The preponderance of DownUnder sites makes me wonder if it's not called something else UpHere.

You can practice casting by dry casting on land in a field. Dry casting is a sport, but more importantly, it is a means of learning and practicing the skills which will make you successful angler when you go fishing, because you will be able to cast long distances and cast accurately.
http://www.stripers247.com/surfcasting.htm

Dry Casting is long distance casting and accuracy casting with double handed and single handed fishing rods on a grassed area, where conditions are easier and the distances and the accuracy can be measured, unlike when casting into the water where these can't be measured.

Dry casting is a sport, but most importantly, it is a means of learning and practicing the casting skills which will make you a much more successful angler when you go fishing, because you will be able to cast long distances and cast accurately.

We've all met the difficult situations where the water is rough, the wind is strong in your face or coming from one side, you need to land the sinker in a sand hole near reefs, cast a bait in front of a school of fish, avoid tangling with the person next to you, the person next to you is casting a bit further and catching all the fish, and so on. With the right gear and skills, you can fish almost anywhere and in almost any conditions.

You don't need any special gear to start dry casting. Many people use their regular fishing gear, particularly for the accuracy casting.

Distance Casting.

The club's distance casting is with "level line", which means the same breaking strain line is used right down to the casting weight, and strong shock leaders are not used. Any breaking strain line can be used, but lighter line means longer casts. Level line promotes the development of technique and a smooth casting style, while shock leaders allow much heavier weights and the caster's strength to be used more.

Weight categories are up to 112 gram (4 ounce), up to 56 gram (2 ounce), and Artificial Bait, which includes a 100mm length of 13mm wooden dowel to give wind resistance like a bait.

Distance casting is into a "V" shaped lane, so still needs to have quite a bit of accuracy. The distance is measured to the point where the weight finishes within the "V" shaped lane.
http://www.surfcasters.iinet.net.au/DrycastingMain.html

Dry Casting is instruction and competition in distance casting and accuracy casting on a grassed area and is usually conducted on the first Sunday morning ...
www.surfcasters.iinet.net.au/

Dry Casting 2002 was successfully held at Manfield Auto Course Feilding. The weather wasn't too healthy but the competition was great. Results were: ...
www.nzaca.co.nz/_mgxroot/page_10693.html