Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's British colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, horse racing, basketball and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand is a small nation but has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League (NBL). Several WNBL teams have NBL counterparts. The Adelaide Lightning, Melbourne Boomers, Perth Lynx, Southside Flyers and Sydney Uni Flames are the current WNBL teams sharing a market with an NBL team. The current league champions are the Southside Flyers, who won their fourth title and their first under their current name.
Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they played in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Thunderbirds have won four premierships. They won their first two premierships in 1998 and 1999 during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era and their third and fourth in 2010 and 2013 during ANZ Championship era. Historically, Thundersbirds are one of Australia's most successful netball teams. Between 1997 and 2010 they finished in the top three of every regular season.
Jacqui Delaney is a former Australia netball international. Between 1997 and 2002 she made 21 senior appearances for Australia. Delaney was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medals at the 1999 World Netball Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. At club level, Delaney played for Contax in both the South Australia state league and the Mobil Superleague and for Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She was a member of the Thunderbirds squad won two premierships and grand finals in 1998 and 1999.
Natalie von Bertouch, also known as Natalie Bode, is a former Australia netball international. Between 2004 and 2012 she made 76 senior appearances for Australia. Bertouch was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medals at the 2007 and 2011 World Netball Championships. She captained Australia at the latter tournament. She was also a member of the Australia teams that won the silver medals at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games. At club level, Bertouch captained Adelaide Thunderbirds to two ANZ Championship titles in 2010 and 2013. Her older sister, Laura von Bertouch is also a former netball player. The two sisters were team mates with both Thunderbirds and Australia.
Laura von Bertouch is a former Australia netball international. Bertouch was a member of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World Netball Championships. At club level, Bertouch played for Adelaide Thunderbirds, mainly during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era. She captained Thunderbirds between 2004 and 2007. Her younger sister, Natalie von Bertouch, is also a former netball player. The two sisters were team mates with both Thunderbirds and Australia.
Gridiron Australia is the governing body of American football (gridiron) in Australia. It is an approved sporting association under federal government regulations and is a member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). The organisation was formed in 1996.
Sportin Serbia plays an important role, and the country has a strong sporting history. The most popular sports in Serbia are football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, water polo and handball.
Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in South Australia.
Netball South Australia is the governing body for netball in South Australia. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Netball South Australia Premier League as well as numerous other leagues and competitions for junior and youth teams. It is also responsible for organizing and managing two elite level representatives teams, Adelaide Thunderbirds, who compete in the Suncorp Super Netball, and Southern Force who compete in the Australian Netball League. Its headquarters are based at Netball SA Stadium.
Brazil sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in August 2008. Brazilian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1920, except the 1928 Summer Olympics. The country is represented by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Brazil headed to the Beijing Games with its largest Olympic delegation at the time, 277 athletes, including 132 women.
The State Hockey Centre, currently known as MATE Stadium, is a 4,000 capacity, government owned outdoor field hockey stadium located in Gepps Cross, a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It offers two international-standard wet hockey pitches which are used for both competition and training activities.
Carla Borrego, also known as Carla Williams and Carla Williams-Borrego, is a former Jamaica netball international. She was a member of the Jamaica team that won the bronze medal at the 2003 World Netball Championships. She subsequently switched to women's basketball, playing for Broward Seahawks and Miami Hurricanes. In 2009, after returning to netball, Borrego began playing for Adelaide Thunderbirds in the ANZ Championship. She was a prominent member of the Thunderbirds teams that won the 2010 and 2013 titles. She has also played for Sirens in the Netball Superleague and for Garville in the Netball South Australia Premier League.
The Hungarian Handball Federation is the national handball federation in Hungary.
On the club, national and international level, men's netball teams exist, but attract less attention than women's netball. Mixed teams are not uncommon in Australia and are very popular. Men's national teams do exist in Brunei, Canada, England, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and the UAE.
David Ian Gould, is an Australian wheelchair basketball player and coach.
Tess Madgen is an Australian professional basketball player. She currently plays for the Melbourne Boomers in the WNBL. She is also a member of the Australian Opals.
Jessica Trengove is an Australian long-distance runner who competes in distances from 5000 metres up to the marathon. She represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the marathon.
Jenny Borlase, also known as Jenny Kennett, is a former Australia netball international. Between 1989 and 1999 she made 70 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Netball Championships, the 1993 World Games and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. At club level, Borlase played for Garville in both the South Australia state league and the Mobil Superleague and for Adelaide Ravens and Melbourne Kestrels in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She also represented South Australia. Borlase was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1992. After retiring as a player, Borlase has remained involved in netball as both an administrator and coach.
The Sydney University Handball Club is a handball team from the University of Sydney from Sydney, Australia. They are five times Men's National Champions, seven times Men's Oceania Champions and qualified for seven IHF Super Globe competitions. The men's team has won the State Championship eleven times. The women's team has also won the State Championship nine times.
