically, high level chess is. A 40 year old chess player may have enough knowledge and skill to compete, but not enough mental and physical stamina to do so.
However they also warned, and this applies just as much for paragliding, that competiting in this sport is significantly more dangerous than practicing as a hobby.
Bjj tournaments have age brackets. Check the IBJJF worlds masters. If you win your bracket you do technically get the titles of world champ.
BJJ also has a culture of action and community. OP, look for that. Where are people +30 getting together)
Although I'm of the opinion they're more fun as an activity than to do competitively.. but for many that's the fun part.
So you could learn to sail in your 30s, spend 10 years getting good (need plenty of time on the water and coaching) and then enter the masters.
Sailing is a sport where you need lots of time on the water, coaching and some luck.
But a lot of people drop out of it in the 20s and 30s due to families and work.
Now, you're not going to compete in SC2 with people who practice 10-20 hours a week unless you also practice 10-20 hours a week; but you can certainly get pretty good and have a lot of fun. (Maybe neurological limitations from being older would prevent you from being top-tier even if you did practice 10-20 hours a week; but I'm inclined to believe it's more that older people are less likely to practice 10-20 hours a week for whatever reason.)
[1] https://youtu.be/mfFas8p5g7M
Would not advise OP to pick SC2.