Sport in Australia

Sport in Australia plays a central role in many aspects of the local lifestyle. The climate is suited to playing sport year-round, with golf being the most commonly participated in sport in Australia. Other sports that are most commonly participated in by Australians include tennis, netball, soccer and swimming.

Many sports are played in Australia, with popularity varying between sports and between regions. The popularity of the various codes of football is one good example of this: although Australian rules football is the most popular spectator sport in Australia, rugby league is more popular in Queensland and New South Wales.

When not playing sports, Australians are just as keen to spectate. Australians sports are amongst the highest attended. Armchair sports fans drive high television ratings for sports programs. In fact, the top 5 television shows in 2005 were sports programs.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football (also known as Aussie rules or footy) is a game played between two teams. Each team has 18 players on the field of play at any one time. There are 22 players per side in the premier league, AFL, who are interchanged without limitation by the coaches as required. Teams use an ellipsoidal ball on cricket ovals, or similar-sized areas, with four goal posts at each end. The aim for each team is to kick the ball between the two inner posts of one set, for a goal, worth six points. If the ball travels between one outer and one inner post (which includes striking an inner post), it scores a behind, worth just one point. The game is distinguished from other kinds of football by the fast, relatively free movement of the ball.

Australian rules, which originated in Melbourne, is the predominant winter sport in its traditional areas of popularity, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania. In these areas (which include about half of Australia’s population), much of the population takes an obsessive interest in the competition and attend many of the games, making it the biggest spectator sport in the country. [2] Footy tipping is a mainstay of many workplaces’ social interaction. Its popularity is increasing in Queensland and New South Wales, due to the recent success of the local teams in Brisbane and Sydney.

The Australian Football League is the national Australian rules competition. It consists of a single division of 16 teams. Of these 16 teams, 10 are Victorian, and 2 each from South Australia and Western Australia. The remaining two teams are based in Brisbane and Sydney. The Sydney team was originally the Melbourne based club of South Melbourne. The AFL was renamed from the Victorian Football League in 1990 to signify its change from a Victorian competition to a national competition. Each state has its own local league, and there are amateur recreational, children’s and women’s competitions.

Basketball

The National Basketball League was formed in 1978 and is Australia’s top professional basketball competition. It has eleven teams. Some players have gone on to play in the NBA such as Andrew Gaze and Luc Longley. The premier women’s basketball league is the Women’s National Basketball League, with player Lauren Jackson going on to win the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2003. In recent years, many young Australians have chosen to play college basketball in the United States, the most notable of whom is 2005 NBA Draft top pick Andrew Bogut.

Cricket

Cricket has a long history in Australia, and is played on local, national and international levels. The Australian cricket team is today regarded as one of the leading international teams in world cricket, having been the unquestionably dominant team for much of the 1990s. The first Australian cricket team which played overseas was the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England. The Australian team which toured England in 1948 was nicknamed The Invincibles and was captained by Donald Bradman. In recent years the Australia team has been captained by Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and currently Ricky Ponting.

Cycling

Cycling is one of the most popular recreational activities in Australia, as the weather is suitable most of the year. In 2004, almost 1.5 million Australians aged 15 years and over participated in cycling for exercise, recreation and sport at leat once [3].

Cycling is gaining a higher profile at a competitive level due to the success of Australians competing overseas (such as in Olympic Games and the Tour de France), and the Tour Down Under race in Australia attracting top cyclists from around the world.
Further information: Category:Australian cyclistsand Category:Cycling in Australia

Football (soccer)

Australia has a new national league (first season 2005-6) called the A-League. Australia’s national team, nicknamed the Socceroos, are active in international games including World Cup Qualification games, and have qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Australia has just completed a move to the Asian Football Confederation from the Oceania Football Confederation.

The name ‘football’ can sometimes be ambiguous in Australia. Historically, the sport has been known as soccer, but many official organisations and clubs are now using the term ‘football’ in line with common international usage of the word, however, use of the word “football”, to mean either Australian rules or one of the rugby football codes, is well-established in Australia.

Further information: Australia national football (soccer) team, Football Federation Australia, Football (soccer) in Tasmania, Football (soccer) in Western Australia, Football (soccer) in Victoria, and Football (soccer) in South Australia

Golf

The Australian Open was first played in 1904 and is one of the main annual golf tournaments in the PGA Tour of Australasia. The Royal Park Golf Club was one of the earliest golf clubs in Melbourne. One of the best known Australian golfers is Greg Norman, the world’s number one ranked golfer for much of the 1980s and 1990s. Also well known are Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington, Ian Baker-Finch, Nick O’Hern and Karrie Webb.

Hockey

Hockey is a popular amateur sport throughout Australia, but tends to have limited appeal at higher levels, at least, when compared to Cricket, AFL and Rugby. Traditional field hockey, played during winter, is the most common form of the game, but indoor hockey is growing in popularity, and smaller, generally fairly isolated competitions for roller hockey and ice hockey.

At the highest levels, Australian hockey teams have been extremely successful in the recent past. The Hockeyroos, Australia’s women’s hockey team, have won three olympic gold medals, in 1988, 1996 and 2000. The Australian Men’s team, the Kookaburras are the reigning Olympic and Commonwealth champions.

Horse racing

Horse racing in Australia is administered by The Australian Racing Board, with each State’s Principal Racing Authority agreeing to abide by, and to enforce the Australian Rules of Racing.

Thoroughbred horse racing is the third most attended spectator sport in Australia, behind Australian Rules football and rugby league, with almost 2 million admissions to the 379 racecourses throughout Australia in 2002-2003. Besides being a spectator sport, horse racing is also an industry, which provides full or part time employment for almost 250,000 people, the equivalent of 77,000 jobs. About 300,000 people have a direct interest as owners, or members of syndicates in the 31,000 horses in training in Australia.

Public interest in thoroughbred racing, especially during the main Spring and Autumn racing carnivals, has been growing in recent years with over 100,000 attracted to the running of both the Melbourne Cup and VRC Oaks. The Caulfield Cup and W S Cox Plate are also major attractions.

Throughout its history, horse racing has become part of the Australian culture and has developed a rich and colourful language as well as providing some of Australia’s great sporting icons such as Phar Lap, Tulloch, Bernborough, Carbine, Kingston Town and Makybe Diva.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a sport played by relatively few people in Australia, but is one of the oldest established sports in the country, having been introduced in 1875. Despite the small playing numbers and being generally concentrated in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, lacrosse is played to a high standard in Australia, with many individual players also achieving success in American college and professional teams. The national teams have been successful too, with the women’s national team winning the World Cup in 1986 and again in 2005, while the men’s team have been runners-up on a number of occasions.

Motorsport

Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The most widely watched motorsport is V8 Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Formula 3 and Formula Holden (open wheel racing), Superbikes, and touring cars.

Australia hosts a round of most international series, including:
Formula One - Australian Grand Prix
Champ Car - Lexmark Indy 300
MotoGP - Phillip Island MotoGP Round
World Rally Championship - Telstra Rally Australia
A1 Grand Prix

Netball

Netball has the highest level of participation of any sport amongst women in Australia. It rivals cricket, soccer and Australian football for the highest number of participants of any sport in the country. The game is governed by Netball Australia at the national level, which is responsible for the national team and national competition.

The Australian national netball team has, along with traditional rivals New Zealand’s Silver Ferns, dominated the game at international level. The main competitions at international level are the Netball World Championships and Commonwealth Games, where New Zealand currently hold both titles.

At the domestic level, elite players contest the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. This competition is made up of eight teams from around the country. Indoor Netball is a fast growing variation of the game, with modified rules. It is popular amongst both men and women with mixed competitions also conducted. A world championship in indoor netball was held in 2001.

Rugby League

Rugby League (also known informally as football or footy) is the most popular sport in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory dating back to 1908. The game is appreciated less but still played by a hand full of people in non-traditional territories, such as Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and almost not played at all in Tasmania. Traditionally, the divide between support between league and union is to a large extent along socioeconomic lines, with the professional league being the sport of the working class while the “amateur” rugby union competition played and supported by the middle class.

The Australian Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Queensland Rugby League (QRL). The National Rugby League (NRL) is one of the most popular sporting competitions in Australia. It holds the main competition of Rugby League, with 15 teams. It has done so since 1998, when the ARL merged with Super League. The ARL had held the competition between 1995 and 1997, with the New South Wales Rugby League competition holding it before that, from 1908 to 1994. In the 2005 NRL Finals Series, the Wests Tigers won the premiership, beating North Queensland Cowboys in the grand final.

The Australian national rugby league team represents Australia at rugby league. Since July 7, 1994 the team’s nickname has been the Kangaroos. See also List of results of the Australian national rugby league team

A number of competitions exist between national rugby league sides which Australia is involved in. The Rugby League Ashes is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of rugby league test series between Great Britain and Australia, held since 1908. The Tri-Nations is a rugby league tournament involving the top three nations in the sport: Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, which started in 1999. The Rugby League World Cup has been held since 1954.

The Rugby League State of Origin competition began in 1980 after Queensland had campaigned for a State of Origin series as Queensland was consistently losing the state competitions because many of its best players had been lost to New South Wales clubs. Full results: Rugby league State of Origin games

Rugby Union

The first recorded game of Rugby Football in Australia was on 25 July 1839. The Sydney University club, the first recognised club, was formed in 1864. By 1874 there were enough clubs for the formation of the Sydney Metropolitan competition playing by the rules of the Rugby Football Union.

English teams toured Australia in 1888 and 1899. Throughout the 20th century Australian Rugby Union teams were reliably competitive. In Australia, rugby union became a professional sport in 1996. The Australia national rugby union team are the Wallabies. Major international competitions played by the Wallabies include the Bledisloe Cup, between Australia and New Zealand, which since 1996 has been part of the Tri Nations Series.

The Rugby World Cup was first held in 1987 and is now held every four years. Australia is the only nation to win the Rugby World Cup twice, in 1991 and 1999. The Mandela Challenge Plate began in 2000, which started as a minor tournament involving Australia and South Africa. From 2006 on, it will be contested in the Tri Nations alongside the Bledisloe Cup.

The premier provincial rugby competition is the Super 14 (previously the Super 12) consisting of 4 teams (Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs, ACT Brumbies and Western Force) from Australia, along with 5 teams from New Zealand and 5 teams from South Africa.

The Australian Rugby Shield was first played in 2000, to try and promote rugby union in states outside New South Wales and Queensland. To celebrate 10 years of professional Rugby Union, Australian Rugby celebrated the occasion with the announcement of the Wallaby Team of the Decade.
Further information:Australian national rugby union team, Australian Rugby Union, New South Wales Rugby Union, Queensland Rugby Union, Super 14.

Softball

Australia ’s softball history began in 1939 when Gordon Young, Director of Physical Education in NSW, began to promote the game in schools and colleges. In 1942, during WW2, US army sergeant William Duvernet organised softball as a recreation for US nurses stationed in Victoria. Another American, Max Gilley, introduced the game to Queensland in 1946. Australia’s first inter-state championship was played in Brisbane in 1947 and was won by Victoria. The second national championship was held in Melbourne two years later. It was at this championship that the Australian Softball Federation was formed with Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales being the founding members. The other States of Australia have since joined. Eight Australian Championships are now conducted each year - Open Women’s, Open Men’s, Under 23 Women and Men, Under 19 Women and Men, and Under 16 Girls and Boys. Softball has been a major sport in the schools program for some time now and it is estimated that more then 250,000 children play the game each year.

Tennis

One of the four tennis grand slams is played in Australia, the Australian Open held in Melbourne. The tournament has been held for 100 years since 1905 when the Australasian Tennis Championship was first held at a Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Like the other three Grand Slam events, it was contested by top-ranked amateur players. It was known as the Australian championships until the advent of open tennis in 1968. There are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles, as well as junior and master’s competitions.

Some of Australia’s best known tennis players include Rod Laver, Margaret Court, Roy Emerson, Lleyton Hewitt, John Newcombe, Pat Rafter, Ken Rosewall and The Woodies. The Woodies consisting of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde was the most successful men’s tennis doubles team in history, and won eleven Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal.

Winter Sports

Australia receives snow in the Australian Alps and parts of Tasmania, and has indoor ice rinks in many cities. As a result, Australians are able to participate in a wide variety of winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, biathlon, freestyle skiing (including aerial skiing and moguls), ice hockey, curling, short track speed skating and figure skating. Australia has Olympic programs for some of these sports. Australia has little or no facilities for ski jumping, and the ski runs are mostly too short for the faster competitive alpine skiing events like Super-G and Downhill. There are no bobsleigh tracks (used for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) within Australia (the nearest one is in Japan), although Australia competes in slide events overseas, and there is a bobsleigh push track in the Docklands in Melbourne.

Australians participated in skiing as a sport from the 19th century, probably starting in Kiandra in 1861. The first indoor ice rink was probably opened in 1889, and another opened in Adelaide in 1903. Ice hockey was played as early as 1904.

The Mount Buller World Aerials is an aerial skiing event held in Mount Buller, Victoria. It is the first event in the World Cup calendar.

The Kangaroo Hoppet is a 42 km cross-country skiing race held in Falls Creek, Victoria. Held at the same time are the 21 km Australian Birkebeiner and the 7 km Joey Hoppet races. The Kangaroo Hoppet and the Australian Birkebeiner are part of the Worldloppet series of cross-country ski races.
Main article: Skeleton sport in Australia

A team of women competing in skeleton was created from athletes who had never competed in the sport before, planning to win a medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Olympic Games

Two Olympic Games have been held in Australia; the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Australia is one of only three countries to have sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games. Australia is currently the only southern hemisphere country to win a gold Olympic medal in the Winter Olympics. The most successful Australian athlete at an Olympics in terms of medals won is Ian Thorpe with nine medals, with five of them gold. Athletes who have achieved four gold medals were: Betty Cuthbert, Murray Rose, Dawn Fraser and Shane Gould.

The most medals Australia has won at an Olympics was at Sydney 2000, with 58 medals, with 16 of them gold. It was also the largest team Australia has had at an Olympics with 630 athletes, helped by the home country’s automatic qualification into every sport. The most gold medals Australia has won at an olympics were at Athens 2004, with 17.