Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Culture of Australia}}
[[Sport]] is an important part of [[Australia]] that dates back to the early colonial period. [[Cricket]], [[Australian rules football in Australia|Australian rules football]], [[rugby league]], [[rugby union]], [[Soccer in Australia|soccer]] and [[tennis]] are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Cricket is regarded as the national summer sport, with people widely participating from the months of September to April. The three most popular sports in Australia are Cricket, Australian Football and Rugby League. Boxing day test cricket match is the most popular sporting event in summer. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the [[The Ashes|Ashes]], the [[Melbourne Cup]] and the [[America's Cup]].
There are a number of professional sport leagues in Australia, including the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) and [[AFL Women's]] (Australian rules football), [[National Rugby League]] (NRL) (rugby league), the [[Big Bash League]] (cricket), [[Women's Big Bash League]] (cricket) and [[Sheffield Shield]] (cricket), the [[National Basketball League (Australia)|National Basketball League]] and the [[Women's National Basketball League]], the [[A-League]] and the [[W-League (Australia)|W-League]] ([[Association football|soccer]]), the [[Australian Baseball League]], [[Super Rugby]] and the [[National Rugby Championship]] (rugby union), [[Suncorp Super Netball]] and the [[Supercars Championship]] ([[touring car racing]]). Attendance for the AFL in a single season attracts more than 6 million people to games, while the NRL draws just over 3 million people in a single season.
Historically, rugby league and rugby union football codes have been more popular than Australian rules football in New South Wales, The Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, whereas Australian rules football has been more popular in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Major professional sports leagues in Australia are similar to [[major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada]] in that they do not practice [[promotion and relegation]], unlike sports leagues in Europe and South America.
Australia boasts 7 former world number one [[Squash in Australia|squash]] players, as well as a history of success in the [[Squash at the Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]].
The media plays an important part in Australia's sporting landscape, with many sporting events televised or broadcast on radio. The government has [[anti-siphoning laws]] to protect free-to-air stations. Beyond televising live events, there are many sport-related television and radio programs, as well as several magazine publications dedicated to sport. Australian sport has also been the subject of Australian-made films such as ''[[The Club (1980 film)|The Club]]'', ''[[Australian Rules (film)|Australian Rules]]'', ''[[The Final Winter]]'' and ''[[Footy Legends]]''.
As a nation, Australia has competed in many international events, including the [[Olympics]] and [[Paralympics]]. The country has also twice hosted the [[Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]] ([[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]]) and Sydney ([[2000 Summer Olympics|2000]]), as well as the [[Commonwealth Games]] on five occasions.
Australia is one of five countries to have played in the world cups of cricket, soccer and rugby, along with England, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. England plays all three disciplines at elite level, but the other countries are less dominant in soccer.
The city of [[Melbourne]] is famous for its major sports events and has been described as the 'sporting capital of the world',<ref>https://www.smh.com.au/sport/melbourne-named-worlds-sporting-capital-20160421-gobebk.html</ref> and one of its stadiums, the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], is considered the home of [[Australian rules football]].
==History==
{{Main|History of sport in Australia}}
{{Quote box|quote="Australia's sporting history is marked by great successes, great stories and truly great moments. Sport speaks a universal language in this country – we are a nation of players and enthusiasts." |source = — [[Kevin Rudd]], January 2008<ref>{{cite web|title=The National Sports Museum – celebrating moments that made us|url=http://www.nsm.org.au/Whats%20On/News%20Archive/2008/January/NSM%20celebrating%20moments.aspx|publisher=nsm.org.au|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095416/http://www.nsm.org.au/Whats%20On/News%20Archive/2008/January/NSM%20celebrating%20moments.aspx#|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>|align=right|width=25em}}
[[File:Australianfootball1866.jpg|thumb|right|220px|An 1860s game of [[Australian rules football]] at the [[Yarra Park|Richmond Paddock]]. A pavilion of the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]] seen on the left in the background. ([[Wood engraving]] made by Robert Bruce in 1866.)]]
Sport came to Australia in 1810 when the first athletics tournament was held; soon after cricket, horse racing and sailing clubs and competitions started. Australia's lower classes would play sports on public holidays, with the upper classes playing more regularly on Saturdays.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=14}} Sydney was the early hub of sport in the colony.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}} Early forms of football were played there by 1829.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=2}} Early sport in Australia was played along class lines. In 1835, the British Parliament banned blood sports except fox hunting in a law that was implemented in Australia; this was not taken well in the country as it was seen as an attack on the working classes.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=3}} By the late 1830s, horse racing was established in New South Wales and other parts of the country, and enjoyed support across class lines. Gambling was part of sport from the time horse racing became an established sport in the colony.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=3}} Horse racing was also happening in Melbourne at [[Batman's Hill]] in 1838, with the first race meeting in Victoria taking place in 1840.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=1}} Cricket was also underway with the [[Melbourne Cricket Club]] founded in 1838.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=1}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=148}} Sport was being used during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s as a form of social integration across classes.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=4}} [[Australian rules football|Victorian rules football]] (later known as Australian rules) was codified in 1859.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=236}}{{sfn|Crego|2003|p=242}} Australian football clubs still around in the current [[Australian Football League]] were founded by 1858.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=148}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=236}}{{sfn|Crego|2003|p=242}} Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL (South Australian National Football League) is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia. The [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], Australia's largest sporting arena, opened in 1853.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=96}} The [[Melbourne Cup]] was first run in 1861.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} A [[rugby union]] team was established at the [[University of Sydney]] in 1864.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} Regular sport did not begin to be played in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia until the late 1860s and early 1870s.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}}
[[File:Ashes Urn 1921.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Early photo of [[The Ashes Urn: Its Origin and History|the Ashes Urn]], from the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'', 1921]]
The first Australian cricket team to go on tour internationally did so in 1868. [[Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868|The Australian side]] was an all Aboriginal one and toured England where they played 47 games, where they won 14 games, drew 19 and lost 14.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=27}}Australia's adoption of sport as a national pastime was so comprehensive that [[Anthony Trollope]] remarked in his book, ''Australia'', published in 1870, "The English passion for the amusements which are technically called 'sports', is not a national necessity with the Americans, whereas with the Australians it is almost as much so as home."{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=7}}
The first team formally organised soccer team was formed in Sydney in 1880 and was named the Wanderers.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=203}} Sport was receiving coverage in Australian newspapers by 1876 when a sculling race in England was reported in the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]''.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}} In 1877, Australia played in the first Test Cricket match against England. In 1882, [[The Ashes]] were started following the victory of the [[Australia national cricket team]] over England.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=9}} Field hockey teams for men and women were established by 1890.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}} The [[Sheffield Shield]] cricket competition was first held in 1891 with New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia participating in the inaugural competition. The remaining states would not participate until much later, with Queensland first participating in 1926–27, Western Australia in 1947–48 and Tasmania in 1982–83.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=x}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=1999}} In 1897 the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]], which later became the AFL the Australian Football League, was founded{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=227}} after breaking away from the [[Victorian Football Association]].{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=227}}
The first [[badminton]] competition in [[Badminton Australia|Australia]] was played in 1900.<ref name=badmintonsource/> The first [[ice hockey]] game was played in Melbourne on 12 July 1906 between a local Melbourne team and a team from the crew of the visiting US warship {{USS|Baltimore|C-3|6}}.<ref name=ussaroudnting/>
Motor racing began in the first years of federation with motorcycle racing beginning at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] in 1901 with automobile motorsport following in 1904 at [[Aspendale Racecourse]] in Melbourne. A dedicated race track was added to Aspendale's horse racing track in 1906, although it fell into disuse almost immediately.
Rugby league has been the overwhelmingly dominant rugby code in Australia since 1908 (this position remains unchallenged to this day). When Messenger and the All Golds returned from Great Britain in 1908, they helped the new clubs adapt to the rules of rugby league prior to the inaugural [[1908 NSWRFL season]]. The Queensland Rugby Football League also formed early in 1908 by seven [[Rugby football|rugby]] players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the [[Queensland Rugby Union]].<ref name="QRLstoryoftheqrl">{{cite web|url=http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/story_of_the_qrl.php|title=Story of the QRL|publisher=Queensland Rugby League|access-date=2 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929074716/http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/story_of_the_qrl.php|archive-date=29 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Australia national rugby union team]] had their first international test against New Zealand in 1903, and first international tour in 1908, earning their nickname of the Wallabies after two British journalists used it to refer to the team.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=39}} The team won gold at the [[1908 Summer Olympics]]; however the majority of the squad joined rugby league clubs upon returning to Australia.<ref name="RLHist">{{cite web|url=http://www.rl1908.com/History/rebellion.htm |title=The Founding of Rugby League in Australia & New Zealand |last=Fagan |first=Sean |access-date=25 July 2007 |publisher=rl1908.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021080815/http://www.rl1908.com/History/rebellion.htm |archive-date=21 October 2006 }}</ref>
Women represented Australia for the first time at the [[1912 Summer Olympics|Olympics in 1912]].{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} [[Surfing in Australia|Surfing]] came to Australia by 1915{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} with the first [[surf life saving]] competition being held that year.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=212}} [[Les Darcy]] began his boxing career in 1915, with some of his later fights taking place at [[Sydney Stadium]]. The following year, an American promoter encouraged Darcy to go to the United States at a time when Australia was actively recruiting young men for the armed services. Controversy resulted and Darcy died at the age of 21 in the United States. When his body was returned to Australia, 100,000 people attended his Sydney funeral.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=68-69}}<ref name="FitzSimons2010"/><ref name="Headoned2003"/><ref name="Seal2001"/><ref name="MacCallum2009"/> Darcy would remain significant to Australians into the 2000s, when [[Kevin Rudd]] mentioned his story.<ref name="MacCallum2009"/>
[[File:StateLibQld 1 292827 Group of tennis players, ca. 1922.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Group of tennis players, ca. 1922.|alt=Five women standing with tennis rackets in hand]]
In 1922, a committee in Australia investigated the benefits of physical education for girls. They came up with several recommendations regarding what sports were and were not appropriate for girls to play based on the level of fitness required. It was determined that for some individual girls that for medical reasons, the girls should probably not be allowed to participate in tennis, netball, lacrosse, golf, hockey, and cricket. Football was completely medically inappropriate for girls to play. It was medically appropriate for all girls to be able to participate in, so long as they were not done in an overly competitive manner, swimming, rowing, cycling and horseback riding.<ref name=evening-post-1922/> [[Dick Eve]] won Australia's first Olympic diving gold medal in 1924.<ref name=firstmedaldiving/> In 1924 the Australian Rugby League Board of Control, later to be known as the [[Australian Rugby League]], was formed to administer the [[Australia national rugby league team|national team]] (the Kangaroos), and later as the national governing body for the sport of [[Rugby league]]. In 1928 the team also adopted the [[National colours of Australia|national colours]] of green and gold for the first time, having previously used blue and maroon, making the Kangaroos the third national sporting body to do so after [[Australian national cricket team|cricket]] (from 1899) and the [[Australian Olympic team]] (from 1908).<ref>{{cite web|last=[[Sean Fagan|Fagan, Sean]]|title=To Wattle Gold and Gum Green Jerseys|url=http://rl1908.com/Kangaroos/arl-colours.htm|work=RL1908.com|access-date=7 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514024646/http://rl1908.com/Kangaroos/arl-colours.htm|archive-date=14 May 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Netball Australia]] was founded in 1927 as the All Australia Women's Basket Ball Association.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}
[[File:4th Test Woodfull.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33|1932–33 Ashes]]: [[Bill Woodfull]] evades a bodyline ball at [[the Gabba]]]]
During the 1930s, the playing of sport on Sunday was banned in most country outside South Australia.<ref name="Sumerling2011"/> The [[Bodyline cricket series]] between Australia and England took place in 1932–33. The English side were very determined to win, using physical intimidation against Australia to insure it.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=26}} The bowling style used by the team known [[body-line bowling]] was devised by [[Douglas Jardine]] with advice from [[Frank Foster (cricketer)|Frank Foster]] in England ahead of the series in order to defeat Australian batsman [[Donald Bradman]]. Going into the start of the series, [[Bill Voce]] told the media "If we don't beat you, we'll knock your bloody heads off." The style of play was such that the Australians contemplated cancelling the series after the Adelaide test.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=26}}{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=28}}
Following a successful Australian racing career, the race horse [[Phar Lap]] went to the United States where he died. There were many conspiracy theories at the time and later that suggested people in the United States poisoned the horse to prevent him from winning.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}
Australian women's sports had an advantage over many other women's sport organisations around the world in the period after World War II. [[Women's sports]] organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during the war period. This structure survived in the post war period. Women's sport were not hurt because of food rationing, petrol rationing, population disbursement, and other issues facing post-war Europe.{{sfn|Stell|1991|p=100}} In September 1949, [[Australian Canoeing]] is founded as the Australian Canoe Federation.<ref name=canoeingaust/>
By the 1960s, Australia had an international identity as a sport-obsessed country, an identity which was embraced inside the country. This was so well known that in a 1962 edition of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', Australia was named the most sports obsessed country in the world.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=6}} In 1967, Australia hosted the second [[World Netball Championships]] in Perth.{{sfn|All England Netball Association|2009|p=60}} That same year, South Australia became the last state to lift its ban on the playing of sports on Sunday.<ref name="Sumerling2011"/>
Starting in the early 1970s, Australian sport underwent a [[paradigm]] shift with sponsorship becoming one of the fundamental drivers of earnings for Australian sport on amateur and professional levels. By the mid-1980s, the need for the ability to acquire sponsorship dollars in sport was so great that job applicants for sport administrator positions were expected to be able to demonstrate an ability to get it.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=42}}
During the 1970s, Australia was being routinely defeated in major international competitions as Eastern Bloc countries enjoyed strong government support for sport. The Liberal governments at the time were opposed to similar intervention in Australia's sporting system as they felt it would be government intrusion into an important component of Australian life.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–205}} In the [[1974 Australian federal election|1974 elections]], several Australian sporting competitors endorsed the Liberal party in advertisements that ran on television. Competitors involved included [[Ron Barassi]], NSWRL player [[Johnny Raper]] and horse trainer [[Tommie Smith]].{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=71}} That year, the [[Australia national association football team|Australian team]] qualified for the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]], the first successful qualification to the [[FIFA World Cup]] in the country's history after failing to qualify to the 1966 and 1970 tournaments. It would prove to be the only appearance for the Australian team for more than three decades.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}}
The [[Barassi Line|regional football code divide in Australia]] was still present in the 1980s, with [[rugby league]] football being the dominant code in [[Queensland]], [[Australian Capital Territory|ACT]] and [[New South Wales]] while [[Australian rules football]] dominated in the rest of the country. When codes went outside of their traditional geographic home, they had little success in gaining new fans and participants.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=x}} The [[Australian Institute of Sport]] was founded in 1981.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=x}} In the lead up to and during the [[1982 Commonwealth Games]], the police were called upon to stop protests by [[Aboriginal land rights]] activists who staged protests timed with the event in order to politicise the event.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=74}} Australia had competitors in the [[America's Cup]] yacht race for a number of years. Going into the 1983 race, the Australian media was not that interested in the race as they expected a similar result and in the media lead-up to the event, made it out to be a race for rich people. This lack of interest continued throughout the early races. Near the end, when Australia finally appeared poised to win it, millions of Australians turned on their television to watch the [[Australia II]] win the competition.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=21}} That year, the Liberals used Australian tennis star [[John Newcombe]] and race car drivers [[Peter Brock]] and [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]] in their political advertising.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=72}} Athletes would again be used, this time by the Labor Party, in the 1989 elections.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=72}} During the 1980s, Australian soccer players began to start playing regularly in overseas professional leagues, with the most successful player of the decade being [[Craig Johnston]] who scored a goal in the 1986 FA Cup Final for Liverpool.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}} During the 1980s, the federal government created a number of sport programs including Aussie Sports and Active Australia.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=89}} The [[Australia women's national field hockey team]] began their run as one of the top teams in the world in 1985, a place they would hold until 2000.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}}
In 1990, the Victorian Football League changed its name to the [[Australian Football League]]. During the 1990s, [[soccer in Australia]] faced a challenge in attracting youth players because of the ethnic nature of the sport at the highest levels of national competition. The sport's governing body made an effort to make the game less ethnically oriented. At the same time, rival football codes were intentionally trying to bring in ethnic participants in order to expand their youth playing base.<ref name="Russell2011p11"/> Doping became a concern during the 1980s and more active steps were taken to combat it in Australia in the early 1990s. In 1990, the ''Australian Sports Drug Agency Act 1990'' was passed and took control of doping test away from the Australian Sport Commission and put it into the hands of an independent doping control agency as of 17 February 1991.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=88}}
[[File:2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 1.JPEG|thumb|left|The [[2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony]] at [[Stadium Australia]] on 15 September 2000]]
In 2006, Melbourne hosted the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]].{{sfn|Mojumdar|2009|p=172}} Later that year, the [[Australia national association football team|Australian team]] competed in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], their second [[FIFA World Cup]] appearance after 32 years of failing to qualify for the tournament.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|title=Timeline of Australian Football|url=http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/timeline.shtml|publisher=migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au|access-date=20 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217101940/http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/timeline.shtml|archive-date=17 December 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
[[File:Black Caviar Ascot.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Black Caviar]] prior to the 2012 [[Diamond Jubilee Stakes]] at [[Royal Ascot]]]]
In 2012, the [[Australian Rugby League Commission]] was formed, bringing to an end the involvement of News Limited in the administration of Rugby League and the media companies' conflict of interests in the sport, finally concluding the fall-out from the [[Super League war]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrl.com/About/ARLCommission/tabid/10891/Default.aspx|title=Australian Rugby League Commission|access-date=19 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302082812/http://www.nrl.com/About/ARLCommission/tabid/10891/Default.aspx|archive-date=2 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> From 2008 until 2013, the Australian [[thoroughbred]] mare [[Black Caviar]] was undefeated in 25 races, a record not equaled in over 100 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/black-caviar-proves-her-critics-wrong-with-another-whirlwind-success-in-tj-smith/story-fndps3qy-1226619744317|title=Black Caviar proves her critics wrong with another whirlwind success in TJ Smith|access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref> Notable wins include the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, as well as being named the top sprinter from 2010 to 2012 in the [[World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings]] and entering the [[Australian Racing Hall of Fame]].
==Organisation==
{{Main|Organisation of sport in Australia}}
The organisation of sport in Australia has been largely determined by its Federal system of government – [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] and [[States and territories of Australia|six states and two territories governments]] and [[Local government in Australia|local governments]].<ref name=profile>{{cite book|title=Australian sport : a profile|year=1985|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|location=Canberra|isbn=0-644-03667-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/australiansport00aust}}</ref>
State and Territory governments have a department with responsibility for sport and recreation. These departments provide assistance to state sports organisations, develop and manage sporting facilities, provide financial assistance for major sporting events and develop policies to assist sports across their state or territory. Each Australian State and Territory has established its own institute/academy of sport – [[ACT Academy of Sport]] (established 1989), [[New South Wales Institute of Sport]] (1996), [[Northern Territory Institute of Sport]] (1996), [[Queensland Academy of Sport]] (1991), [[South Australian Sports Institute]] (1982), [[Tasmanian Institute of Sport]] (1985), [https://web.archive.org/web/20131216093346/http://www.vis.org.au/about-us.html Victorian Institute of Sport] (1990) and [[Western Australian Institute of Sport]] (1984).<ref name=bloomfield>{{cite book|last=Bloomfield|first=John|title=Australia's sporting success : the inside story|year=2003|publisher=University of New South Wales Press|location=Sydney|isbn=0-86840-582-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/australiassporti0000bloo}}</ref>
There are 560 local councils across Australia. Local governments generally focus on the provision of facilities such as swimming pools, sporting fields, stadiums and tennis courts.<ref name=local>{{cite book|title=Sport and recreation in local government.|year=1998|publisher=Australian Sports Commission|location=Canberra|isbn=0-642-26345-0}}</ref>
Government involvement in sport up until the 1970s was fairly limited with local governments playing a major role through the provision of sporting facilities.<ref name=profile/> However, this changed over the next two decades with an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 2001–2002 finding that approximately $2 billion was spent on sport by three levels of government – 10 per cent from the Australian Government, 40 per cent from state and territory governments, and the remaining 50 per cent from local government.<ref name=crawford>{{cite book|title=Future of Sport in Australia|year=2010|publisher=Dept. of Health and Aging|location=Canberra|url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/1DDA76A44E5F4DD4CA257671000E4C45/$File/Crawford_Report.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103172207/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/1DDA76A44E5F4DD4CA257671000E4C45/$File/Crawford_Report.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> State, territory and local government spending was predominantly directed to facilities and their upkeep.<ref name=crawford/> In 1973, the Recreation Minister's Council was established to provide a forum for Australian Government and State and Territory Minister's responsible for sport and recreation to discuss matters of interest.<ref name=profile/> With government's taking an increased involvement in sport, it became the Sport and Recreation Minister's Council.<ref name=profile/> More recently is referred to as Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers.<ref name=msrm>{{cite web|title=Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/casro/about_us/msrm|work=Australian Sports Commission website|access-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216094829/http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/casro/about_us/msrm|archive-date=16 December 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Meeting is assisted by the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials (CASRO) previously called the Standing Committee on Sport and Recreation (SCORS).<ref name=msrm/> The Meeting works cooperatively on issues such as match fixing, sport participation and water safety.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sport and Recreation Ministerial Council Meeting|url=http://www.regional.gov.au/sport/minister/releases/2012/kl027.aspx|work=Department of Regional Australia, Local Government and thy Arts, Sport Minister Release, 11 July 2012|access-date=24 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419021205/http://regional.gov.au/sport/minister/releases/2012/kl027.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2011, Minister's signed the ''National Sport and Active Recreation Policy Framework''.<ref name=framework>{{cite book|title=National Sport and Recreation Active Framework|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|location=Canberra|isbn=978-1-921739-52-1|page=2011|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/467563/National_Sport_and_Active_Recreation_Policy_Framework.pdf|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212063252/http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/467563/National_Sport_and_Active_Recreation_Policy_Framework.pdf|archive-date=12 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The framework "provides a mechanism for the achievement of national goals for sport and active recreation, sets out agreed roles and responsibilities of governments and their expectations of sport and active recreation partners." <ref name=framework/> In 1993, National Elite Sports Council was established to provide a forum for communication, issues management and national program coordination across the high performance in Australia.<ref name=bloomfield/> It includes representatives from AIS, State Institute /Academies, [[Australian Olympic Committee]], [[Australian Paralympic Committee]], and the [[Australian Commonwealth Games Association]].<ref name=asc>{{cite web|title=High performance sport in Australia|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/australias_winning_edge/high_performance_sport_in_australia|work=Australian Sports Commission website|access-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225045609/http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/australias_winning_edge/high_performance_sport_in_australia|archive-date=25 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ferguson>{{cite book|last=Ferguson|first=Jim|title=More than sunshine & vegemite : success the Australian way|year=2007|publisher=Halstead Press|location=Sydney|isbn=978-1-920831-34-9}}</ref>
In 2011, ''National Institute System Intergovernmental Agreement'' provides "guidance on how the sector will operate, with a principal focus on the delivery of the high performance plans of national sporting organisations." <ref name=nisia>{{cite book|title=National Institute System Intergovernmental Agreement, June 2011|year=2011|url=http://www.regional.gov.au/sport/programs/files/IA_national_institute_system.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504211611/http://regional.gov.au/sport/programs/files/IA_national_institute_system.pdf|archive-date=4 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The Australian government provided small amounts of funding in the 1950s and 1960s through the support of the [[National Fitness Council]] and international sporting teams such as the Australian Olympic team.<ref name=profile/> The [[Australian Government]]'s serious involvement and investment into sport came with it establishing the [[Australian Institute of Sport]] (AIS) in 1981.<ref name=profile/> AIS was set up to improve Australia's performances in international sport which had started to decline in the 1960s and 1970s culminating in Australia winning no gold medals at the [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal Olympics]].<ref name=bloomfield/> In 1985, the [[Australian Sports Commission]] (ASC) was established to improve the [[Australian Government]]'s administration of sport in terms of funding, participation and elite sport.<ref name=bloomfield/> The 1989 Senate Inquiry into drugs in sport resulted in the establishment of the Australian Sport Drug Agency (now called [[Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority]] (ASADA)) in 1990 to manage Australia's anti-doping program.<ref name=bloomfield/>
==Participation==
[[File:ABS-6291.0.55.003-LabourForceAustraliaDetailedQuarterly-EmployedPersonsByIndustrySubdivisionSex-EmployedTotal-SportsRecreationActivities-Persons-A2545781V.svg|thumb|right|300px|Total employment in the sports and recreation sector (thousands of people) since 1984]]
The highest rates of participation for Australian sport and recreation are informal, non-organised sports with bike riding, skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter topping the list of activities for children, with 66% of all boys bike riding and 55.9% of all boys skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter in 2009 and 2010. Girls also participated in these activities at high rates with 54.4% of them doing bike riding and 42.4% skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter. Other sports popular for Australian girls include dancing, which had 26.3% participation, swimming with 19.8% participation and netball at 17%. For boys, the other popular sports for participation included soccer with a rate of participation of 19.9%, swimming with a participation rate of 17.2%, Australian rules at 16%.<ref name=abs20092010/>
[[File:GKRP bike.jpg|thumb|left|Bicycle riding is one of the most popular forms of physical recreation in Australia]]
Participation rates for adults in Australia were much lower than that of Australian children. For adult women in Australia, the number one sport activity they participate in is walking with 30% having done this in 2009 and 2010. The second most popular form of exercise and sport was Aerobics/fitness/gym with a rate of 16.7%. The third most popular for adult women was swimming and diving with 8.4%. For men, the most popular sport activity was also walking with a participation rate of 15.6%. This was followed by Aerobics/fitness/gym with 11.2%. The third most popular sport for adult males was cycling/BMXing with a participation rate of 8.2%.<ref name=abs20092010/>
There are 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with the [[Athletics Australia]].<ref name=report/> A 2007 estimate claimed that Australian football had 615,549 participants,<ref name="realfooty2007"/> Basketball has become one of the most popular participation sports in Australia. In [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and [[Melbourne (Victoria)|Melbourne]], particularly, it has more participants than any other sport.<ref name=gelongaobover/><ref name=heraledsunthing/><ref name="heraldsun.com.au"/> Australia's warm climate and long coastline of sandy beaches and rolling waves provide ideal conditions for water sports such as [[Swimming (sport)|swimming]]. The majority of Australians live in cities or towns on or near the coast, and so beaches are a place that millions of Australians visit regularly.<ref name="culture.gov.au"/>
According to the National Cricket Census, a record 1,311,184 people played [[Cricket in Australia|Cricket across Australia]] in 2015–16, an 8.5 percent increase on 2014–15 – placing cricket at No.1 as the current top participation sport in Australia. Women participation also reached record figures in 2015–16, growing nine percent to 314,936 players. Club and community participation jumped 9.5 percent to 454,657 during the same period, with juniors aged 5‐12 years making up 59.4 percent of all 2015‐16 participants.<ref name="nationalcricketcensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricket.com.au/news/cricket-australia-census-participation-numbers-women-men-children-james-sutherland/2016-08-23|last=Sutherland|first=James|title= Cricket becomes Australia's No.1 sport|date=2016|access-date=23 August 2016}}</ref>
==Amateur sport==
Amateur sport in Australia follows a corporate management system, with the national tier composed of national sport organisations that support and fund elite sport development. These organisations include the [[Australian Institute of Sport]] and the [[Australian Sports Commission]]. Below them is the state level, which includes state sporting organisations, state institute of sport and state departments of sport. The last level is district/regional associations and local clubs and community sports along with local government.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=121}} At the national level, the national sport organisations govern most sports in Australia, with over 120 different national sports organisation overseeing sport in Australia.<ref name="YearBookAustraliap390"/><ref name="YearBookAustraliap391"/> The role of government in this structure is important{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=121}}<ref name="YearBookAustraliap392"/> as government funding for most sport in Australia comes from the national government, state and territory governments, and local governments. In the late 1990s, government support for sport was double that of public non-financial corporations.<ref name="YearBookAustraliap392"/>
Amateur sport was transformed in Australia in the 1980s with the creation of the [[Australian Institute of Sport]]. The Institute, formally opened by [[Malcolm Fraser]] in 1981, was designed to make Australian amateur sport at major world competitions, like the Olympics, competitive with the rest of the world and increase the number of medals won by the country.{{sfn|Bennett|Carter|2003|p=239–240}} A few years later, in 1984, the [[Australian Sports Commission]] was created to better address the distribution of funds to support sport.{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=29}} It had a budget of [[Australian dollar|A$]]109 million in 2000.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=89}} By 2009, the Australian Sports Commission had a budget of [[Australian dollar|A$]]150 million, up from [[Australian dollar|A$]]5 million when it first was created.{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=29}}
Amateur sport has been able to draw large audiences. In the 1950s, 120,000 fans would go to the MCG to watch major athletics events.{{sfn|Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|1956|p=47}}
Australian amateur sport has dealt with financial problems. In the 2000s, [[Athletics Australia]] was facing duel problems of financial problems and failure for the sport to consistently medal at major international sporting events compared to other sports and their representative organisations like [[Swimming Australia]] and [[Rowing Australia]].{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=294}}
==Spectators==
Australian sport fans have historically attended events in large numbers, dating back to the country's early history. An early football game played in Melbourne in 1858 had 2,000 spectators.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=60}} By 1897, tens of thousands of spectators attended an early Australian rules football match at a time when top level soccer matches in England would draw six thousand fans. A finals match between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood in 1938 drew 96,834 fans.{{sfn|Guttmann|2007|p=86–87}} In 1909, at a time when [[rugby union]] had not yet become professionalised, 52,000 people in Sydney attended a game between New South Wales and New Zealand. The spectators accounted for 10% of the total population of Sydney at the time.{{sfn|Andreff|Szymański|2006|p=438}} A world record was set for cricket attendance on 30 December 1932 when 63,993 fans watched England take on Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.{{sfn|Clark|1993|p=544}}
Total average game attendance for the [[Australian Football League]] and the [[National Rugby League]] increased between 1970 and 2000, with the AFL going from an average attendance of 24,344 people per match in 1970 to 27,325 by 1980 to 25,238 in 1990 and 34,094 by 2000. The National Rugby League had an average per game attendance of 11,990 in 1970, saw a decrease in 1980 to 10,860 but increased to 12,073 by 1990 and improved on that to 14,043 by 2000. Founded later, the National Basketball League had an average per game attendance of 1,158 in 1985, increased this to 4,551 by 1990, and kept attendance steady with 4,636 average fans per game in 2000.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=309}}
In March 1999, 104,000 fans attended a double header match in the National Rugby League at [[Stadium Australia]] four days after the venue formally opened.<ref name="Statistics"/> In 2000, during the soccer gold medal match between Cameroon and Spain, 114,000 fans watched the game live inside Stadium Australia.{{sfn|Higham|2012|p=99}} In the 2006–07 season, the [[A-League]] [[Melbourne Victory]] averaged 27,728 people to their home matches throughout the season. The [[2009–10 A-League|2009–10 regular season]] was considerably lower.<ref name=somealeageusource/> In 2011, the [[Australian Football League]] had a cumulative attendance of 7,139,272, a record for the competition and an average attendance of 36,425.<ref name="footywire1"/> Spectator numbers dropped since then and in 2013 average attendance fell below that of the leading domestic motor racing series [[International V8 Supercars Championship]]. In 2010, the [[National Rugby League]]'s premiership set a record for regular season attendance to NRL matches.<ref name=nerlastabntance/>
The [[Big Bash League]] (BBL) was established in 2011. The first season attracted an average of 18,021 spectators per match. In the 2014–15 season, the average attendance for each match was 23,590 with the [[Adelaide Strikers]] attracting a record average home crowd of 36,023 spectators each game.<ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/big-bash-league-infant-tournament-now-part-of-australian-crickets-summer-fabric/news-story/98897cf3111da3cb16f6fd9e6744e101 Big Bash League: Infant tournament now part of Australian cricket’s summer fabric] heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref><ref name="The Roar">{{cite news |url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/01/27/whats-next-big-bash-league-since-asked |title=What's next for the Big Bash League? |work=Ryan Buckland |publisher=The Roar |date=19 Nov 2015}}</ref> The [[2015 Cricket World Cup]] final was played in front of 93,013 spectators, a record crowd for a day of cricket in Australia. BBL in its [[2016–17 Big Bash League season|sixth season in 2016–17]], drew an average crowd in excess of 30,000 for the first time in history, with overall count crossing 1 million for 35 matches. It is now placed sixth in the [[List of sports attendance figures#Top 10 leagues in average attendance|list of most attended sports leagues]] with respect to average crowd per match.0
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+National League attendance of team sports (Bolded Competitions are Women's Leagues)
|-
!Competition
!Sport
!Total <br /> spectatorship
!Average <br /> attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
| scope="row" | [[Australian Football League]]
| [[Australian rules football|Australian football]]
| 7,517,677
|36,317
|[[2019 AFL season|2019]]
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=1|title=2018 AFL Attendance|publisher=Austadiums.com|access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref>
|-
|'''[[AFL Women's]]'''
|[[Australian rules football|'''Australian football''']]
|'''251,792'''
|'''6,626'''
|[[2019 AFL Women's season|'''2019''']]
|
|-
| [[Big Bash League]]
| [[Cricket]]
|1,212,696
|20,554
|[[2018–19 Big Bash League season|2018–19]]
|<ref>BBL 2018-2019 ATTENDANCE<nowiki/>https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=17</ref>
|-
|'''[[Women's Big Bash League]]'''
|'''[[Cricket]]'''
|'''852,549'''
|'''14,450'''
|[[2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season|'''2018–19''']]
|
|-
| scope="row" | [[A-League]]
| [[Soccer]]
| 1,405,469
| 10,411
|[[2018–19 A-League|2018–19]]
|
|-
|'''[[W-League (Australia)|W-League]]'''
|'''[[Soccer]]'''
|'''114,003'''
|2,036
|[[2018–19 W-League|2018–19]]
|
|-
|[[Australian Baseball League]]
|[[Baseball]]
|98,397
|834
|[[2017–18 Australian Baseball League season|2017–18]]
|
|-
| scope="row" |[[National Rugby League]]
|[[Rugby league]]
| 3,176,561
| 15,804
|[[2019 NRL season|2019]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=2|title=NRL 2018 ATTENDANCE|website=NRL ATTENDANCE|publisher=Austadiums.com|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>
|-
|[[NRL Women's Premiership|'''NRL Women's''']]
|'''[[Rugby league]]'''
|'''46,875'''
|'''11,719'''
|[[2018 NRL Women's season|'''2018''']]
|
|-
|[[National Rugby Championship]]
|[[Rugby union]]
| 78,500
| 2,013
|[[2017 National Rugby Championship|2017]]
|
|-
|[[National Basketball League (Australasia)|National Basketball League]]
|[[Basketball]]
|688,712
|6,622
|[[2017–18 NBL season|2017–18]]
|<ref name="autogenerated1" />
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Other Major Competitions/Leagues/Games attendance (Bolded Competitions are Women's Competitions)
!Competition
!Sport
!Total
Spectatorship
!Average Attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
|[[AFLX]]
|[[AFLX]] - [[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|42,730
|14,243
|[[2018 AFLX competition|2018]]
|
|-
|[[E. J. Whitten Legends Game]]
|[[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|8,000
|8,000
|[[E. J. Whitten Legends Game|2018]]
|
|-
|[[2018 JLT Community Series|JLT Community Series]]
|[[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|92,333
|5,130
|[[2018 JLT Community Series|2018]]
|
|-
|[[Boxing Day Test]]
|[[Cricket]] ([[test cricket]])
|261,335 (88,173 Boxing Day)
|52,267
|[[2017–18 Ashes series|2017]]
|
|-
|[[State of Origin series|State Of Origin]]
|[[Rugby league]]
|220,559
|73,519
|[[2018 State of Origin series|2018]]
|
|-
|[[State of Origin series|'''Women's State Of Origin''']]
|'''[[Rugby league]]'''
|'''6,824'''
|'''6,824'''
|[[2018 State of Origin series|'''2018''']]
|
|-
|[[The Rugby Championship]]
|[[Rugby union]]
|433,657
|36,138
|[[2018 Rugby Championship|2018]]
|
|-
|[[Super Rugby]]
|[[Rugby union]]
|773,940
|19,348
|[[2015 Super Rugby season|2012]]
|<ref>[http://www.theherald.com.au/story/401291/battle-of-the-codes-soccer-or-rugby/ Battle of the codes – soccer or rugby?] – The Newcastle Herald, 16 October 2012</ref>
|-
|[[Supercars Championship]]
|[[Motorsport in Australia|Motorsport]]
|1,754,501
|116,000 (per event)
|2017
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/strong-growth-for-supercars-in-2017/|title=Strong growth for Supercars in 2017|website=Supercars|language=en|access-date=2018-12-23}}</ref>
|-
|[[Australian Grand Prix|Formula One Grand Prix]]
|[[Motorsport]]
|324,100 (102,000 Race Day)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|2019
|
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+Total attendance by sport
|-
!Sport
!Total <br /> spectatorship
!Average <br /> attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
| scope="row" |[[Australian rules football|Australian football]]
| 7,593,244
| 25,266
| 2018
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=1 AFL Football sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Cricket]]
|{{formatnum: {{#expr: 1734299 + 21832}} }}
|{{formatnum: {{#expr: ((1734299 + 21832)/71) round 0}} }}
|2016–17
|<ref>[https://twitter.com/RicFinlay/status/824844576712069120 So far 1,734,299 have attended 70 days in summer of Cricket with BBL final and 3 T20Is to come] ''Ric Finlay- Co-creator of CSW, the cricket database''. Retrieved on 29 January 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=7 Cricket sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Rugby union]]
|771,521
|18,818
|2016
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=5 Rugby Union sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Rugby league]]
| 3,589,789
| 16,619
| 2016
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=2 Rugby League sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Soccer]]
| 2,502,789
| 13,242
| 2015–16
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=3 Football sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Basketball]]
|316,018
|6,724
|2015–16
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=4 Basketball sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|}
==Sports media==
Media coverage of Australian sport and athletes predates 1876. The first all Australian sport publication, ''The Referee'', was first published in 1886 in Sydney.<ref name=sport-media-gov/> The major newspapers for sport coverage in the country include the [[Herald Sun]] and [[The West Australian]].<ref name="sport-media-gov"/>
There is a long history of television coverage of sports in Australia. From 1957 to 2001, the [[Seven Network]] was the network for the Australian Football League. The only year that Seven was not the network for the league was in 1987 when the AFL was on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC). An exclusive deal was agreed upon by Seven in 1976 for a five-year deal worth A$3 million.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=310}}
[[World Series Cricket]] was a break away professional [[cricket]] competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by [[Kerry Packer]] for his TV network, [[Nine Network|Nine]]. The matches ran in opposition to international cricket. It drastically changed the nature of cricket and its influence continues to be felt today.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/worldseries/content/story/72632.html World Series Cricket] espncricinfo.com. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015</ref>
Not all sports have had favourable deals with networks. The first television offer for the National Basketball League was worth A$1 in an offered made by Seven that the league accepted. The deal made by [[Ten Network]] to the [[New South Wales Rugby League]] was worth considerably more, worth A$48 million for a five-year deal that also included broadcasting rights for the State of Origin and the [[Australia national rugby league team]]. This deal was terminated early because the network could not afford to pay out.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=311}}
The [[1967 NSWRFL season]]'s [[grand final]] became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. The [[Nine Network]] had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.<ref name=roymasters/>
[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] and FoxSports are two of the most important television networks in Australia in terms of covering all Australian sports, not just the popular professional leagues.<ref name="sport-media-gov"/> Administrators for less popular spectator sports, such as basketball and netball, believe that getting additional television and newspaper coverage is fundamental for the growth and success of their sports going forward.<ref name="sport-media-gov"/>
[[Anti-siphoning laws in Australia]] regulate the media companies' access to significant sporting events. In 1992, when the country experienced growth in paid-subscription media, the [[Parliament of Australia]] enacted the Broadcasting Services Act that gave free-to-air broadcasters preferential access to acquire broadcasting rights to sporting events. The anti-siphoning list is a list of major sporting events that the Parliament of Australia has decided must be available for all Australians to see free of charge and cannot be "siphoned off" to pay TV where people are forced to pay to see them. The current anti-siphoning list came into effect in 2006 and expires 31 December 2010. The Minister for Communications can add or remove events from the list at his discretion. There are currently ten sports on the anti-siphoning list plus the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Events on the anti-siphoning list are delisted 12 weeks before they start to ensure pay TV broadcasters have reasonable access to listed events, if free-to-air broadcasters decide not to purchase the broadcast rights for a particular event. Any rights to listed sporting events that are not acquired by free-to-air broadcasters are available to pay TV. For multi-round events where it is simply not possible for free-to-air networks to broadcast all matches within the event (e.g. the Australian Open) complementary coverage is available on pay television. The Federal Government is obliged by legislation to conduct a review of the list before the end of 2009. The current anti-siphoning list requires showing listed sports on the broadcaster's main channel.<ref name=keepsortsfrea/>
Rugby league, which includes NRL, State of Origin and national team matches, had the highest aggregate television ratings of any sport in 2009<ref name="Newstalk ZB"/> and 2010.<ref name=aggreagat/> Also, in a world first, the [[Nine Network]] broadcast [[free-to-air]] the first match of the [[2010 State of Origin series]] live in [[3D television|3D]] in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.<ref name=byrnes/><ref name=tvtonight/>
[[Cricket Australia]] announced an unprecedented $590 million deal with free-to-air television networks [[Nine Network|Nine]] and [[Ten Network|Ten]] in 2013 to broadcast the sport – a 118 per cent increase on the previous five-year contract.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/grassroots-cricket-to-benefit-from-financial-windfall/4732566 Cricket Australia announces $590m TV deal with Nine and Ten] abc.net.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref>
[[Big Bash League|BBL]] games are currently broadcast in Australia by the free-to-air [[Network Ten]]. In 2013 Ten paid $100 million for BBL rights over five years, marking the channel's first foray in elite cricket coverage.<ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/new-big-bash-league-broadcaster-channel-ten-thrilled-with-ratings-for-season-opening-derby/story-fni2usfi-1226788040468 New Big Bash League broadcaster Channel Ten thrilled with ratings for season opening derby] heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref> [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] had previously covered the Big Bash League.
Network Ten's BBL coverage has become a regular feature of Australian summers and last season attracted an average audience of more than 943,000 people nationally in [[2014–15 Big Bash League season|2014–15 season]], including a peak audience of 1.9 million viewers for the final between the [[Perth Scorchers]] and [[Sydney Sixers]].<ref>[http://www.cricket.com.au/news/bbl05-big-bash-league-fixture-release-2015-16-final-host-highest-qualifying-team-all-matches-live/2015-07-12 Big Bash League schedule released] cricket.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015</ref>
There are a number of Australian sport films. They include ''[[The Club (1980 film)|The Club]]''. The film was based on a play produced in 1977, in [[Melbourne]]. It has been in the senior English syllabi for four Australian states for many years.<ref name=antoehrverification/> The film was written by David Williamson, directed by [[Bruce Beresford]] and starring [[John Howard (Australian actor)|John Howard]], [[Jack Thompson (actor)|Jack Thompson]], [[Graham Kennedy]] and [[Frank Wilson (Australian actor)|Frank Wilson]].<ref name=moretheclubstuff/> Another Australian sport film is ''[[The Final Winter]]'', released in 2007. It was directed by [[Brian Andrews (director)|Brian Andrews]] and [[Jane Forrest]] and produced by [[Anthony Coffee]], and [[Michelle Russell]], while independently produced it is being distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]]. It was written by [[Matthew Nable]] who also starred as the lead role 'Grub' Henderson. The film, which earned praise from critics,<ref name=wilalisnans/> focuses around Grub who is the captain of the [[Newtown Jets]] [[Rugby league|football]] team in the early 1980s and his determination to stand for what rugby league traditionally stood for while dealing with his own identity crisis.<ref name="movie focus"/> Other Australian sport films include ''[[Australian Rules (film)|Australian Rules]]'' and ''[[Footy Legends]]''.<ref name="SimpsonMurawska2009p43"/>{{sfn|Collins|Davis|2004|p=45}}
Sport is popular on the radio. ''[[This Sporting Life (radio program)|This Sporting Life]]'' was a culturally iconic [[Triple J]] radio comedy program created by actor-writer comedians [[John Doyle (comedian)|John Doyle]] and [[Greig Pickhaver]], who performed as their characters [[Roy and HG]]. Broadcast from 1986 to 2008, it was one of the longest-running, most popular and most successful radio comedy programs of the post-television era in Australia. It was the longest-running show in Triple J's programming history and commanded a large and dedicated nationwide audience throughout its 22-year run.<ref name="somenlassourcne"/> [[2KY]] is a commercial radio station based in Sydney, broadcasting throughout [[New South Wales, Australia|New South Wales]] and [[Canberra, Australia|Canberra]] on a network of over 140 [[narrowcast]] transmitters as well as the main 1017 AM frequency in Sydney. 2KY broadcasts live commentary of [[Thoroughbred racing in Australia|thoroughbred]], [[Harness racing in Australia|harness]] and [[Greyhound racing#In Australia|greyhound]] racing. Over 1500 races are covered each week, including the pre and post [[Form (horse racing)|race form]] and [[Totalizator Agency Board|TAB]] betting information.<ref name=2ykspournce/>
There are a number of Australian sport magazines. One is the ''[[AFL Record]]''. The magazine is published in a sports magazine style format. Eight different versions, one for each game, are published for each weekly round, 60,000 copies in total, and [[Roy Morgan Research]] estimates that the ''Record'' has a weekly readership of over 200,000.<ref name=roy-morgan/> As of 2009, the week's records are published and are able to be viewed in an [[online magazine]] format.<ref name=asflerecords/> Another Australian sporting magazine is ''[[Australia's Surfing Life]]'', a monthly magazine about [[surfing]] published in Australia. It features articles about surf trips in Australia and overseas, surfing technique, [[surfboard|board]] design and [[wetsuit]]s. The magazine was founded in 1985.<ref name=cneyclopeidaofsurging/>
==International competitions==
Australia participate in many international competitions, such as the [[Olympics]], [[Commonwealth Games]], [[Cricket World Cup]], [[Rugby World Cup]], [[Rugby League World Cup]], [[FIFA World Cup]], the Basketball World Cup for both [[FIBA Basketball World Cup|men's]] and [[FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup|women's]], [[INF Netball World Cup|Netball World Cup]], [[World Baseball Classic]] and the [[Hockey World Cup]].
The [[Australia national cricket team|Australian national cricket team]] have participated in every edition of the [[Cricket World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the event, winning the tournament five times, the record number.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/32105654</ref>
The [[Australia national rugby league team|Australian national Rugby league team]] have also participated in every edition of the [[Rugby League World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the event, winning the tournament 10 times, the record number.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-league/25168674|title=Rugby League World Cup 2013: New Zealand 2-34 Australia|work=BBC Sport|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref>
The [[Australia national rugby union team|Australian national Rugby union team]] have participated in every [[Rugby World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the tournament, winning it two times<ref>https://www.topendsports.com/events/rugby-world-cup/winners.htm</ref> despite it not being a major sport in Australia.
Australia's women have repeatedly won at the highest level. The [[Australia national netball team|Australian national netball team]] have won the Netball World Cup a record 11 times.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/sport/australia-crushes-new-zealand-wins-2015-netball-wo/55524b01-a101-42f5-829c-1549059eaf64.htm|title=Australia Crushes New Zealand, Wins 2015 Netball World Cup|work=Pedestrian.TV|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref> The [[Australia women's national cricket team|Australian women's national cricket team]] have won the Women's Cricket World Cup a record five times.<ref>https://www.topendsports.com/events/cricket-world-cup/women/results.htm</ref> The [[Australia women's national field hockey team|Australian women's national field hockey team]] have won the Gold Medal at the Olympics and the Women's Hockey World Cup three and two times respectively.<ref>https://www.olympic.org/hockey</ref><ref>https://www.hockey.org.au/Events/Past-Series/World-Cup/Womens-World-Cup{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
The [[Australia women's national basketball team]], known as the Opals, regularly compete well against the world elite at the [[FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup]], having won the event in [[2006 FIBA World Championship for Women|2006]], finished second in [[2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup|2018]] and finished third three times, and at the [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament]], where they have won silver medals three times and bronze medals twice.<ref name="archive.fiba.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fiba.basketball/federation/Australia |title=Federations: Australia|publisher=[[FIBA]] |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
[[File:N.Jawai 2014.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Nathan Jawai]] (right) represented Australia at the [[2014 Basketball World Cup]]]]
The [[Australia national soccer team]] have appeared at the [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]], [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]] and [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]]. At the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], the Socceroos surprised many by reaching the Round of 16, losing 1–0 in injury time to the eventual champions, Italy.<ref name=fifathing/> They also hold the unusual distinction of having won continental soccer championships of two confederations – Oceania's [[OFC Nations Cup]] four times between [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]] and [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|2004]] and, after moving to the [[Asian Football Confederation]] in 2005, the [[AFC Asian Cup]] in [[2015 AFC Asian Cup|2015]]. The [[Australia women's national soccer team]], the Matildas, have appeared in all [[FIFA Women's World Cup]]s except the first in [[1991 FIFA Women's World Cup|1991]]. They have advanced past the group stage in each of the last three editions of the competition ([[2007 FIFA Women's World Cup|2007]], [[2011 FIFA Women's World Cup|2011]] and [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup|2015]]), losing in the quarter-finals each time. In 2015, they became the first senior Australian national team of either sex to win a World Cup knockout stage match, specifically in the round of 16, newly instituted for the Women's World Cup in that year. The Matildas have also enjoyed success at the [[AFC Women's Asian Cup]], advancing at least to the semi-finals in all four competitions since joining the AFC in 2006 and winning in [[2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup|2010]]. Australia will co-host the [[2023 FIFA Women's World Cup]] alongside [[New Zealand]].
Australia has also hosted a number of major international sporting events, including the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] and the [[2000 Summer Olympics]]. The country also regularly hosts a major tennis [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] event, the [[Australian Open]], an [[Formula One|FIA Formula One World Championship round]] ([[Australian Grand Prix]]), motorcycle [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|MotoGP]] round ([[Australian motorcycle Grand Prix]]), as well as rounds of the [[Superbike World Championship]], [[World Rally Championship]] alongside major domestically created, internationally recognised events including the [[Melbourne Cup]] and the [[Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race]].{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}
Australia has hosted the [[1992 Cricket World Cup]] and the [[2015 Cricket World Cup]] along with New Zealand.<ref name="ESPNCricinfo.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ESPNCricinfo.com/index.php|title=Oops… Looks like something went wrong! This page does not exist or has been moved.|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref> The 2015 Cricket World Cup generated more than [[Australian dollar|A$]]1.1 billion in direct spending, created the equivalent of 8,320 full-time jobs, and had a total of 2 million bed nights across the two host countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 gives economic boost to Australia and New Zealand |url=http://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2015/media-releases/88460/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-gives-economic-boost-to-australia-and-new-zealand |work=ICC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113031111/http://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2015/media-releases/88460/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-gives-economic-boost-to-australia-and-new-zealand |archive-date=13 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Australia has also hosted the [[2003 Rugby World Cup]], with the event generating around A$1 billion in economic activity while bringing in 2 million visitors to the country.<ref name="SummersMorgan2005p12"/>
The [[1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England]] was the first tour by any sports team from Australia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Meares|first1=Peter|title=Back to the Studio: The Inside Stories from Australia's Best-known Sports Commentators|date=2011|publisher=HarperCollins|location=Australia|isbn=9780730497646|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUeHoYSnFygC|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref>
{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=9}}
===Olympics===
{{see also| Australia at the Olympics}}
[[File:P33 - Investing in our future sporting champions.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Australia's Olympic medal totals|alt=graph]]
[[File:Bobridge, meares and kelly.jpg|thumb|right|Australian track cyclists [[Jack Bobridge]], [[Anna Meares]] and [[Shane Kelly]].]]
The Olympic movement in Australia started out during the 1900s and 1910s. The first organisations for the Olympics in Australia came out of the athletics governance system and resulted in the creation of state based Olympic committees. The first national governing body for Australian Olympics was created in 1914 and was a joint effort with New Zealand though New Zealand was a less than able partner. The movement in Australia then stagnated as a result of the [[World War I|Great War]]. The New Zealand and Australian organisation was disbanded and an Australian only national organisation was founded in 1920 called the [[Australian Olympic Federation]]. The early goals of the organisation were to ratify team selection and to fundraise to assist Olympians in paying for their travel to compete at the Games. By the 1980s, the organisation had issues on the international level as the IOC wanted them to re-structure; until this time, the organisation followed governance models similar to that of other Australian sporting organisations with a federated model of governance. Changes were made the organisation ended up with an executive board with a president, two vice presidents, a secretary general and a 14-member executive board which had 10 elected members, 4 IOC members and 2 members of the Athlete's Commission.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=153}}
Australia has hosted the Olympics twice, in 1956 in Melbourne and in 2000 in Sydney. These were the first Games hosted in the southern hemisphere.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xiii}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=46}}<ref name="ThompsonMcGovern2008p102"/>
Australia has been influential in the Olympic movement, with four Australian representatives who are members of the [[International Olympic Committee]].{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=153}}
The government has provided monetary support for the Olympics. In the lead up to the 1924 Games, they provided 3,000 pounds and in 1936 provided 2,000 pounds. This support was seen as a way of supporting national identity, but no formal system existed for the funding wider sport at the time.{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=39}}
The 1956 Games were the first time Australia had an [[Equestrian at the Summer Olympics|Equestrian]] competitor when Victorian Ernie Barker competed.<ref name="ThompsonMcGovern2008p102"/> Australia has generally been a world power in Olympic swimming since the [[1956 Melbourne Olympics]]: swimmers like [[Shane Gould]], [[Dawn Fraser]], [[Ian Thorpe]] and [[Kieren Perkins]] have taken multiple gold medals.<ref name=corpoarateaocsutf/>
Australia performed relatively poorly at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]]. This upset the nation as it challenged a fundamental part of Australian identity. The following Olympics, the [[1980 Summer Olympics]], some Australian sports sat out as part of a boycott{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=x}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=53}} and the country earned only nine medals, two of them gold, in Moscow.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–200}} To prevent a recurrence of this, the Australian Institute of Sport was created to help improve Australia's medal tally at the Games.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–200}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=53}}
Channel Seven had exclusive Australian [[free-to-air]], [[pay television]], [[On-line and off-line|online]] and [[Mobile phone|mobile telephone]] broadcast rights to the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[Beijing]]. The live telecast of the 2008 Summer Olympics was shared by the Seven Network and [[SBS Television]]. Seven broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies and mainstream sports, including [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]], [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]], [[cycling]] and [[gymnastics]]. In contrast, [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS TV]] provided complementary coverage focused on long-form events such as [[association football|soccer]], [[road cycling]], [[volleyball]] and [[table tennis]].<ref name=sbsetelevion/>
===Paralympics===
{{see also| Australia at the Paralympics}}
[[File:16 ACPS Atlanta 1996 Australian Swim Team Training.jpg|right|thumb|Australian swimmers at the training pool at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games|alt=Swimmers posed in a group shot around the edge of a pool]]
Australia has attended every Summer Paralympics and hosted the [[2000 Summer Paralympics|2000 Sydney Games]]. Australia sent a delegation of 170 athletes to compete at the [[2008 Summer Paralympics]] in [[Beijing]],<ref name=smhparagrams/> and a team of 11 competitors to compete in two disciplines at the [[2010 Winter Paralympics]] in [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada.<ref name=athletes/> A team of 161 members [[Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics|was sent]] to the [[2012 Summer Paralympics]] in London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/pm-launches-2012-australian-paralympic-team |title=PM launches 2012 Australian Paralympic Team |date=25 June 2012 |access-date=27 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704061635/http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/pm-launches-2012-australian-paralympic-team |archive-date=4 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
===Commonwealth Games===
{{see also|Australia at the Commonwealth Games}}
Australians take the [[Commonwealth Games]] seriously because, on one level of national thinking, the event offers the country an opportunity to prove they are superior to the "original country", the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}}{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=167-173}}<ref name=mothersareyes/><ref name=theseonlygmaes/> By the [[1938 British Empire Games]], Australia's combined medal total was already greater than that of the [[Home Nations]] tallies combined. Australia would go on to beat England in total medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1950, 1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}} This rivalry with England continues to be an important component of the games for the country.<ref name=mothersareyes/><ref name=theseonlygmaes/>
==Events==
'''January'''
* [[Brisbane International]]
* [[Sydney International]]
* [[Hobart International]]
* [[Hopman Cup]]
* [[Australian Open]]
'''February – March'''
* [[AFL Women's|AFL Women's Season]]
'''February – August'''
* [[Super Rugby|Super Rugby Season]]
'''March – September'''
* [[National Rugby League|NRL Season]]
* [[Australian Football League|AFL Season]]
'''April'''
* [[A-League Grand Final]]
'''April – August'''
* [[Suncorp Super Netball|Super Netball Season]]
'''June – July'''
* [[State of Origin series]] (rugby league)
'''September'''
* [[AFL Grand Final]]
'''September – November'''
* [[National Rugby Championship|NRC Season]]
'''October'''
* [[NRL Grand Final]]
'''October – December'''
* [[Women's Big Bash League|WBBL Season]]
'''October – January'''
* [[Women's National Basketball League|WNBL Season]]
'''October – March'''
* [[National Basketball League (Australia)|NBL Season]]
'''October – April'''
* [[A-League|A-League Season]]
'''November'''
* [[Australian Open (golf)|Australian Open, Golf]]
'''November - February'''
* [[Australian Baseball League|ABL Season]]
* [[Big Bash League|BBL Season]]
== See also ==
* [[Concussions in Australian sport]]
=== By demographic ===
* [[Women's sport in Australia]]
* [[Sport in rural and regional Australia]]
* [[Disabled sport in Australia]]
=== By social and cultural context ===
{{div col |colwidth=22em}}
* [[Australian national sports team nicknames]]
* [[Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi]]
* [[Indigenous Australians#Recreation and sport]]
* [[List of sports museums and halls of fame in Australia]]
* [[List of international sports events in Australia]]
* [[List of Australian sports controversies]]
* [[List of Australian sports songs]]
* [[List of Australian sports films]]
{{div col end}}
=== By sport ===
{{div col |colwidth=22em}}
* [[Athletics in Australia]]
* [[Baseball in Australia]]
* [[Basketball in Australia]]
* [[Castellers de Sydney|Castelling in Australia]]
* [[Cricket in Australia]]
* [[Field hockey in Australia|Hockey in Australia]]
* [[List of Australian equestrians]]
* [[Golf in Australia]]
* [[Motorsport in Australia]]
* [[Rugby league in Australia]]
* [[Rugby union in Australia]]
* [[Soccer in Australia]]
* [[Surfing in Australia]]
* [[Tennis in Australia]]
* [[Winter sport in Australia]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
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<ref name=mothersareyes>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.commonwealthgames.org.au/News/Newsletters/vol02no05.htm|archive-url=http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10196/20051013-0000/www.commonwealthgames.org.au/News/Newsletters/vol02no05.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2005-10-13|access-date=6 October 2012|via=National Library of Australia|author=Australian Commonwealth Games Association|title=2002 GAMES — An English garden party or a case of "The Empire Strikes Back?"|journal=Australian Commonwealth Games Association Newsletter|volume=2|edition=5|date=June 2001}}</ref>
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<ref name=aggreagat>{{cite web |last=Canning|first=Simon|title=NRL disputes AFL audience claim|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/nrl-disputes-afl-audience-claim/story-e6frg996-1226025045416|access-date=4 October 2011 | work = The Australian | publisher = News |date=21 March 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name=Aus-Profile>{{cite book |author1=Department of Sport, Recreation and Tourism |author2=Australian Sport Commission |title=Australian Sport, a profile |url=https://archive.org/details/australiansport00aust |url-access=registration |publisher=Australian Government Publish Service |location=Canberra, Australia |year=1985 |isbn=0-644-03667-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/australiansport00aust/page/184 184]}}</ref>-->
<ref name=byrnes>{{cite web | last = Byrnes| first = Holly| title = Origin to kick-off 3D revolution| work = The Daily Telegraph | location =Australia| publisher = Herald and Weekly Times | date = 28 April 2010| url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/origin-to-kick-off-3d-revolution/story-e6frfgbo-1225859053250| access-date = 28 April 2010}}</ref>
<ref name=cneyclopeidaofsurging>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Surfing|author=Matt Warshaw|page=646|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DWQSYRx4MUC&q=Matt+Warshaw.+The+Encyclopedia+of+Surfing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-15-603251-3}}</ref>
<ref name=corpoarateaocsutf>{{cite web|url=http://corporate.olympics.com.au/sport/1/14/Swimming |title=Australian Olympic Committee: Swimming |publisher=Corporate.olympics.com.au |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name=roymasters>{{cite web| last = Masters| first = Roy| title = Messenger can watch a better league broadcast in the US than south of the border| work = Brisbane Times| date = 4 October 2009| url = http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/messenger-can-watch-a-better-league-broadcast-in-the-us-than-south-of-the-border-20091004-ghve.html| access-date = 4 October 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name=sbsetelevion>{{cite web | title = Seven & SBS to Broadcast Beijing Olympics | publisher = SportBusiness | url = http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/161653/seven-sbs-to-broadcast-beijing-olympics | date = 4 April 2007 | access-date = 28 June 2007}}</ref>
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<ref name=somealeageusource>{{cite web | first = Rick | last = D'Andrea |url=http://www.insidefutbol.com/2009/10/25/australian-a-league-suffering-attendance-decline/11426/ |title=A-League Suffering Attendance Decline |publisher=Insidefutbol |date=25 October 2009 |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=sport-media-gov>{{cite web|url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sport-and-the-media|access-date=5 October 2011|title=Sport and the media|date=15 February 2008|publisher=Australian Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816034551/http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sport-and-the-media|archive-date=16 August 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
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<ref name=wilalisnans>{{Cite web | last = Williams| first = Daniel | title = Footy for Thought| work = Time | publisher = Time Inc.| date = 31 August 2007| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657920,00.html| access-date = 2 October 2010}}</ref>
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<ref name=firstmedaldiving>{{cite web|url=http://www.diving.asn.au/default.asp?MenuID=About_Us/20002/1785/,Hall_of_Fame/20011/1827/|publisher=Diving Australia|title=About Us|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216054950/http://www.diving.asn.au/default.asp?MenuID=About_Us%2F20002%2F1785%2F%2CHall_of_Fame%2F20011%2F1827%2F|archive-date=16 December 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
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<ref name=canoeingaust>{{cite web|title=Fifty Years – A Celebration|url=http://canoe.org.au/?Page=9019&MenuID=ac%5Finformation%2F93%2F0%2F%2CWho%5Fis%5FAustralian%5FCanoeing%3F%2F68%2F1513%2F%2CAustralian%5FCanoeing%5FHistory%2F69%2F0%2F0|publisher=[[Australian Canoeing]]|access-date=28 January 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Russell2011p11">{{cite book|first=Katrina Marie|last=Russell|title=Youth Sport in Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5L_upSbd3AC&pg=PR12|access-date=3 October 2012|year=2011|publisher=Sydney University Press|isbn=978-1-920899-64-6|page=11}}</ref>
<ref name=ussaroudnting>{{cite web|url=http://www.nswicehockey.com.au/history.aspx#top |title=NSW Ice Hockey Facts and Events |publisher= NSW Icehockey |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref>
}}{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book|title=Sport in Australian history|first1=Daryl|last1=Adair|first2=Wray|last2=Vamplew|location=Melbourne|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-19-553590-7|oclc=37217245}}<!-- Last name sort: Adair!-->
* {{cite book|author=All England Netball Association|title=Netball|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnpCldTMIt8C&pg=PA60|year=2009|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-7136-7697-6}} <!-- Last name sort: All England !-->
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* {{cite book|title=The Encyclopaedia of Australian sports|first=Malcolm|last=Andrews|location=Sydney|publisher=Golden Press|year=1979|isbn=0-85558-849-7|oclc=21526949}}
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Bloomfield|title=Australia's Sporting Success: The Inside Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtWto0T5FMEC|year=2003|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-0-86840-582-7}}<!-- Last name sort: Andrews!-->
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Bale|title=Running Cultures: Racing in Time and Space|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3I3PrEgnQZQC&pg=PA145|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-7146-5535-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Bale !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Tony|last1=Bennett|first2=David|last2=Carter|title=Culture in Australia: Policies, Publics and Programs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3j-Gg3dbWoC&pg=PA239|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00403-9}} <!-- Last name sort: Bennett !-->
* {{cite journal|author=Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|title=Boys' Life|journal=Boys' Life. Inkprint Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdvlr4TKT4cC&pg=PA47|year=1956|publisher=Boy Scouts of America, Inc |issn=0006-8608}} <!-- Last name sort: Boy Scouts of America, Inc.!-->
* {{cite book|first=Manning|last=Clark|title=A History of Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYpNYjr_xQEC&pg=PA544|year=1993|publisher=Melbourne University Publish|isbn=978-0-522-84523-5}} <!-- Last name sort: Clark!-->
* {{cite book|first1=Felicity|last1=Collins|first2=Therese|last2=Davis|title=Australian Cinema After Mabo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EonrYXRj94C&pg=PA45|access-date=3 October 2012|date=27 October 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54256-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Collins !-->
* {{cite book|first=Robert|last=Crego|title=Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCl1c2yy5ooC|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31610-4}} <!-- Last name sort: Crego !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Martin|last1=Crotty|first2=David|last2=Roberts|title=Turning Points in Australian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wi5me1HBT7kC&pg=PA198|access-date=2 October 2012|date=1 October 2008|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-1-921410-56-7}} <!-- Last name sort: Crotty !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Rodney D.|last1=Fort|first2=John|last2=Fizel|title=International Sports Economics Comparisons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mQHaZaDTzAC&pg=PA295|year=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98032-0}} <!-- Last name sort: Fort !-->
* {{cite book|first=Allen|last=Guttmann|title=Sports: The First Five Millennia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdTun2Or_qkC&pg=PA86|year=2007|publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-1-55849-610-1}} <!-- Last name sort: Guttmann !-->
* {{cite book|first=James|last=Higham|title=Sport Tourism Destinations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZF3pPDn-QgC&pg=PA99|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7506-5937-6}}
* {{cite book|first1=Russell|last1=Hoye|first2=Matthew|last2=Nicholson|first3=Hans|last3=Westerbeek|first4=Aaron|last4=Smith|first5=Bob|last5=Stewart|title=Sport Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iJzpn_bek7YC&pg=PA272|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7506-8755-3}} <!-- Last name sort: Highman !-->
* {{cite book|title=No pain, no gain? : sport and Australian culture|first=Jim|last=McKay|location=New York|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1991|isbn=978-0-7248-1080-2|oclc=24408455}} <!-- Last name sort: McKay !-->
* {{cite book|first=Ram Mohun|last=Mojumdar|title=History of Physical Education and Sports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBEeH8xAvWQC&pg=PT172|year=2009|publisher=Pinnacle Technology|isbn=978-1-61820-459-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Mojumdar !-->
* {{cite book|first1=John|last1=Nauright|first2=Charles|last2=Parrish|title=Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkLYDgTnMxEC&pg=PA384|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-300-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Nauright !-->
* {{cite book|title=Primary Australian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgRrB74FiqMC&pg=PA90|year=2008|author=R.I.C. Publications|publisher=R.I.C. Publications|isbn=978-1-74126-684-9}} <!-- Last name sort: R.I.C. Publications !-->
* {{Cite book|title= A sporting nation : celebrating Australia's sporting life|first1=Eric C|last1=Rolls|author-link1=Eric Charles Rolls |first2=Marion|last2=Halligan|first3=Marlene|last3=Mathews|first4=Paul|last4=Cliff|location=Canberra|year=1999|isbn=0-642-10704-1|oclc=44839640}} <!-- Last name sort: Rolls !-->
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* {{cite book|first=Holly|last=Smith|title=Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqAyTWrmU_sC&pg=PT96|year=2011|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-58843-779-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Smith !-->
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* {{cite book|title=A national game : the history of Australian rules football|first1=Rob|last1=Hess|first2=Matthew|last2=Nicholson|first3=Bob|last3=Stewart|first4=Gregory|last4=de Moore|location=Camberwell, Victoria|publisher=Penguin|year=2008|isbn=978-0-670-07089-3 |oclc=247974138}}<!-- Last name sort: Stewart !-->
{{div col end}}
==Bibliography==
{{Empty section|date=August 2019}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikinews category}}
* [http://www.ausport.gov.au/ Australian Sports Commission]
* [http://www.ais.org.au/ Australian Institute of Sport]
{{Australian sport}}
{{Oceania in topic|Sport in}}
{{Australia topics}}
[[Category:Sport in Australia| ]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Culture of Australia}}
[[Sport]] is an important part of [[Australia]] that dates back to the early colonial period. [[Cricket]], [[Australian rules football in Australia|c rules football]], [[rugby league]], [[rugby union]], [[Soccer in Australia|soccer]] and [[tennis]] are among the earliest organised sports in AustraliffcCricket c km mdregarded as the national summer sport, with people widely participating from the months of September to April. The three most popular sports in Australifkkckcmvvmmvmmvmvmmv
dmcmccm care Cricket, Australian Football and Rugby League. Boxing day test cricket match is the most popular sporting event in summer. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the [[The Ashes|Ashes]], the [[Melbourne Cup]] and the [[America's Cup]].
There are a number of professional sport leagues in Australia, including the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) and [[AFL Women's]] (Australian rules football), [[National Rugby League]] (NRL) (rugby league), the [[Big Bash League]] (cricket), [[Women's Big Bash League]] (cricket) and [[Sheffield Shield]] (cricket), the [[National Basketball League (Australia)|National Basketball League]] and the [[Women's National Basketball League]], the [[A-League]] and the [[W-League (Australia)|W-League]] ([[Association football|soccer]]), the [[Australian Baseball League]], [[Super Rugby]] and the [[National Rugby Championship]] (rugby union), [[Suncorp Super Netball]] and the [[Supercars Championship]] ([[touring car racing]]). Attendance for the AFL in a single season attracts more than 6 million people to games, while the NRL draws just over 3 million people in a single season.
Historically, rugby league and rugby union football codes have been more popular than Australian rules football in New South Wales, The Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, whereas Australian rules football has been more popular in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Major professional sports leagues in Australia are similar to [[major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada]] in that they do not practice [[promotion and relegation]], unlike sports leagues in Europe and South America.
Australia boasts 7 former world number one [[Squash in Australia|squash]] players, as well as a history of success in the [[Squash at the Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]].
The media plays an important part in Australia's sporting landscape, with many sporting events televised or broadcast on radio. The government has [[anti-siphoning laws]] to protect free-to-air stations. Beyond televising live events, there are many sport-related television and radio programs, as well as several magazine publications dedicated to sport. Australian sport has also been the subject of Australian-made films such as ''[[The Club (1980 film)|The Club]]'', ''[[Australian Rules (film)|Australian Rules]]'', ''[[The Final Winter]]'' and ''[[Footy Legends]]''.
As a nation, Australia has competed in many international events, including the [[Olympics]] and [[Paralympics]]. The country has also twice hosted the [[Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]] ([[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]]) and Sydney ([[2000 Summer Olympics|2000]]), as well as the [[Commonwealth Games]] on five occasions.
Australia is one of five countries to have played in the world cups of cricket, soccer and rugby, along with England, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. England plays all three disciplines at elite level, but the other countries are less dominant in soccer.
The city of [[Melbourne]] is famous for its major sports events and has been described as the 'sporting capital of the world',<ref>https://www.smh.com.au/sport/melbourne-named-worlds-sporting-capital-20160421-gobebk.html</ref> and one of its stadiums, the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], is considered the home of [[Australian rules football]].
==History==
{{Main|History of sport in Australia}}
{{Quote box|quote="Australia's sporting history is marked by great successes, great stories and truly great moments. Sport speaks a universal language in this country – we are a nation of players and enthusiasts." |source = — [[Kevin Rudd]], January 2008<ref>{{cite web|title=The National Sports Museum – celebrating moments that made us|url=http://www.nsm.org.au/Whats%20On/News%20Archive/2008/January/NSM%20celebrating%20moments.aspx|publisher=nsm.org.au|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095416/http://www.nsm.org.au/Whats%20On/News%20Archive/2008/January/NSM%20celebrating%20moments.aspx#|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>|align=right|width=25em}}
[[File:Australianfootball1866.jpg|thumb|right|220px|An 1860s game of [[Australian rules football]] at the [[Yarra Park|Richmond Paddock]]. A pavilion of the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]] seen on the left in the background. ([[Wood engraving]] made by Robert Bruce in 1866.)]]
Sport came to Australia in 1810 when the first athletics tournament was held; soon after cricket, horse racing and sailing clubs and competitions started. Australia's lower classes would play sports on public holidays, with the upper classes playing more regularly on Saturdays.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=14}} Sydney was the early hub of sport in the colony.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}} Early forms of football were played there by 1829.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=2}} Early sport in Australia was played along class lines. In 1835, the British Parliament banned blood sports except fox hunting in a law that was implemented in Australia; this was not taken well in the country as it was seen as an attack on the working classes.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=3}} By the late 1830s, horse racing was established in New South Wales and other parts of the country, and enjoyed support across class lines. Gambling was part of sport from the time horse racing became an established sport in the colony.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=3}} Horse racing was also happening in Melbourne at [[Batman's Hill]] in 1838, with the first race meeting in Victoria taking place in 1840.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=1}} Cricket was also underway with the [[Melbourne Cricket Club]] founded in 1838.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=1}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=148}} Sport was being used during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s as a form of social integration across classes.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=4}} [[Australian rules football|Victorian rules football]] (later known as Australian rules) was codified in 1859.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=236}}{{sfn|Crego|2003|p=242}} Australian football clubs still around in the current [[Australian Football League]] were founded by 1858.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=148}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=236}}{{sfn|Crego|2003|p=242}} Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL (South Australian National Football League) is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia. The [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], Australia's largest sporting arena, opened in 1853.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=96}} The [[Melbourne Cup]] was first run in 1861.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} A [[rugby union]] team was established at the [[University of Sydney]] in 1864.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} Regular sport did not begin to be played in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia until the late 1860s and early 1870s.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}}
[[File:Ashes Urn 1921.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Early photo of [[The Ashes Urn: Its Origin and History|the Ashes Urn]], from the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'', 1921]]
The first Australian cricket team to go on tour internationally did so in 1868. [[Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868|The Australian side]] was an all Aboriginal one and toured England where they played 47 games, where they won 14 games, drew 19 and lost 14.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=27}}Australia's adoption of sport as a national pastime was so comprehensive that [[Anthony Trollope]] remarked in his book, ''Australia'', published in 1870, "The English passion for the amusements which are technically called 'sports', is not a national necessity with the Americans, whereas with the Australians it is almost as much so as home."{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=7}}
The first team formally organised soccer team was formed in Sydney in 1880 and was named the Wanderers.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=203}} Sport was receiving coverage in Australian newspapers by 1876 when a sculling race in England was reported in the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]''.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=15}} In 1877, Australia played in the first Test Cricket match against England. In 1882, [[The Ashes]] were started following the victory of the [[Australia national cricket team]] over England.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=9}} Field hockey teams for men and women were established by 1890.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}} The [[Sheffield Shield]] cricket competition was first held in 1891 with New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia participating in the inaugural competition. The remaining states would not participate until much later, with Queensland first participating in 1926–27, Western Australia in 1947–48 and Tasmania in 1982–83.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=x}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=1999}} In 1897 the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]], which later became the AFL the Australian Football League, was founded{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=227}} after breaking away from the [[Victorian Football Association]].{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=227}}
The first [[badminton]] competition in [[Badminton Australia|Australia]] was played in 1900.<ref name=badmintonsource/> The first [[ice hockey]] game was played in Melbourne on 12 July 1906 between a local Melbourne team and a team from the crew of the visiting US warship {{USS|Baltimore|C-3|6}}.<ref name=ussaroudnting/>
Motor racing began in the first years of federation with motorcycle racing beginning at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] in 1901 with automobile motorsport following in 1904 at [[Aspendale Racecourse]] in Melbourne. A dedicated race track was added to Aspendale's horse racing track in 1906, although it fell into disuse almost immediately.
Rugby league has been the overwhelmingly dominant rugby code in Australia since 1908 (this position remains unchallenged to this day). When Messenger and the All Golds returned from Great Britain in 1908, they helped the new clubs adapt to the rules of rugby league prior to the inaugural [[1908 NSWRFL season]]. The Queensland Rugby Football League also formed early in 1908 by seven [[Rugby football|rugby]] players who were dissatisfied with the administration of the [[Queensland Rugby Union]].<ref name="QRLstoryoftheqrl">{{cite web|url=http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/story_of_the_qrl.php|title=Story of the QRL|publisher=Queensland Rugby League|access-date=2 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929074716/http://www.qrl.com.au/qrl_history/story_of_the_qrl.php|archive-date=29 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Australia national rugby union team]] had their first international test against New Zealand in 1903, and first international tour in 1908, earning their nickname of the Wallabies after two British journalists used it to refer to the team.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=39}} The team won gold at the [[1908 Summer Olympics]]; however the majority of the squad joined rugby league clubs upon returning to Australia.<ref name="RLHist">{{cite web|url=http://www.rl1908.com/History/rebellion.htm |title=The Founding of Rugby League in Australia & New Zealand |last=Fagan |first=Sean |access-date=25 July 2007 |publisher=rl1908.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021080815/http://www.rl1908.com/History/rebellion.htm |archive-date=21 October 2006 }}</ref>
Women represented Australia for the first time at the [[1912 Summer Olympics|Olympics in 1912]].{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} [[Surfing in Australia|Surfing]] came to Australia by 1915{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}} with the first [[surf life saving]] competition being held that year.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=212}} [[Les Darcy]] began his boxing career in 1915, with some of his later fights taking place at [[Sydney Stadium]]. The following year, an American promoter encouraged Darcy to go to the United States at a time when Australia was actively recruiting young men for the armed services. Controversy resulted and Darcy died at the age of 21 in the United States. When his body was returned to Australia, 100,000 people attended his Sydney funeral.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=68-69}}<ref name="FitzSimons2010"/><ref name="Headoned2003"/><ref name="Seal2001"/><ref name="MacCallum2009"/> Darcy would remain significant to Australians into the 2000s, when [[Kevin Rudd]] mentioned his story.<ref name="MacCallum2009"/>
[[File:StateLibQld 1 292827 Group of tennis players, ca. 1922.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Group of tennis players, ca. 1922.|alt=Five women standing with tennis rackets in hand]]
In 1922, a committee in Australia investigated the benefits of physical education for girls. They came up with several recommendations regarding what sports were and were not appropriate for girls to play based on the level of fitness required. It was determined that for some individual girls that for medical reasons, the girls should probably not be allowed to participate in tennis, netball, lacrosse, golf, hockey, and cricket. Football was completely medically inappropriate for girls to play. It was medically appropriate for all girls to be able to participate in, so long as they were not done in an overly competitive manner, swimming, rowing, cycling and horseback riding.<ref name=evening-post-1922/> [[Dick Eve]] won Australia's first Olympic diving gold medal in 1924.<ref name=firstmedaldiving/> In 1924 the Australian Rugby League Board of Control, later to be known as the [[Australian Rugby League]], was formed to administer the [[Australia national rugby league team|national team]] (the Kangaroos), and later as the national governing body for the sport of [[Rugby league]]. In 1928 the team also adopted the [[National colours of Australia|national colours]] of green and gold for the first time, having previously used blue and maroon, making the Kangaroos the third national sporting body to do so after [[Australian national cricket team|cricket]] (from 1899) and the [[Australian Olympic team]] (from 1908).<ref>{{cite web|last=[[Sean Fagan|Fagan, Sean]]|title=To Wattle Gold and Gum Green Jerseys|url=http://rl1908.com/Kangaroos/arl-colours.htm|work=RL1908.com|access-date=7 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514024646/http://rl1908.com/Kangaroos/arl-colours.htm|archive-date=14 May 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Netball Australia]] was founded in 1927 as the All Australia Women's Basket Ball Association.{{sfn|R.I.C. Publications|2008|p=90–91}}
[[File:4th Test Woodfull.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33|1932–33 Ashes]]: [[Bill Woodfull]] evades a bodyline ball at [[the Gabba]]]]
During the 1930s, the playing of sport on Sunday was banned in most country outside South Australia.<ref name="Sumerling2011"/> The [[Bodyline cricket series]] between Australia and England took place in 1932–33. The English side were very determined to win, using physical intimidation against Australia to insure it.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=26}} The bowling style used by the team known [[body-line bowling]] was devised by [[Douglas Jardine]] with advice from [[Frank Foster (cricketer)|Frank Foster]] in England ahead of the series in order to defeat Australian batsman [[Donald Bradman]]. Going into the start of the series, [[Bill Voce]] told the media "If we don't beat you, we'll knock your bloody heads off." The style of play was such that the Australians contemplated cancelling the series after the Adelaide test.{{sfn|Andrews|1979|p=26}}{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=28}}
Following a successful Australian racing career, the race horse [[Phar Lap]] went to the United States where he died. There were many conspiracy theories at the time and later that suggested people in the United States poisoned the horse to prevent him from winning.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}
Australian women's sports had an advantage over many other women's sport organisations around the world in the period after World War II. [[Women's sports]] organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during the war period. This structure survived in the post war period. Women's sport were not hurt because of food rationing, petrol rationing, population disbursement, and other issues facing post-war Europe.{{sfn|Stell|1991|p=100}} In September 1949, [[Australian Canoeing]] is founded as the Australian Canoe Federation.<ref name=canoeingaust/>
By the 1960s, Australia had an international identity as a sport-obsessed country, an identity which was embraced inside the country. This was so well known that in a 1962 edition of ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', Australia was named the most sports obsessed country in the world.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=6}} In 1967, Australia hosted the second [[World Netball Championships]] in Perth.{{sfn|All England Netball Association|2009|p=60}} That same year, South Australia became the last state to lift its ban on the playing of sports on Sunday.<ref name="Sumerling2011"/>
Starting in the early 1970s, Australian sport underwent a [[paradigm]] shift with sponsorship becoming one of the fundamental drivers of earnings for Australian sport on amateur and professional levels. By the mid-1980s, the need for the ability to acquire sponsorship dollars in sport was so great that job applicants for sport administrator positions were expected to be able to demonstrate an ability to get it.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=42}}
During the 1970s, Australia was being routinely defeated in major international competitions as Eastern Bloc countries enjoyed strong government support for sport. The Liberal governments at the time were opposed to similar intervention in Australia's sporting system as they felt it would be government intrusion into an important component of Australian life.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–205}} In the [[1974 Australian federal election|1974 elections]], several Australian sporting competitors endorsed the Liberal party in advertisements that ran on television. Competitors involved included [[Ron Barassi]], NSWRL player [[Johnny Raper]] and horse trainer [[Tommie Smith]].{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=71}} That year, the [[Australia national association football team|Australian team]] qualified for the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]], the first successful qualification to the [[FIFA World Cup]] in the country's history after failing to qualify to the 1966 and 1970 tournaments. It would prove to be the only appearance for the Australian team for more than three decades.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}}
The [[Barassi Line|regional football code divide in Australia]] was still present in the 1980s, with [[rugby league]] football being the dominant code in [[Queensland]], [[Australian Capital Territory|ACT]] and [[New South Wales]] while [[Australian rules football]] dominated in the rest of the country. When codes went outside of their traditional geographic home, they had little success in gaining new fans and participants.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=x}} The [[Australian Institute of Sport]] was founded in 1981.{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=x}} In the lead up to and during the [[1982 Commonwealth Games]], the police were called upon to stop protests by [[Aboriginal land rights]] activists who staged protests timed with the event in order to politicise the event.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=74}} Australia had competitors in the [[America's Cup]] yacht race for a number of years. Going into the 1983 race, the Australian media was not that interested in the race as they expected a similar result and in the media lead-up to the event, made it out to be a race for rich people. This lack of interest continued throughout the early races. Near the end, when Australia finally appeared poised to win it, millions of Australians turned on their television to watch the [[Australia II]] win the competition.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=21}} That year, the Liberals used Australian tennis star [[John Newcombe]] and race car drivers [[Peter Brock]] and [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]] in their political advertising.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=72}} Athletes would again be used, this time by the Labor Party, in the 1989 elections.{{sfn|McKay|1991|p=72}} During the 1980s, Australian soccer players began to start playing regularly in overseas professional leagues, with the most successful player of the decade being [[Craig Johnston]] who scored a goal in the 1986 FA Cup Final for Liverpool.{{sfn|Rolls|Halligan|Mathews|Cliff|1999|p=42}} During the 1980s, the federal government created a number of sport programs including Aussie Sports and Active Australia.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=89}} The [[Australia women's national field hockey team]] began their run as one of the top teams in the world in 1985, a place they would hold until 2000.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}}
In 1990, the Victorian Football League changed its name to the [[Australian Football League]]. During the 1990s, [[soccer in Australia]] faced a challenge in attracting youth players because of the ethnic nature of the sport at the highest levels of national competition. The sport's governing body made an effort to make the game less ethnically oriented. At the same time, rival football codes were intentionally trying to bring in ethnic participants in order to expand their youth playing base.<ref name="Russell2011p11"/> Doping became a concern during the 1980s and more active steps were taken to combat it in Australia in the early 1990s. In 1990, the ''Australian Sports Drug Agency Act 1990'' was passed and took control of doping test away from the Australian Sport Commission and put it into the hands of an independent doping control agency as of 17 February 1991.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=88}}
[[File:2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 1.JPEG|thumb|left|The [[2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony]] at [[Stadium Australia]] on 15 September 2000]]
In 2006, Melbourne hosted the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]].{{sfn|Mojumdar|2009|p=172}} Later that year, the [[Australia national association football team|Australian team]] competed in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], their second [[FIFA World Cup]] appearance after 32 years of failing to qualify for the tournament.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|title=Timeline of Australian Football|url=http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/timeline.shtml|publisher=migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au|access-date=20 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217101940/http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/timeline.shtml|archive-date=17 December 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
[[File:Black Caviar Ascot.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Black Caviar]] prior to the 2012 [[Diamond Jubilee Stakes]] at [[Royal Ascot]]]]
In 2012, the [[Australian Rugby League Commission]] was formed, bringing to an end the involvement of News Limited in the administration of Rugby League and the media companies' conflict of interests in the sport, finally concluding the fall-out from the [[Super League war]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrl.com/About/ARLCommission/tabid/10891/Default.aspx|title=Australian Rugby League Commission|access-date=19 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302082812/http://www.nrl.com/About/ARLCommission/tabid/10891/Default.aspx|archive-date=2 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> From 2008 until 2013, the Australian [[thoroughbred]] mare [[Black Caviar]] was undefeated in 25 races, a record not equaled in over 100 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/black-caviar-proves-her-critics-wrong-with-another-whirlwind-success-in-tj-smith/story-fndps3qy-1226619744317|title=Black Caviar proves her critics wrong with another whirlwind success in TJ Smith|access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref> Notable wins include the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, as well as being named the top sprinter from 2010 to 2012 in the [[World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings]] and entering the [[Australian Racing Hall of Fame]].
==Organisation==
{{Main|Organisation of sport in Australia}}
The organisation of sport in Australia has been largely determined by its Federal system of government – [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] and [[States and territories of Australia|six states and two territories governments]] and [[Local government in Australia|local governments]].<ref name=profile>{{cite book|title=Australian sport : a profile|year=1985|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|location=Canberra|isbn=0-644-03667-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/australiansport00aust}}</ref>
State and Territory governments have a department with responsibility for sport and recreation. These departments provide assistance to state sports organisations, develop and manage sporting facilities, provide financial assistance for major sporting events and develop policies to assist sports across their state or territory. Each Australian State and Territory has established its own institute/academy of sport – [[ACT Academy of Sport]] (established 1989), [[New South Wales Institute of Sport]] (1996), [[Northern Territory Institute of Sport]] (1996), [[Queensland Academy of Sport]] (1991), [[South Australian Sports Institute]] (1982), [[Tasmanian Institute of Sport]] (1985), [https://web.archive.org/web/20131216093346/http://www.vis.org.au/about-us.html Victorian Institute of Sport] (1990) and [[Western Australian Institute of Sport]] (1984).<ref name=bloomfield>{{cite book|last=Bloomfield|first=John|title=Australia's sporting success : the inside story|year=2003|publisher=University of New South Wales Press|location=Sydney|isbn=0-86840-582-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/australiassporti0000bloo}}</ref>
There are 560 local councils across Australia. Local governments generally focus on the provision of facilities such as swimming pools, sporting fields, stadiums and tennis courts.<ref name=local>{{cite book|title=Sport and recreation in local government.|year=1998|publisher=Australian Sports Commission|location=Canberra|isbn=0-642-26345-0}}</ref>
Government involvement in sport up until the 1970s was fairly limited with local governments playing a major role through the provision of sporting facilities.<ref name=profile/> However, this changed over the next two decades with an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 2001–2002 finding that approximately $2 billion was spent on sport by three levels of government – 10 per cent from the Australian Government, 40 per cent from state and territory governments, and the remaining 50 per cent from local government.<ref name=crawford>{{cite book|title=Future of Sport in Australia|year=2010|publisher=Dept. of Health and Aging|location=Canberra|url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/1DDA76A44E5F4DD4CA257671000E4C45/$File/Crawford_Report.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103172207/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/1DDA76A44E5F4DD4CA257671000E4C45/$File/Crawford_Report.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> State, territory and local government spending was predominantly directed to facilities and their upkeep.<ref name=crawford/> In 1973, the Recreation Minister's Council was established to provide a forum for Australian Government and State and Territory Minister's responsible for sport and recreation to discuss matters of interest.<ref name=profile/> With government's taking an increased involvement in sport, it became the Sport and Recreation Minister's Council.<ref name=profile/> More recently is referred to as Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers.<ref name=msrm>{{cite web|title=Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/casro/about_us/msrm|work=Australian Sports Commission website|access-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216094829/http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/casro/about_us/msrm|archive-date=16 December 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Meeting is assisted by the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials (CASRO) previously called the Standing Committee on Sport and Recreation (SCORS).<ref name=msrm/> The Meeting works cooperatively on issues such as match fixing, sport participation and water safety.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sport and Recreation Ministerial Council Meeting|url=http://www.regional.gov.au/sport/minister/releases/2012/kl027.aspx|work=Department of Regional Australia, Local Government and thy Arts, Sport Minister Release, 11 July 2012|access-date=24 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419021205/http://regional.gov.au/sport/minister/releases/2012/kl027.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2011, Minister's signed the ''National Sport and Active Recreation Policy Framework''.<ref name=framework>{{cite book|title=National Sport and Recreation Active Framework|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|location=Canberra|isbn=978-1-921739-52-1|page=2011|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/467563/National_Sport_and_Active_Recreation_Policy_Framework.pdf|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212063252/http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/467563/National_Sport_and_Active_Recreation_Policy_Framework.pdf|archive-date=12 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The framework "provides a mechanism for the achievement of national goals for sport and active recreation, sets out agreed roles and responsibilities of governments and their expectations of sport and active recreation partners." <ref name=framework/> In 1993, National Elite Sports Council was established to provide a forum for communication, issues management and national program coordination across the high performance in Australia.<ref name=bloomfield/> It includes representatives from AIS, State Institute /Academies, [[Australian Olympic Committee]], [[Australian Paralympic Committee]], and the [[Australian Commonwealth Games Association]].<ref name=asc>{{cite web|title=High performance sport in Australia|url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/australias_winning_edge/high_performance_sport_in_australia|work=Australian Sports Commission website|access-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225045609/http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/australias_winning_edge/high_performance_sport_in_australia|archive-date=25 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ferguson>{{cite book|last=Ferguson|first=Jim|title=More than sunshine & vegemite : success the Australian way|year=2007|publisher=Halstead Press|location=Sydney|isbn=978-1-920831-34-9}}</ref>
In 2011, ''National Institute System Intergovernmental Agreement'' provides "guidance on how the sector will operate, with a principal focus on the delivery of the high performance plans of national sporting organisations." <ref name=nisia>{{cite book|title=National Institute System Intergovernmental Agreement, June 2011|year=2011|url=http://www.regional.gov.au/sport/programs/files/IA_national_institute_system.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504211611/http://regional.gov.au/sport/programs/files/IA_national_institute_system.pdf|archive-date=4 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The Australian government provided small amounts of funding in the 1950s and 1960s through the support of the [[National Fitness Council]] and international sporting teams such as the Australian Olympic team.<ref name=profile/> The [[Australian Government]]'s serious involvement and investment into sport came with it establishing the [[Australian Institute of Sport]] (AIS) in 1981.<ref name=profile/> AIS was set up to improve Australia's performances in international sport which had started to decline in the 1960s and 1970s culminating in Australia winning no gold medals at the [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal Olympics]].<ref name=bloomfield/> In 1985, the [[Australian Sports Commission]] (ASC) was established to improve the [[Australian Government]]'s administration of sport in terms of funding, participation and elite sport.<ref name=bloomfield/> The 1989 Senate Inquiry into drugs in sport resulted in the establishment of the Australian Sport Drug Agency (now called [[Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority]] (ASADA)) in 1990 to manage Australia's anti-doping program.<ref name=bloomfield/>
==Participation==
[[File:ABS-6291.0.55.003-LabourForceAustraliaDetailedQuarterly-EmployedPersonsByIndustrySubdivisionSex-EmployedTotal-SportsRecreationActivities-Persons-A2545781V.svg|thumb|right|300px|Total employment in the sports and recreation sector (thousands of people) since 1984]]
The highest rates of participation for Australian sport and recreation are informal, non-organised sports with bike riding, skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter topping the list of activities for children, with 66% of all boys bike riding and 55.9% of all boys skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter in 2009 and 2010. Girls also participated in these activities at high rates with 54.4% of them doing bike riding and 42.4% skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter. Other sports popular for Australian girls include dancing, which had 26.3% participation, swimming with 19.8% participation and netball at 17%. For boys, the other popular sports for participation included soccer with a rate of participation of 19.9%, swimming with a participation rate of 17.2%, Australian rules at 16%.<ref name=abs20092010/>
[[File:GKRP bike.jpg|thumb|left|Bicycle riding is one of the most popular forms of physical recreation in Australia]]
Participation rates for adults in Australia were much lower than that of Australian children. For adult women in Australia, the number one sport activity they participate in is walking with 30% having done this in 2009 and 2010. The second most popular form of exercise and sport was Aerobics/fitness/gym with a rate of 16.7%. The third most popular for adult women was swimming and diving with 8.4%. For men, the most popular sport activity was also walking with a participation rate of 15.6%. This was followed by Aerobics/fitness/gym with 11.2%. The third most popular sport for adult males was cycling/BMXing with a participation rate of 8.2%.<ref name=abs20092010/>
There are 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with the [[Athletics Australia]].<ref name=report/> A 2007 estimate claimed that Australian football had 615,549 participants,<ref name="realfooty2007"/> Basketball has become one of the most popular participation sports in Australia. In [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and [[Melbourne (Victoria)|Melbourne]], particularly, it has more participants than any other sport.<ref name=gelongaobover/><ref name=heraledsunthing/><ref name="heraldsun.com.au"/> Australia's warm climate and long coastline of sandy beaches and rolling waves provide ideal conditions for water sports such as [[Swimming (sport)|swimming]]. The majority of Australians live in cities or towns on or near the coast, and so beaches are a place that millions of Australians visit regularly.<ref name="culture.gov.au"/>
According to the National Cricket Census, a record 1,311,184 people played [[Cricket in Australia|Cricket across Australia]] in 2015–16, an 8.5 percent increase on 2014–15 – placing cricket at No.1 as the current top participation sport in Australia. Women participation also reached record figures in 2015–16, growing nine percent to 314,936 players. Club and community participation jumped 9.5 percent to 454,657 during the same period, with juniors aged 5‐12 years making up 59.4 percent of all 2015‐16 participants.<ref name="nationalcricketcensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.cricket.com.au/news/cricket-australia-census-participation-numbers-women-men-children-james-sutherland/2016-08-23|last=Sutherland|first=James|title= Cricket becomes Australia's No.1 sport|date=2016|access-date=23 August 2016}}</ref>
==Amateur sport==
Amateur sport in Australia follows a corporate management system, with the national tier composed of national sport organisations that support and fund elite sport development. These organisations include the [[Australian Institute of Sport]] and the [[Australian Sports Commission]]. Below them is the state level, which includes state sporting organisations, state institute of sport and state departments of sport. The last level is district/regional associations and local clubs and community sports along with local government.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=121}} At the national level, the national sport organisations govern most sports in Australia, with over 120 different national sports organisation overseeing sport in Australia.<ref name="YearBookAustraliap390"/><ref name="YearBookAustraliap391"/> The role of government in this structure is important{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=121}}<ref name="YearBookAustraliap392"/> as government funding for most sport in Australia comes from the national government, state and territory governments, and local governments. In the late 1990s, government support for sport was double that of public non-financial corporations.<ref name="YearBookAustraliap392"/>
Amateur sport was transformed in Australia in the 1980s with the creation of the [[Australian Institute of Sport]]. The Institute, formally opened by [[Malcolm Fraser]] in 1981, was designed to make Australian amateur sport at major world competitions, like the Olympics, competitive with the rest of the world and increase the number of medals won by the country.{{sfn|Bennett|Carter|2003|p=239–240}} A few years later, in 1984, the [[Australian Sports Commission]] was created to better address the distribution of funds to support sport.{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=29}} It had a budget of [[Australian dollar|A$]]109 million in 2000.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=89}} By 2009, the Australian Sports Commission had a budget of [[Australian dollar|A$]]150 million, up from [[Australian dollar|A$]]5 million when it first was created.{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=29}}
Amateur sport has been able to draw large audiences. In the 1950s, 120,000 fans would go to the MCG to watch major athletics events.{{sfn|Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|1956|p=47}}
Australian amateur sport has dealt with financial problems. In the 2000s, [[Athletics Australia]] was facing duel problems of financial problems and failure for the sport to consistently medal at major international sporting events compared to other sports and their representative organisations like [[Swimming Australia]] and [[Rowing Australia]].{{sfn|Hoye|Nicholson|Westerbeek|Smith|2012|p=294}}
==Spectators==
Australian sport fans have historically attended events in large numbers, dating back to the country's early history. An early football game played in Melbourne in 1858 had 2,000 spectators.{{sfn|Hess|Nicholson|Stewart|de Moore|2008|p=60}} By 1897, tens of thousands of spectators attended an early Australian rules football match at a time when top level soccer matches in England would draw six thousand fans. A finals match between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood in 1938 drew 96,834 fans.{{sfn|Guttmann|2007|p=86–87}} In 1909, at a time when [[rugby union]] had not yet become professionalised, 52,000 people in Sydney attended a game between New South Wales and New Zealand. The spectators accounted for 10% of the total population of Sydney at the time.{{sfn|Andreff|Szymański|2006|p=438}} A world record was set for cricket attendance on 30 December 1932 when 63,993 fans watched England take on Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.{{sfn|Clark|1993|p=544}}
Total average game attendance for the [[Australian Football League]] and the [[National Rugby League]] increased between 1970 and 2000, with the AFL going from an average attendance of 24,344 people per match in 1970 to 27,325 by 1980 to 25,238 in 1990 and 34,094 by 2000. The National Rugby League had an average per game attendance of 11,990 in 1970, saw a decrease in 1980 to 10,860 but increased to 12,073 by 1990 and improved on that to 14,043 by 2000. Founded later, the National Basketball League had an average per game attendance of 1,158 in 1985, increased this to 4,551 by 1990, and kept attendance steady with 4,636 average fans per game in 2000.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=309}}
In March 1999, 104,000 fans attended a double header match in the National Rugby League at [[Stadium Australia]] four days after the venue formally opened.<ref name="Statistics"/> In 2000, during the soccer gold medal match between Cameroon and Spain, 114,000 fans watched the game live inside Stadium Australia.{{sfn|Higham|2012|p=99}} In the 2006–07 season, the [[A-League]] [[Melbourne Victory]] averaged 27,728 people to their home matches throughout the season. The [[2009–10 A-League|2009–10 regular season]] was considerably lower.<ref name=somealeageusource/> In 2011, the [[Australian Football League]] had a cumulative attendance of 7,139,272, a record for the competition and an average attendance of 36,425.<ref name="footywire1"/> Spectator numbers dropped since then and in 2013 average attendance fell below that of the leading domestic motor racing series [[International V8 Supercars Championship]]. In 2010, the [[National Rugby League]]'s premiership set a record for regular season attendance to NRL matches.<ref name=nerlastabntance/>
The [[Big Bash League]] (BBL) was established in 2011. The first season attracted an average of 18,021 spectators per match. In the 2014–15 season, the average attendance for each match was 23,590 with the [[Adelaide Strikers]] attracting a record average home crowd of 36,023 spectators each game.<ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/big-bash-league-infant-tournament-now-part-of-australian-crickets-summer-fabric/news-story/98897cf3111da3cb16f6fd9e6744e101 Big Bash League: Infant tournament now part of Australian cricket’s summer fabric] heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref><ref name="The Roar">{{cite news |url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/01/27/whats-next-big-bash-league-since-asked |title=What's next for the Big Bash League? |work=Ryan Buckland |publisher=The Roar |date=19 Nov 2015}}</ref> The [[2015 Cricket World Cup]] final was played in front of 93,013 spectators, a record crowd for a day of cricket in Australia. BBL in its [[2016–17 Big Bash League season|sixth season in 2016–17]], drew an average crowd in excess of 30,000 for the first time in history, with overall count crossing 1 million for 35 matches. It is now placed sixth in the [[List of sports attendance figures#Top 10 leagues in average attendance|list of most attended sports leagues]] with respect to average crowd per match.0
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+National League attendance of team sports (Bolded Competitions are Women's Leagues)
|-
!Competition
!Sport
!Total <br /> spectatorship
!Average <br /> attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
| scope="row" | [[Australian Football League]]
| [[Australian rules football|Australian football]]
| 7,517,677
|36,317
|[[2019 AFL season|2019]]
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=1|title=2018 AFL Attendance|publisher=Austadiums.com|access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref>
|-
|'''[[AFL Women's]]'''
|[[Australian rules football|'''Australian football''']]
|'''251,792'''
|'''6,626'''
|[[2019 AFL Women's season|'''2019''']]
|
|-
| [[Big Bash League]]
| [[Cricket]]
|1,212,696
|20,554
|[[2018–19 Big Bash League season|2018–19]]
|<ref>BBL 2018-2019 ATTENDANCE<nowiki/>https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=17</ref>
|-
|'''[[Women's Big Bash League]]'''
|'''[[Cricket]]'''
|'''852,549'''
|'''14,450'''
|[[2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season|'''2018–19''']]
|
|-
| scope="row" | [[A-League]]
| [[Soccer]]
| 1,405,469
| 10,411
|[[2018–19 A-League|2018–19]]
|
|-
|'''[[W-League (Australia)|W-League]]'''
|'''[[Soccer]]'''
|'''114,003'''
|2,036
|[[2018–19 W-League|2018–19]]
|
|-
|[[Australian Baseball League]]
|[[Baseball]]
|98,397
|834
|[[2017–18 Australian Baseball League season|2017–18]]
|
|-
| scope="row" |[[National Rugby League]]
|[[Rugby league]]
| 3,176,561
| 15,804
|[[2019 NRL season|2019]]
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austadiums.com/sport/comp.php?sid=2|title=NRL 2018 ATTENDANCE|website=NRL ATTENDANCE|publisher=Austadiums.com|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>
|-
|[[NRL Women's Premiership|'''NRL Women's''']]
|'''[[Rugby league]]'''
|'''46,875'''
|'''11,719'''
|[[2018 NRL Women's season|'''2018''']]
|
|-
|[[National Rugby Championship]]
|[[Rugby union]]
| 78,500
| 2,013
|[[2017 National Rugby Championship|2017]]
|
|-
|[[National Basketball League (Australasia)|National Basketball League]]
|[[Basketball]]
|688,712
|6,622
|[[2017–18 NBL season|2017–18]]
|<ref name="autogenerated1" />
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Other Major Competitions/Leagues/Games attendance (Bolded Competitions are Women's Competitions)
!Competition
!Sport
!Total
Spectatorship
!Average Attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
|[[AFLX]]
|[[AFLX]] - [[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|42,730
|14,243
|[[2018 AFLX competition|2018]]
|
|-
|[[E. J. Whitten Legends Game]]
|[[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|8,000
|8,000
|[[E. J. Whitten Legends Game|2018]]
|
|-
|[[2018 JLT Community Series|JLT Community Series]]
|[[Australian rules football|Australian Football]]
|92,333
|5,130
|[[2018 JLT Community Series|2018]]
|
|-
|[[Boxing Day Test]]
|[[Cricket]] ([[test cricket]])
|261,335 (88,173 Boxing Day)
|52,267
|[[2017–18 Ashes series|2017]]
|
|-
|[[State of Origin series|State Of Origin]]
|[[Rugby league]]
|220,559
|73,519
|[[2018 State of Origin series|2018]]
|
|-
|[[State of Origin series|'''Women's State Of Origin''']]
|'''[[Rugby league]]'''
|'''6,824'''
|'''6,824'''
|[[2018 State of Origin series|'''2018''']]
|
|-
|[[The Rugby Championship]]
|[[Rugby union]]
|433,657
|36,138
|[[2018 Rugby Championship|2018]]
|
|-
|[[Super Rugby]]
|[[Rugby union]]
|773,940
|19,348
|[[2015 Super Rugby season|2012]]
|<ref>[http://www.theherald.com.au/story/401291/battle-of-the-codes-soccer-or-rugby/ Battle of the codes – soccer or rugby?] – The Newcastle Herald, 16 October 2012</ref>
|-
|[[Supercars Championship]]
|[[Motorsport in Australia|Motorsport]]
|1,754,501
|116,000 (per event)
|2017
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/strong-growth-for-supercars-in-2017/|title=Strong growth for Supercars in 2017|website=Supercars|language=en|access-date=2018-12-23}}</ref>
|-
|[[Australian Grand Prix|Formula One Grand Prix]]
|[[Motorsport]]
|324,100 (102,000 Race Day)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|2019
|
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+Total attendance by sport
|-
!Sport
!Total <br /> spectatorship
!Average <br /> attendance
!Year
!Ref
|-
| scope="row" |[[Australian rules football|Australian football]]
| 7,593,244
| 25,266
| 2018
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=1 AFL Football sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Cricket]]
|{{formatnum: {{#expr: 1734299 + 21832}} }}
|{{formatnum: {{#expr: ((1734299 + 21832)/71) round 0}} }}
|2016–17
|<ref>[https://twitter.com/RicFinlay/status/824844576712069120 So far 1,734,299 have attended 70 days in summer of Cricket with BBL final and 3 T20Is to come] ''Ric Finlay- Co-creator of CSW, the cricket database''. Retrieved on 29 January 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=7 Cricket sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Rugby union]]
|771,521
|18,818
|2016
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=5 Rugby Union sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Rugby league]]
| 3,589,789
| 16,619
| 2016
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=2 Rugby League sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Soccer]]
| 2,502,789
| 13,242
| 2015–16
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=3 Football sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|[[Basketball]]
|316,018
|6,724
|2015–16
|<ref>[http://www.austadiums.com/sport/sport.php?sid=4 Basketball sports attendances] austadiums.com.</ref>
|-
|}
==Sports media==
Media coverage of Australian sport and athletes predates 1876. The first all Australian sport publication, ''The Referee'', was first published in 1886 in Sydney.<ref name=sport-media-gov/> The major newspapers for sport coverage in the country include the [[Herald Sun]] and [[The West Australian]].<ref name="sport-media-gov"/>
There is a long history of television coverage of sports in Australia. From 1957 to 2001, the [[Seven Network]] was the network for the Australian Football League. The only year that Seven was not the network for the league was in 1987 when the AFL was on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC). An exclusive deal was agreed upon by Seven in 1976 for a five-year deal worth A$3 million.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=310}}
[[World Series Cricket]] was a break away professional [[cricket]] competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by [[Kerry Packer]] for his TV network, [[Nine Network|Nine]]. The matches ran in opposition to international cricket. It drastically changed the nature of cricket and its influence continues to be felt today.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/worldseries/content/story/72632.html World Series Cricket] espncricinfo.com. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015</ref>
Not all sports have had favourable deals with networks. The first television offer for the National Basketball League was worth A$1 in an offered made by Seven that the league accepted. The deal made by [[Ten Network]] to the [[New South Wales Rugby League]] was worth considerably more, worth A$48 million for a five-year deal that also included broadcasting rights for the State of Origin and the [[Australia national rugby league team]]. This deal was terminated early because the network could not afford to pay out.{{sfn|Fort|Fizel|2004|p=311}}
The [[1967 NSWRFL season]]'s [[grand final]] became the first football grand final of any code to be televised live in Australia. The [[Nine Network]] had paid $5,000 for the broadcasting rights.<ref name=roymasters/>
[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] and FoxSports are two of the most important television networks in Australia in terms of covering all Australian sports, not just the popular professional leagues.<ref name="sport-media-gov"/> Administrators for less popular spectator sports, such as basketball and netball, believe that getting additional television and newspaper coverage is fundamental for the growth and success of their sports going forward.<ref name="sport-media-gov"/>
[[Anti-siphoning laws in Australia]] regulate the media companies' access to significant sporting events. In 1992, when the country experienced growth in paid-subscription media, the [[Parliament of Australia]] enacted the Broadcasting Services Act that gave free-to-air broadcasters preferential access to acquire broadcasting rights to sporting events. The anti-siphoning list is a list of major sporting events that the Parliament of Australia has decided must be available for all Australians to see free of charge and cannot be "siphoned off" to pay TV where people are forced to pay to see them. The current anti-siphoning list came into effect in 2006 and expires 31 December 2010. The Minister for Communications can add or remove events from the list at his discretion. There are currently ten sports on the anti-siphoning list plus the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Events on the anti-siphoning list are delisted 12 weeks before they start to ensure pay TV broadcasters have reasonable access to listed events, if free-to-air broadcasters decide not to purchase the broadcast rights for a particular event. Any rights to listed sporting events that are not acquired by free-to-air broadcasters are available to pay TV. For multi-round events where it is simply not possible for free-to-air networks to broadcast all matches within the event (e.g. the Australian Open) complementary coverage is available on pay television. The Federal Government is obliged by legislation to conduct a review of the list before the end of 2009. The current anti-siphoning list requires showing listed sports on the broadcaster's main channel.<ref name=keepsortsfrea/>
Rugby league, which includes NRL, State of Origin and national team matches, had the highest aggregate television ratings of any sport in 2009<ref name="Newstalk ZB"/> and 2010.<ref name=aggreagat/> Also, in a world first, the [[Nine Network]] broadcast [[free-to-air]] the first match of the [[2010 State of Origin series]] live in [[3D television|3D]] in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.<ref name=byrnes/><ref name=tvtonight/>
[[Cricket Australia]] announced an unprecedented $590 million deal with free-to-air television networks [[Nine Network|Nine]] and [[Ten Network|Ten]] in 2013 to broadcast the sport – a 118 per cent increase on the previous five-year contract.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/grassroots-cricket-to-benefit-from-financial-windfall/4732566 Cricket Australia announces $590m TV deal with Nine and Ten] abc.net.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref>
[[Big Bash League|BBL]] games are currently broadcast in Australia by the free-to-air [[Network Ten]]. In 2013 Ten paid $100 million for BBL rights over five years, marking the channel's first foray in elite cricket coverage.<ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/new-big-bash-league-broadcaster-channel-ten-thrilled-with-ratings-for-season-opening-derby/story-fni2usfi-1226788040468 New Big Bash League broadcaster Channel Ten thrilled with ratings for season opening derby] heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015.</ref> [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] had previously covered the Big Bash League.
Network Ten's BBL coverage has become a regular feature of Australian summers and last season attracted an average audience of more than 943,000 people nationally in [[2014–15 Big Bash League season|2014–15 season]], including a peak audience of 1.9 million viewers for the final between the [[Perth Scorchers]] and [[Sydney Sixers]].<ref>[http://www.cricket.com.au/news/bbl05-big-bash-league-fixture-release-2015-16-final-host-highest-qualifying-team-all-matches-live/2015-07-12 Big Bash League schedule released] cricket.com.au. Retrieved on 25 Nov 2015</ref>
There are a number of Australian sport films. They include ''[[The Club (1980 film)|The Club]]''. The film was based on a play produced in 1977, in [[Melbourne]]. It has been in the senior English syllabi for four Australian states for many years.<ref name=antoehrverification/> The film was written by David Williamson, directed by [[Bruce Beresford]] and starring [[John Howard (Australian actor)|John Howard]], [[Jack Thompson (actor)|Jack Thompson]], [[Graham Kennedy]] and [[Frank Wilson (Australian actor)|Frank Wilson]].<ref name=moretheclubstuff/> Another Australian sport film is ''[[The Final Winter]]'', released in 2007. It was directed by [[Brian Andrews (director)|Brian Andrews]] and [[Jane Forrest]] and produced by [[Anthony Coffee]], and [[Michelle Russell]], while independently produced it is being distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]]. It was written by [[Matthew Nable]] who also starred as the lead role 'Grub' Henderson. The film, which earned praise from critics,<ref name=wilalisnans/> focuses around Grub who is the captain of the [[Newtown Jets]] [[Rugby league|football]] team in the early 1980s and his determination to stand for what rugby league traditionally stood for while dealing with his own identity crisis.<ref name="movie focus"/> Other Australian sport films include ''[[Australian Rules (film)|Australian Rules]]'' and ''[[Footy Legends]]''.<ref name="SimpsonMurawska2009p43"/>{{sfn|Collins|Davis|2004|p=45}}
Sport is popular on the radio. ''[[This Sporting Life (radio program)|This Sporting Life]]'' was a culturally iconic [[Triple J]] radio comedy program created by actor-writer comedians [[John Doyle (comedian)|John Doyle]] and [[Greig Pickhaver]], who performed as their characters [[Roy and HG]]. Broadcast from 1986 to 2008, it was one of the longest-running, most popular and most successful radio comedy programs of the post-television era in Australia. It was the longest-running show in Triple J's programming history and commanded a large and dedicated nationwide audience throughout its 22-year run.<ref name="somenlassourcne"/> [[2KY]] is a commercial radio station based in Sydney, broadcasting throughout [[New South Wales, Australia|New South Wales]] and [[Canberra, Australia|Canberra]] on a network of over 140 [[narrowcast]] transmitters as well as the main 1017 AM frequency in Sydney. 2KY broadcasts live commentary of [[Thoroughbred racing in Australia|thoroughbred]], [[Harness racing in Australia|harness]] and [[Greyhound racing#In Australia|greyhound]] racing. Over 1500 races are covered each week, including the pre and post [[Form (horse racing)|race form]] and [[Totalizator Agency Board|TAB]] betting information.<ref name=2ykspournce/>
There are a number of Australian sport magazines. One is the ''[[AFL Record]]''. The magazine is published in a sports magazine style format. Eight different versions, one for each game, are published for each weekly round, 60,000 copies in total, and [[Roy Morgan Research]] estimates that the ''Record'' has a weekly readership of over 200,000.<ref name=roy-morgan/> As of 2009, the week's records are published and are able to be viewed in an [[online magazine]] format.<ref name=asflerecords/> Another Australian sporting magazine is ''[[Australia's Surfing Life]]'', a monthly magazine about [[surfing]] published in Australia. It features articles about surf trips in Australia and overseas, surfing technique, [[surfboard|board]] design and [[wetsuit]]s. The magazine was founded in 1985.<ref name=cneyclopeidaofsurging/>
==International competitions==
Australia participate in many international competitions, such as the [[Olympics]], [[Commonwealth Games]], [[Cricket World Cup]], [[Rugby World Cup]], [[Rugby League World Cup]], [[FIFA World Cup]], the Basketball World Cup for both [[FIBA Basketball World Cup|men's]] and [[FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup|women's]], [[INF Netball World Cup|Netball World Cup]], [[World Baseball Classic]] and the [[Hockey World Cup]].
The [[Australia national cricket team|Australian national cricket team]] have participated in every edition of the [[Cricket World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the event, winning the tournament five times, the record number.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/32105654</ref>
The [[Australia national rugby league team|Australian national Rugby league team]] have also participated in every edition of the [[Rugby League World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the event, winning the tournament 10 times, the record number.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-league/25168674|title=Rugby League World Cup 2013: New Zealand 2-34 Australia|work=BBC Sport|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref>
The [[Australia national rugby union team|Australian national Rugby union team]] have participated in every [[Rugby World Cup]]. Australia have been very successful in the tournament, winning it two times<ref>https://www.topendsports.com/events/rugby-world-cup/winners.htm</ref> despite it not being a major sport in Australia.
Australia's women have repeatedly won at the highest level. The [[Australia national netball team|Australian national netball team]] have won the Netball World Cup a record 11 times.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/sport/australia-crushes-new-zealand-wins-2015-netball-wo/55524b01-a101-42f5-829c-1549059eaf64.htm|title=Australia Crushes New Zealand, Wins 2015 Netball World Cup|work=Pedestrian.TV|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref> The [[Australia women's national cricket team|Australian women's national cricket team]] have won the Women's Cricket World Cup a record five times.<ref>https://www.topendsports.com/events/cricket-world-cup/women/results.htm</ref> The [[Australia women's national field hockey team|Australian women's national field hockey team]] have won the Gold Medal at the Olympics and the Women's Hockey World Cup three and two times respectively.<ref>https://www.olympic.org/hockey</ref><ref>https://www.hockey.org.au/Events/Past-Series/World-Cup/Womens-World-Cup{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
The [[Australia women's national basketball team]], known as the Opals, regularly compete well against the world elite at the [[FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup]], having won the event in [[2006 FIBA World Championship for Women|2006]], finished second in [[2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup|2018]] and finished third three times, and at the [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament]], where they have won silver medals three times and bronze medals twice.<ref name="archive.fiba.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fiba.basketball/federation/Australia |title=Federations: Australia|publisher=[[FIBA]] |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
[[File:N.Jawai 2014.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Nathan Jawai]] (right) represented Australia at the [[2014 Basketball World Cup]]]]
The [[Australia national soccer team]] have appeared at the [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]], [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]] and [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]]. At the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], the Socceroos surprised many by reaching the Round of 16, losing 1–0 in injury time to the eventual champions, Italy.<ref name=fifathing/> They also hold the unusual distinction of having won continental soccer championships of two confederations – Oceania's [[OFC Nations Cup]] four times between [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]] and [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|2004]] and, after moving to the [[Asian Football Confederation]] in 2005, the [[AFC Asian Cup]] in [[2015 AFC Asian Cup|2015]]. The [[Australia women's national soccer team]], the Matildas, have appeared in all [[FIFA Women's World Cup]]s except the first in [[1991 FIFA Women's World Cup|1991]]. They have advanced past the group stage in each of the last three editions of the competition ([[2007 FIFA Women's World Cup|2007]], [[2011 FIFA Women's World Cup|2011]] and [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup|2015]]), losing in the quarter-finals each time. In 2015, they became the first senior Australian national team of either sex to win a World Cup knockout stage match, specifically in the round of 16, newly instituted for the Women's World Cup in that year. The Matildas have also enjoyed success at the [[AFC Women's Asian Cup]], advancing at least to the semi-finals in all four competitions since joining the AFC in 2006 and winning in [[2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup|2010]]. Australia will co-host the [[2023 FIFA Women's World Cup]] alongside [[New Zealand]].
Australia has also hosted a number of major international sporting events, including the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] and the [[2000 Summer Olympics]]. The country also regularly hosts a major tennis [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] event, the [[Australian Open]], an [[Formula One|FIA Formula One World Championship round]] ([[Australian Grand Prix]]), motorcycle [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|MotoGP]] round ([[Australian motorcycle Grand Prix]]), as well as rounds of the [[Superbike World Championship]], [[World Rally Championship]] alongside major domestically created, internationally recognised events including the [[Melbourne Cup]] and the [[Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race]].{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xii}}
Australia has hosted the [[1992 Cricket World Cup]] and the [[2015 Cricket World Cup]] along with New Zealand.<ref name="ESPNCricinfo.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ESPNCricinfo.com/index.php|title=Oops… Looks like something went wrong! This page does not exist or has been moved.|access-date=19 February 2016}}</ref> The 2015 Cricket World Cup generated more than [[Australian dollar|A$]]1.1 billion in direct spending, created the equivalent of 8,320 full-time jobs, and had a total of 2 million bed nights across the two host countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 gives economic boost to Australia and New Zealand |url=http://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2015/media-releases/88460/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-gives-economic-boost-to-australia-and-new-zealand |work=ICC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113031111/http://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2015/media-releases/88460/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-gives-economic-boost-to-australia-and-new-zealand |archive-date=13 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Australia has also hosted the [[2003 Rugby World Cup]], with the event generating around A$1 billion in economic activity while bringing in 2 million visitors to the country.<ref name="SummersMorgan2005p12"/>
The [[1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England]] was the first tour by any sports team from Australia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Meares|first1=Peter|title=Back to the Studio: The Inside Stories from Australia's Best-known Sports Commentators|date=2011|publisher=HarperCollins|location=Australia|isbn=9780730497646|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUeHoYSnFygC|access-date=24 September 2014}}</ref>
{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=9}}
===Olympics===
{{see also| Australia at the Olympics}}
[[File:P33 - Investing in our future sporting champions.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Australia's Olympic medal totals|alt=graph]]
[[File:Bobridge, meares and kelly.jpg|thumb|right|Australian track cyclists [[Jack Bobridge]], [[Anna Meares]] and [[Shane Kelly]].]]
The Olympic movement in Australia started out during the 1900s and 1910s. The first organisations for the Olympics in Australia came out of the athletics governance system and resulted in the creation of state based Olympic committees. The first national governing body for Australian Olympics was created in 1914 and was a joint effort with New Zealand though New Zealand was a less than able partner. The movement in Australia then stagnated as a result of the [[World War I|Great War]]. The New Zealand and Australian organisation was disbanded and an Australian only national organisation was founded in 1920 called the [[Australian Olympic Federation]]. The early goals of the organisation were to ratify team selection and to fundraise to assist Olympians in paying for their travel to compete at the Games. By the 1980s, the organisation had issues on the international level as the IOC wanted them to re-structure; until this time, the organisation followed governance models similar to that of other Australian sporting organisations with a federated model of governance. Changes were made the organisation ended up with an executive board with a president, two vice presidents, a secretary general and a 14-member executive board which had 10 elected members, 4 IOC members and 2 members of the Athlete's Commission.{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=153}}
Australia has hosted the Olympics twice, in 1956 in Melbourne and in 2000 in Sydney. These were the first Games hosted in the southern hemisphere.{{sfn|Adair|Vamplew|1997|p=xiii}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=46}}<ref name="ThompsonMcGovern2008p102"/>
Australia has been influential in the Olympic movement, with four Australian representatives who are members of the [[International Olympic Committee]].{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=153}}
The government has provided monetary support for the Olympics. In the lead up to the 1924 Games, they provided 3,000 pounds and in 1936 provided 2,000 pounds. This support was seen as a way of supporting national identity, but no formal system existed for the funding wider sport at the time.{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=39}}
The 1956 Games were the first time Australia had an [[Equestrian at the Summer Olympics|Equestrian]] competitor when Victorian Ernie Barker competed.<ref name="ThompsonMcGovern2008p102"/> Australia has generally been a world power in Olympic swimming since the [[1956 Melbourne Olympics]]: swimmers like [[Shane Gould]], [[Dawn Fraser]], [[Ian Thorpe]] and [[Kieren Perkins]] have taken multiple gold medals.<ref name=corpoarateaocsutf/>
Australia performed relatively poorly at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]]. This upset the nation as it challenged a fundamental part of Australian identity. The following Olympics, the [[1980 Summer Olympics]], some Australian sports sat out as part of a boycott{{sfn|Bloomfield|2003|p=x}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=53}} and the country earned only nine medals, two of them gold, in Moscow.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–200}} To prevent a recurrence of this, the Australian Institute of Sport was created to help improve Australia's medal tally at the Games.{{sfn|Crotty|Roberts|2008|p=198–200}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|p=53}}
Channel Seven had exclusive Australian [[free-to-air]], [[pay television]], [[On-line and off-line|online]] and [[Mobile phone|mobile telephone]] broadcast rights to the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[Beijing]]. The live telecast of the 2008 Summer Olympics was shared by the Seven Network and [[SBS Television]]. Seven broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies and mainstream sports, including [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]], [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]], [[cycling]] and [[gymnastics]]. In contrast, [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS TV]] provided complementary coverage focused on long-form events such as [[association football|soccer]], [[road cycling]], [[volleyball]] and [[table tennis]].<ref name=sbsetelevion/>
===Paralympics===
{{see also| Australia at the Paralympics}}
[[File:16 ACPS Atlanta 1996 Australian Swim Team Training.jpg|right|thumb|Australian swimmers at the training pool at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games|alt=Swimmers posed in a group shot around the edge of a pool]]
Australia has attended every Summer Paralympics and hosted the [[2000 Summer Paralympics|2000 Sydney Games]]. Australia sent a delegation of 170 athletes to compete at the [[2008 Summer Paralympics]] in [[Beijing]],<ref name=smhparagrams/> and a team of 11 competitors to compete in two disciplines at the [[2010 Winter Paralympics]] in [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada.<ref name=athletes/> A team of 161 members [[Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics|was sent]] to the [[2012 Summer Paralympics]] in London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/pm-launches-2012-australian-paralympic-team |title=PM launches 2012 Australian Paralympic Team |date=25 June 2012 |access-date=27 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704061635/http://www.paralympic.org.au/news/pm-launches-2012-australian-paralympic-team |archive-date=4 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
===Commonwealth Games===
{{see also|Australia at the Commonwealth Games}}
Australians take the [[Commonwealth Games]] seriously because, on one level of national thinking, the event offers the country an opportunity to prove they are superior to the "original country", the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}}{{sfn|Shilbury|Deane|2001|p=167-173}}<ref name=mothersareyes/><ref name=theseonlygmaes/> By the [[1938 British Empire Games]], Australia's combined medal total was already greater than that of the [[Home Nations]] tallies combined. Australia would go on to beat England in total medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1950, 1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=368–369}} This rivalry with England continues to be an important component of the games for the country.<ref name=mothersareyes/><ref name=theseonlygmaes/>
==Events==
'''January'''
* [[Brisbane International]]
* [[Sydney International]]
* [[Hobart International]]
* [[Hopman Cup]]
* [[Australian Open]]
'''February – March'''
* [[AFL Women's|AFL Women's Season]]
'''February – August'''
* [[Super Rugby|Super Rugby Season]]
'''March – September'''
* [[National Rugby League|NRL Season]]
* [[Australian Football League|AFL Season]]
'''April'''
* [[A-League Grand Final]]
'''April – August'''
* [[Suncorp Super Netball|Super Netball Season]]
'''June – July'''
* [[State of Origin series]] (rugby league)
'''September'''
* [[AFL Grand Final]]
'''September – November'''
* [[National Rugby Championship|NRC Season]]
'''October'''
* [[NRL Grand Final]]
'''October – December'''
* [[Women's Big Bash League|WBBL Season]]
'''October – January'''
* [[Women's National Basketball League|WNBL Season]]
'''October – March'''
* [[National Basketball League (Australia)|NBL Season]]
'''October – April'''
* [[A-League|A-League Season]]
'''November'''
* [[Australian Open (golf)|Australian Open, Golf]]
'''November - February'''
* [[Australian Baseball League|ABL Season]]
* [[Big Bash League|BBL Season]]
== See also ==
* [[Concussions in Australian sport]]
=== By demographic ===
* [[Women's sport in Australia]]
* [[Sport in rural and regional Australia]]
* [[Disabled sport in Australia]]
=== By social and cultural context ===
{{div col |colwidth=22em}}
* [[Australian national sports team nicknames]]
* [[Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi]]
* [[Indigenous Australians#Recreation and sport]]
* [[List of sports museums and halls of fame in Australia]]
* [[List of international sports events in Australia]]
* [[List of Australian sports controversies]]
* [[List of Australian sports songs]]
* [[List of Australian sports films]]
{{div col end}}
=== By sport ===
{{div col |colwidth=22em}}
* [[Athletics in Australia]]
* [[Baseball in Australia]]
* [[Basketball in Australia]]
* [[Castellers de Sydney|Castelling in Australia]]
* [[Cricket in Australia]]
* [[Field hockey in Australia|Hockey in Australia]]
* [[List of Australian equestrians]]
* [[Golf in Australia]]
* [[Motorsport in Australia]]
* [[Rugby league in Australia]]
* [[Rugby union in Australia]]
* [[Soccer in Australia]]
* [[Surfing in Australia]]
* [[Tennis in Australia]]
* [[Winter sport in Australia]]
{{div col end}}
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}}{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book|title=Sport in Australian history|first1=Daryl|last1=Adair|first2=Wray|last2=Vamplew|location=Melbourne|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-19-553590-7|oclc=37217245}}<!-- Last name sort: Adair!-->
* {{cite book|author=All England Netball Association|title=Netball|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnpCldTMIt8C&pg=PA60|year=2009|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-7136-7697-6}} <!-- Last name sort: All England !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Wladimir|last1=Andreff|first2=Stefan|last2=Szymański|title=Handbook on the Economics of Sport|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGRkblShhU8C&pg=PA438|access-date=18 September 2012|year=2006|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-84376-608-7}}<!-- Last name sort: Andreff!-->
* {{cite book|title=The Encyclopaedia of Australian sports|first=Malcolm|last=Andrews|location=Sydney|publisher=Golden Press|year=1979|isbn=0-85558-849-7|oclc=21526949}}
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Bloomfield|title=Australia's Sporting Success: The Inside Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtWto0T5FMEC|year=2003|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-0-86840-582-7}}<!-- Last name sort: Andrews!-->
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Bale|title=Running Cultures: Racing in Time and Space|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3I3PrEgnQZQC&pg=PA145|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-7146-5535-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Bale !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Tony|last1=Bennett|first2=David|last2=Carter|title=Culture in Australia: Policies, Publics and Programs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3j-Gg3dbWoC&pg=PA239|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00403-9}} <!-- Last name sort: Bennett !-->
* {{cite journal|author=Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|title=Boys' Life|journal=Boys' Life. Inkprint Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdvlr4TKT4cC&pg=PA47|year=1956|publisher=Boy Scouts of America, Inc |issn=0006-8608}} <!-- Last name sort: Boy Scouts of America, Inc.!-->
* {{cite book|first=Manning|last=Clark|title=A History of Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYpNYjr_xQEC&pg=PA544|year=1993|publisher=Melbourne University Publish|isbn=978-0-522-84523-5}} <!-- Last name sort: Clark!-->
* {{cite book|first1=Felicity|last1=Collins|first2=Therese|last2=Davis|title=Australian Cinema After Mabo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EonrYXRj94C&pg=PA45|access-date=3 October 2012|date=27 October 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54256-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Collins !-->
* {{cite book|first=Robert|last=Crego|title=Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCl1c2yy5ooC|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31610-4}} <!-- Last name sort: Crego !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Martin|last1=Crotty|first2=David|last2=Roberts|title=Turning Points in Australian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wi5me1HBT7kC&pg=PA198|access-date=2 October 2012|date=1 October 2008|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-1-921410-56-7}} <!-- Last name sort: Crotty !-->
* {{cite book|first1=Rodney D.|last1=Fort|first2=John|last2=Fizel|title=International Sports Economics Comparisons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mQHaZaDTzAC&pg=PA295|year=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98032-0}} <!-- Last name sort: Fort !-->
* {{cite book|first=Allen|last=Guttmann|title=Sports: The First Five Millennia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OdTun2Or_qkC&pg=PA86|year=2007|publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-1-55849-610-1}} <!-- Last name sort: Guttmann !-->
* {{cite book|first=James|last=Higham|title=Sport Tourism Destinations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZF3pPDn-QgC&pg=PA99|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7506-5937-6}}
* {{cite book|first1=Russell|last1=Hoye|first2=Matthew|last2=Nicholson|first3=Hans|last3=Westerbeek|first4=Aaron|last4=Smith|first5=Bob|last5=Stewart|title=Sport Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iJzpn_bek7YC&pg=PA272|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7506-8755-3}} <!-- Last name sort: Highman !-->
* {{cite book|title=No pain, no gain? : sport and Australian culture|first=Jim|last=McKay|location=New York|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1991|isbn=978-0-7248-1080-2|oclc=24408455}} <!-- Last name sort: McKay !-->
* {{cite book|first=Ram Mohun|last=Mojumdar|title=History of Physical Education and Sports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBEeH8xAvWQC&pg=PT172|year=2009|publisher=Pinnacle Technology|isbn=978-1-61820-459-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Mojumdar !-->
* {{cite book|first1=John|last1=Nauright|first2=Charles|last2=Parrish|title=Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkLYDgTnMxEC&pg=PA384|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-300-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Nauright !-->
* {{cite book|title=Primary Australian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgRrB74FiqMC&pg=PA90|year=2008|author=R.I.C. Publications|publisher=R.I.C. Publications|isbn=978-1-74126-684-9}} <!-- Last name sort: R.I.C. Publications !-->
* {{Cite book|title= A sporting nation : celebrating Australia's sporting life|first1=Eric C|last1=Rolls|author-link1=Eric Charles Rolls |first2=Marion|last2=Halligan|first3=Marlene|last3=Mathews|first4=Paul|last4=Cliff|location=Canberra|year=1999|isbn=0-642-10704-1|oclc=44839640}} <!-- Last name sort: Rolls !-->
* {{cite book|title=Sport management in Australia : an organisational overview|first1=David|last1=Shilbury|first2=John|last2=Deane|location=Bentleigh East, Victoria|publisher=Strategic Sport Management|year=2001|edition=Second|isbn=978-0-9580170-0-8 |oclc=777321324}} <!-- Last name sort: Shilbury !-->
* {{cite book|first=Holly|last=Smith|title=Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqAyTWrmU_sC&pg=PT96|year=2011|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc|isbn=978-1-58843-779-2}} <!-- Last name sort: Smith !-->
* {{cite book|first=Bob|last=Stewart|title=Australian Sport — Better by Design?: The Evolution of Australian Sport Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FMDqFsGQ5qoC&pg=PA9|year=2005|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-34046-5}} <!-- Last name sort: Stewart !-->
* {{cite book|title=A national game : the history of Australian rules football|first1=Rob|last1=Hess|first2=Matthew|last2=Nicholson|first3=Bob|last3=Stewart|first4=Gregory|last4=de Moore|location=Camberwell, Victoria|publisher=Penguin|year=2008|isbn=978-0-670-07089-3 |oclc=247974138}}<!-- Last name sort: Stewart !-->
{{div col end}}
==Bibliography==
{{Empty section|date=August 2019}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikinews category}}
* [http://www.ausport.gov.au/ Australian Sports Commission]
* [http://www.ais.org.au/ Australian Institute of Sport]
{{Australian sport}}
{{Oceania in topic|Sport in}}
{{Australia topics}}
[[Category:Sport in Australia| ]]' |
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8 => 'https://books.google.com/books?id=7BIR3FIhVRsC',
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