Sport in Victoria

Last updated

The state of Victoria, Australia, has a strong sporting culture and includes many popular sports.

Contents

The most popular sports played in the state are basketball, Australian rules football, cricket, shooting, soccer, and netball. Horse racing joins that list as the most popular spectator sports.

Team Sports

Australian rules football

Australian rules football has a long history in Victoria, shown in this nineteenth-century junior football team from Geelong GFC1800s.jpg
Australian rules football has a long history in Victoria, shown in this nineteenth-century junior football team from Geelong

In terms of both attendance and media coverage, Australian rules football is the most popular sport in the state. The participation rate of 4% is the third highest in the country with 223,999 players counted in 2004. Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in 1858. Ten of the eighteen Australian Football League clubs are based in Victoria, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is held by many to be the spiritual home of the game. Victoria hosted all Australian Football International Cup competitions from 2002 to 2017.

Current Teams

Basketball

Basketball has the highest participation rate in the state. [1] [2] [3] Melbourne United (previously Melbourne Tigers) and South East Melbourne Phoenix are Melbourne's current teams in the National Basketball League (Australia). United have won the championship 4 times, in 1993, 1997, 2005-2006 and 2007-2008, with the Phoenix, being a new club, having yet to win a title. Both teams currently play home games at John Cain Arena in the centre of Melbourne, with SE Phoenix playing several games a year at the State Basketball Centre in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South. Between 2010 and 2013, Basketball in Victoria experienced an increase in participation and at the time had more players in the state than any other sport. [4] [5]

Current Teams

Cricket

Cricket at the MCG MCG stands.jpg
Cricket at the MCG

Cricket is also popular in Victoria. The governing body for the sport is Cricket Victoria which administers the 1,182 cricket clubs and 112,000 registered cricketers in Victoria, and 62,774 children involved in school-based competition. The Victorian cricket team is the state team for both men and women and currently competes in the Sheffield Shield, Marsh One-Day Cup and Women's National Cricket League.

Since 2011, the Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars have competed in the Big Bash League, Australia's professional domestic Twenty20 series.

Current Teams

Soccer

Soccer in Victoria is governed by the Football Victoria. It is particularly popular among migrant communities and has one of the highest sporting participation level in the state (after basketball). Victoria currently features three teams in the National A-League in both the men's and women's competitions. [6]

Current Teams

Rugby league

The predominantly Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria didn't play host to much rugby league football, which was traditionally a New South Wales and Queensland-based game during the 20th century. Some representative games were played in Melbourne to gauge public interest in the sport in the early 1990s and the crowds were encouraging.

Travel back a few years and you find that, in rugby league circles, Melbourne was viewed as a great, succulent peach ready for picking. Almost 90,000 people had turned up to the MCG in 1994 to watch NSW play Queensland in a State of Origin match. In a period where the robust sport was focused on expansion, Melbourne loomed as the obvious next frontier. Then the code imploded.

—  The Sunday Age , 1999 [7]

When the newly formed National Rugby League re-emerged in 1998, Melbourne Storm was part of the lineup of clubs. They have since become one of the most successful teams in the League and gained a significant following in their home state. [8]

As of 2022, there are 17 amateur clubs based in Melbourne with further clubs in regional areas around the state. [9]

Melbourne hosted several international matches including: Australia vs England during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and again in the 2010 Four Nations Series[ citation needed ], the 2010 ANZAC Test, which attracted a capacity crowd at the newly opened AAMI Park and several games at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup including a quarter final.

Current Teams

Motorsport

[ citation needed ]

Motor racing has its Australian roots in Melbourne. One of the earlier motor races was held on a horse racing venue in Melbourne, but organised motor racing as we know it today began with the first running of the Australian Grand Prix, held on a rectangular dirt road course on the streets of Phillip Island in 1928. The Grand Prix wandered across the country in subsequent decades but today is held as part of the Formula One World Drivers Championship on the streets of inner Melbourne around Albert Park Lake. A modern Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit hosts the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix. The state has more motor racing circuits than any other as well as providing the home base for more than half of the teams contesting the premier domestic motor racing series, V8 Supercar. Even New South Wales' signature motor race, the Bathurst 1000, has its roots in Victoria, having been first held as a 500-mile race at Phillip Island.

Netball

Netball is recognised as the largest female participation sport in Australia. In Victoria there are in excess of 105,000 registered participants, which does not include the tens of thousands of school children that participate in school netball programs annually.

Approximately 240 associations/groups affiliate with Netball Victoria on an annual basis. Affiliation provides access to netball events, programs and services as well as a pathway to State, National and International representation. Associations are geographically grouped into one of the 20 Regions, and then Regions are grouped into one of six Zones. 96% of the Netball Victoria membership is female. 55% of the membership resides in regional Victoria with the remaining 45% in the metropolitan suburbs in and around Melbourne. 62% of the Netball Victoria membership is aged seventeen (17) and under, with the majority of the remaining participants aged between eighteen and fifty. Victoria has two teams in the national Super Netball competition, the Melbourne Vixens and the Melbourne Mavericks.

Current Teams

Former Teams

Rugby union

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007), Victoria has very low rugby participation (less than 1%), dominated by amateur competition run by the Victorian Rugby Union, and participation in many private schools. [10] However, international rugby matches attract large attendances,[ citation needed ] (e.g. 2003 Rugby World Cup, and sevens at the 2006 Commonwealth Games).

The Melbourne Rebels represented Victoria in the professional Super Rugby competition. Their formation was long-awaited in the state, the Victorian Rugby Union having bid twice previously for a licence, the first time in 1995, losing to the ACT Brumbies, and the second time in 2005, losing to the Western Force. Their bid for the 15th licence was successful in 2010, however, after 14 years, Rugby Australia pulled the Rebel's licence, citing excessive debts incurred in running the team as the reason. The team folded in 2024, leaving Australia's second largest city without a team in Super Rugby.

Open Water Swimming

Open water swimming is a popular sport throughout Victoria. There is an ever-growing number of races right around Port Phillip Bay, Western Port Bay and Victoria's Ocean Coast. There are even a small number of races held in Rivers and Lakes.

The open water swim season in Victoria runs from early December to Mid-March of the following year. Several swims occur on Australia Day which also marks the "middle" of the season. The largest open water swim in Victoria (and As of 2009, the largest in the world) is the Lorne Pier to Pub. It attracts up to 4000 participants each year.

Some other well known swims include;

The standard distance of the majority of the swims on the open water swim calendar is between 1 km and 2 km with the most common distance used being 1.2 km. Other swims however, cover much longer distances, including the Bloody Big Swim which covers 11.2 km.

Many famous swimmers are known to have participated in these swims including Olympic Gold medalists Kieren Perkins and Michael Klim. It is also a popular hobby of many other famous people including many AFL footballers, Australian cricketers including Simon O'Donnell and politicians including former Premiers of Victoria Steve Bracks and Ted Baillieu.

Special events

The 2006 Australian Open at Melbourne Park Inside Rod Laver Arena.JPG
The 2006 Australian Open at Melbourne Park
Portrayal of Phar Lap winning the 1930 Melbourne Cup, from the 1983 movie "Phar Lap" Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup.jpg
Portrayal of Phar Lap winning the 1930 Melbourne Cup, from the 1983 movie "Phar Lap"

Annually, Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments; the famous Melbourne Cup horse race; the 'Boxing Day' cricket test match held each year from 26–30 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; and the Australian Masters golf tournament. The Wallabies, Australia's national rugby union team, usually also play at least one Test annually in Melbourne.

Rivalling the Open early in the year, the Formula One World Drivers' Championship visits the Albert Park Street Circuit to contest the Australian Grand Prix (which was originally hosted by Adelaide, South Australia). Also Phillip Island hosts the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix for MotoGP bikes as well as a round of the World Superbike Championship, and Stawell is the home of Australia's most prestigious foot race, the Stawell Gift.

The MCG was the site of the first ever cricket test match between Australia and England in 1877, and has been the main stadium for the 1956 Summer Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

As well as Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Melbourne has hosted numerous sporting events which rotate host cities. Melbourne co-hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup, including many pool matches as well as a quarter final – all of which were played at the Telstra Dome; hosted the 1975, 1979, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015 events of the basketball FIBA Oceania Championship; hosted the 2002 World Masters Games; the first city outside the United States to host the World Police and Fire Games in 1995, and the Presidents Cup golf tournament in 1999; and was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the World Cup Polo Championship in 2001. The city has hosted FIFA World Cup qualifiers in both 1997 2001 and 2009

The state was to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, regionally across Victoria and Melbourne until they were cancelled in July 2023. [12] [13]

Major Sports Venues

Melbourne

VenueCapacityMain Sports
Flemington Racecourse 110,000 Horse racing
Albert Park 100,000+ Formula One & Supercars Championship
Melbourne Cricket Ground 100,024 Australian rules football, cricket, association football
Marvel Stadium 56,347Australian rules football, cricket, association football, rugby league
Caulfield Racecourse 50,000Horse racing
Sandown Racecourse 50,000Horse racing, motorsport
Calder Park Raceway 44,000Motorsport
Moonee Valley Racecourse 40,000Horse racing
AAMI Park 30,050Association football, Rugby league, Rugby union
Ikon Park 22,000Australian rules football, Cricket
Knights Stadium 15,000Association football
Victoria Park 15,000Australian rules football
Whitten Oval 12,000Australian rules football
Rod Laver Arena 14,820 Tennis, Basketball, Netball, Swimming
Lakeside Stadium 12,000Association football, athletics, gridiron
Olympic Village 12,000Association football
John Cain Arena 10,500Tennis, Netball, Cycling, Gymnastics, Basketball
Epping Stadium 10,000Association football
Green Gully Reserve 10,000Association football
Junction Oval 10,000Cricket
Kooyong Stadium 8,500Tennis
Margaret Court Arena 7,500Tennis, netball, basketball
Melbourne Ballpark 5,000 Baseball
State Netball & Hockey Centre 3,500 (1,000 for Hockey)Netball, hockey, basketball
State Basketball Centre 3,200Basketball
The Home of the Matildas 3,000Association football
Dandenong Stadium 2,500Basketball
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre 2,000 Swimming
O'Brien Icehouse 1,500 Ice hockey
Darebin Velodrome 1,250 Cycling

Outside Melbourne

VenueCapacityMain Sports
Kardinia Park 40,000 Australian rules football
Eureka Stadium 11,000 Australian rules football
Bendigo Stadium 4,000 Basketball
Ballarat Sports Events Centre 3,000 Basketball and Netball
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 90,000 Motorcycle racing, touring car racing
Winton Motor Raceway 30,000 Motorsport

Current professional bodies in national competitions

Melbourne

ClubLeagueVenueEstablishedPremierships/Championships
Carlton Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Marvel Stadium 186416
Team 18 Supercars Championship Sandown Raceway 20130
Collingwood Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Melbourne Cricket Ground 189216
Essendon Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Marvel Stadium 187116
Garry Rogers Motorsport Australian S5000 Championship
TCR Australia Touring Car Series 		Sandown Raceway 19890
Hawthorn Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Melbourne Cricket Ground 190213
Grove Racing Supercars Championship Winton Motor Raceway 20090
Melbourne Aces Australian Baseball League Melbourne Ballpark 20100
Melbourne Boomers Women's National Basketball League Parkville Stadium 19842
Melbourne Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Melbourne Cricket Ground 185813
Melbourne City FC A-League Men
A-League Women 		AAMI Park 20092
Melbourne Ice Australian Ice Hockey League O'Brien Icehouse 20004
Melbourne Mavericks Suncorp Super Netball John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena, Rod Laver Arena 20230
Melbourne Mustangs Australian Ice Hockey League O'Brien Icehouse 20101
Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby
Super Rugby Women's 		AAMI Park 20100
Melbourne Renegades KFC Big Bash League
Women's Big Bash League 		Marvel Stadium 20111
Melbourne Stars KFC Big Bash League
Women's Big Bash League 		Melbourne Cricket Ground, Junction Oval 20110
Melbourne Storm National Rugby League AAMI Park, Marvel Stadium 19974
Melbourne United National Basketball League John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena, State Netball & Hockey Centre 19315
Melbourne Victory A-League Men
A-League Women 		AAMI Park, Marvel Stadium 20044
Melbourne Vixens Suncorp Super Netball John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena, Rod Laver Arena 20082
North Melbourne Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Marvel Stadium 18694
Richmond Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Melbourne Cricket Ground 188511
South East Melbourne Phoenix National Basketball League John Cain Arena, State Basketball Centre 20180
Southside Flyers Women's National Basketball League State Basketball Centre 19925
St Kilda Football Club Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Marvel Stadium 18731
Victorian cricket team Marsh One-Day Cup, Sheffield Shield, Women's National Cricket League Melbourne Cricket Ground / Junction Oval 185128 (SS), 4 (T20 Bash), 5 (Ryobi One Day Cup)
Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars Championship Winton Motor Raceway 19886
Western Bulldogs Australian Football League
AFL Women's 		Marvel Stadium and Eureka Stadium Ballarat 18832

Outside Melbourne

ClubLeagueVenueEstablishedPremierships/Championships
Bendigo Spirit Women's National Basketball League Bendigo Stadium 20072
Geelong Football Club Australian Football League Kardinia Park 185910
Tickford Racing Supercars Championship Winton Motor Raceway 19892
Western United FC A-Leagues Ironbark Fields 20181

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in New Zealand</span>

Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Australia</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in Australia

Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, association football, cricket and tennis are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the Melbourne Cup and the America's Cup. Australia also holds the record for the largest attendance at a rugby union match; almost 110,000 spectators watched the Wallabies play the All Blacks in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Brisbane</span>

Sport is a significant aspect of the Brisbane lifestyle. Activities range from the occasional international event, annual competitions, competitive leagues and individual recreational pursuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in Victoria</span>

In Victoria Australian rules football is the most popular sport overall, being the most watched and second most participated code of football. Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in the late 1850s and grew quickly to dominate the sport, which it continues to. Victoria has more than double the number of players of any other state in Australia accounting for approximately 42% of all Australian players in 2023 and continues to grow strongly. In 2023 there were 76 competitions and 1,242 clubs. With 235,970 registered players it is second only to Soccer. Though Australian rules has made up much ground lost to it over previous decades and today both codes have a similar number of players. The sport is governed by AFL Victoria based in Melbourne. The national governing body, the AFL Commission is also based in Melbourne.

Sport in New South Wales describes participation in and attendance at organised sports events in the state of New South Wales in Australia. Sport forms an integral part of the culture of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netball in Australia</span> Overview of the ball sport in Australia

Netball is the most popular women's team participation sport in Australia. In 1985, there were 347,000 players, and in 1995, there were over 360,000 Australian netball players. Throughout most of Australia's netball history, the game has largely been a participation sport; it has not managed to become a large spectator sport. In 2005 and 2006, 56,100 Australians attended one to two netball matches, of these, 41,600 were women. 46,200 attended three to five netball matches, with 34,400 of those spectators being women. 86,400 attended six or more netball matches, with 54,800 spectators being female. Overall, 188,800 people attended netball matches, with 130,800 being female. In 2005 and 2006, netball was the 10th most popular spectator sport for women with Australian rules football (1,011,300), horse racing (912,200), rugby league (542,600), motor sports (462,100), rugby union (232,400), football (212,200), harness racing (190,500), cricket (183,200) and tennis (163,500) all being more popular. The country set an attendance record for a Netball match with a record crowd of 14,339 at the Australia–New Zealand Netball Test held at the Sydney Super Dome game in 2004.

Sport is an important part of the culture of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in South Australia</span>

Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in the state of South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Tasmania</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in Tasmania

Sport is a significant aspect of the culture on the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Outside general recreational activities such as walking, gym or bushwalking, the most popular sports in Tasmania are swimming, athletics/track and field, cycling/mountain biking, golf and Australian rules football. Netball ranks as the most popular team sport for female participation, while cricket leads among male participants. The most widely played team sport is soccer, with an estimated 36,773 Tasmanians, comprising 6.8% of the state’s population, participating annually.

Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of netball courts, various sporting clubrooms, and a senior citizens centre. The park is bounded by Moorabool Street, the Geelong railway line, Kilgour Street, Latrobe Terrace, and Park Crescent.

Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netball in New Zealand</span> Overview of the ball sport in New Zealand

Netball is the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, in terms of player participation and public interest. With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand. As in other netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport; men's and mixed teams exist at different levels, but are ancillary to women's competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Northern Ireland</span>

Sport in Northern Ireland plays an important role in the lives of many Northern Irish people. Most sports are organised on an all-Ireland basis, for example rugby union, Gaelic games, basketball, rugby league, hockey, and cricket, whereas others, like association football and netball are organised on a separate basis for Northern Ireland.

The King's Birthday match is an annual Australian rules football match between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the King's Birthday public holiday in Victoria.

The most popular sports in Jamaica are mostly imported from Britain. The most popular sports are athletics, cricket and association football; other popular sports include basketball, Tennis and netball.

Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Oceania</span>

Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of sport in Australia</span>

The history of sport in Australia dates back to the pre-colonial period of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–New Zealand sports rivalries</span> Sports rivalries between two countries

Cricket, rugby union, rugby league & netball are the prominent sporting rivalries between Australia and New Zealand. In addition, respective national teams have competed in other sports such as indoor bowls, basketball, association football, field hockey and touch football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games</span>

The Victoria bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a bid by Victoria, Australia to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The bid was accepted by the Commonwealth Games Federation in August 2022 but was subsequently cancelled in July 2023 by the Victoria State Government.

References

  1. ↑ "Basketball numbers are booming in Geelong - Local News - Geelong, VIC, Australia". Geelongadvertiser.com.au. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Basketball popularity exploding across Melbourne's fringe". Herald Sun. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "World Cup soccer fans abandon reality for fantasy, says Neil Mitchell". Herald Sun. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Basketball numbers are booming in Geelong - Local News - Geelong, VIC, Australia". Geelongadvertiser.com.au. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Basketball popularity exploding across Melbourne's fringe | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 13 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "melbourneheartsyn.com". melbourneheartsyn.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Cockerill, Ian (3 October 1999). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age . p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Heming, Wayne (30 October 2009). "Brisbane Broncos voted Australia's most popular football team". foxsports.com.au. AAP. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  9. ↑ "Clubs - NRL Victoria". NRL Victoria. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "1345.4 - SA Stats, Jul 2007". Abs.gov.au. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Greg Chaplin. "Victorian Open Water Swimming Calendar". Caseyseals.com.au. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Regional Victoria announced as host of 2026 Commonwealth Games". The Guardian . 12 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Victoria to axe Commonwealth Games plans due to financial constraints ABC News 18 July 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.