Sport in the Australian Capital Territory refers to the various sports played in the Australian Capital Territory. Teams represent the ACT in the national leagues of several sports, although the rugby league and rugby union teams receive far more local coverage than any of the other teams and are considered the main sports of the territory. The Australian Institute of Sport was set up in 1981, where many Olympic and other athletes are trained.
Rugby Union is a popular sport in the ACT with Canberra boasting two fully professional teams, the ACT Brumbies and the Canberra Vikings.
The Brumbies, founded in 1996 and based at Canberra Stadium, are the local Super Rugby team. They are Australia's most successful Super Rugby franchise having won the competition three times, and reaching the playoffs on several occasions. The Brumbies hold the current crowd record at Canberra Stadium of 28,753 for the grand final match on 22 May 2004 against the Crusaders which the Brumbies won 47–38.
| Result | Years |
|---|---|
| Champions | 2001, 2004, 2020 |
| Runners-up | 1997, 2000, 2002, 2013 |
| Losing Semi-finalist | 2003, 2014, 2015, 2019 |
The Canberra Vikings are based at Viking Park in south Canberra and have competed in the Australian Rugby Shield (2000–2006), Australian Rugby Championship (2007) and National Rugby Championship (2014–present), finishing runners-up in 2015 and 2017.
Rugby Union is played by several clubs at all levels and numerous schools at junior levels. The John Dent Cup is the premier local Rugby Union tournament while the ACTJRU is the local Rugby Union tournament for juniors. Both tournaments and other senior grades are administered by the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union, the local governing body for Rugby Union.
| Professional Clubs | Other Rugby Clubs | Major Rugby Schools |
|---|---|---|
 Brumbies |  Canberra Royals | St Edmund's College |
 Canberra Vikings |  Eastern Suburbs |  Marist College |
 Gungahlin Eagles |  Canberra Grammar School | |
 Queanbeyan Whites |  Radford College | |
| Tuggeranong Vikings | Daramalan College | |
 Uni-Norths Owls |  Royal Military College | |
 Wests Lions |  Australian Defence Force Academy | |
 Hall Bushrangers |
The Canberra Cosmos represented Canberra between 1995 and 2001 in the National Soccer League. There are official plans to have a team in the A-League Men at the moment. Canberra United FC competes in the A-League Women (formerly known as the W-League), and have won a championship (2011–12) and two minor premierships (2011–12 and 2013–14). As an addition to the 2009 sporting calendar an international Asian Cup qualifier was scheduled between Australia and Kuwait at Canberra Stadium. It is the first international football game in Canberra in many years.
Rugby League is one of the main sports in the A.C.T in terms of attendances and media coverage. The Canberra Raiders are Canberra's National Rugby League team and play the most matches in the capital out of any single sport, having been admitted to the competition in 1982. They are Canberra's most successful sports team and have won the premiership on three occasions - in 1989, 1990 and 1994. The team's current home ground is Canberra Stadium.
At a local level teams play for the Canberra Raiders Cup, covering the sports program of tens of thousands of local juniors. Players developed through the system are then eligible to play for the Country Origin team and the New South Wales Blues at representative level.
Australian Football League clubs have irregularly played matches at Manuka Oval since 2001 although there is still no official Canberra-based AFL team. From 2012 onwards the new Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL team will play three regular season matches a year and one pre-season match in Canberra at Manuka Oval. [1] There is the local AFL Canberra competition and the new North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) competition in which both the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants reserves teams compete against clubs from Canberra, Sydney and South East Queensland. The Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament is also held in Canberra.
The earliest record of basketball in Canberra was March 1942 when the Turner Drill Hall became the venue for physical fitness classes including basketball and for which two moveable backboards were installed. The first recorded game was between Army and YMCA in April 1942 and 6 teams formed a competition in May 1942.
The ACT Men's Amateur Basketball Association was formed on the initiative of Kel McGrath, the first Life member, the then director-general of the Australian Forestry School in the early 1950s with RMC Duntroon, the YMCA and the Australian Forestry School forming the nucleus of the embryo competition. The Ladies International Rules Basketball Association was formed in 1960 with both organisation coming together to form the ACT Amateur Basketball Association in 1961, the predecessor of today's Basketball ACT (BACT) which conducts it operation across some 10 courts with a registered senior & junior, male and female membership exceeding 6,500, it is one of the most integrated sports in the ACT.
At the National Level, Canberra competed in Australian Championships as a State from 1965 until the changing face of the sport led to the development of more favoured club championships, conferences and leagues.
The first interstate league in which Canberra (ACT) participated was the South Eastern Conference formed in 1967 until 1972. Its succession continues as the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in which the premier men's basketball team in Canberra, the Canberra Gunners, currently participate. 1979 saw the creation of the Canberra Cannons was a National Basketball League team, one of the 10 founding clubs it competed between 1979 and 2002 when recurrent financial and management woes finally saw the teams demise, to be later resurrected as the Hunter Pirates and later still as the Singapore Slingers before finally disappearing from sight. Their brief but proud history records their fortunes as League runners-up in 1979 and 1989 and as League Champions three times in 1983, 84 and 88.
The Canberra Capitals are the Canberra-based Women's National Basketball League team. Founded in 1984 and previously the Canberra Nationals, they play at the AIS Arena. The Capitals gained entry to the WNBL in 1985, the year in which they won the NSW Club Championship and the Australian Women's Basketball Conference premiership defeating Dandenong 61–59. Ownership of the BACT flagship Canberra Capitals program was transferred under controversial circumstances to the University of Canberra in 2014. BACT retains the Canberra Capitals Academy, its elite female basketball team, which competes in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).
From 2000 to 2002, V8 Supercars raced in Canberra on a temporary street circuit inside the Parliamentary Triangle, the Canberra Street Circuit. The event was held on the Queen's Birthday long weekend each June.
| Bruce | McKellar | Bruce | Manuka | Narrabundah | Wanniassa | Deakin | Phillip | Phillip | Gungahlin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIS Arena | McKellar Park | Canberra Stadium | Manuka Oval | Narrabundah Ballpark | Viking Park | Deakin Stadium | Phillip Ice Skating Centre | Woden Park | Gungahlin Enclosed Oval |
| Capacity: 5,200 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 25,011 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 1,000 | Capacity: 1,000 | Capacity: 1,150 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||
| Basketball | Football | Rugby league, Rugby union | Cricket, Australian rules football | Baseball | Rugby union | Football | Ice hockey | Football, Athletics | Football, Rugby union |
Several Canberra sporting teams have won national championships and leagues. These teams include:
| Canberra Cavalry | 2012/13 |
| Canberra Capitals (Women) | 1999/00, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2005/06 2006/07, 2008/09, 2009/10; |
| Canberra Cannons (Men - last season 2002/03) | 1983, 1984, 1988 |
| Canberra United (Women) | 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17 |
| CBR Brave | 2018, 2022 |
| Canberra Knights | 1998 |
| Canberra Raiders | 1989, 1990, 1994 |
| Brumbies | 2001, 2004 |
| John Reid Shield (Men) | 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996 2001, 2003, 2006 2007 2008, 2009, 2011 2012 2013 |
| Gilleys Shield (Women) | 1978, 1979, 1863 |
| Canberra Heat (Men) | 2011, 2015 |
ACTSPORT established ACT Sports Star of the Year Awards in 1984. in 2015, these were renamed the Canberra Sport Awards when taken over by ACT Government after ACTSPORT ceased operations. In 1985, ACTSPORT established the ACT Sport Hall of Fame.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's 66-hectare (163-acre) headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), part of the Australian Government under the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating capacity of 13,550 people and an overall capacity of 16,000 people, although this is lower for some sports depending on the configuration used. The area on which the ground is situated has been used for sport since the early 20th century, but was only enclosed in 1929. It has since undergone several redevelopments, most recently beginning in 2011.
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 with almost 110,000 spectators watching the Wallabies play the All Blacks in 2000.
Winter Sports in Australia encompasses a great variety of activities across the continent of Australia, including winter sports played in snow and ice such as ice hockey. Climate varies considerably from the tropical North to temperate South in Australia, and sporting practices vary accordingly. Ice and snow sports like Skiing in Australia are conducted in the high country of the Australian Alps and Tasmanian Wilderness. Australia has relatively low mountain ranges, but a long history of participation in recreational skiing and the Winter Olympic Games. Australians have won olympic gold in ice skating, skiing and snow-boarding events. Australia's generally flat geography and usually mild winter climate otherwise provide ideal conditions for international non-snow/ice winter sports and team games like rugby union football, rugby league football, and association football (soccer), which are all popular sports during the Australian winter and in which Australia has enjoyed considerable international success. Australian rules football is a home-grown winter football code with a wide following throughout Australia. Many other sports are also played or watched in Australia through the winter season.
The Canberra Gunners are an Australian basketball team based in Canberra. The Gunners compete in the Men's NBL1 East and play their home games at Belconnen Stadium. The team is affiliated with Basketball ACT, the governing body for basketball in the Australian Capital Territory. Their sister team, the Canberra Nationals, play in the Women's NBL1 East.
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The Barassi Line is an imaginary line in Australia which approximately divides areas where Australian rules football or rugby league is the most popular football code. The term was first used by historian Ian Turner in his 1978 Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture. Crowd figures, media coverage, and participation rates are heavily skewed in favour of the dominant code on both sides.
The Canberra Vikings, formerly the Canberra Kookaburras, is an Australian rugby union football team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team is based at Viking Park in Wanniassa, and is backed by the Tuggeranong Vikings Group as the licence holder, with the Brumbies and University of Canberra as non-financial partners.
Rugby League is one of the most popular codes of football in the Australian Capital Territory. The Canberra Raiders of the National Rugby League became the Territory's first professional sports team when they were established in 1982. For decades before that rugby league clubs in the area had been competing and providing footballers for representative sides that played against domestic and foreign teams.
Rugby union is a popular sport in the Australian Capital Territory. Rugby football began to be played in the regions around what is now Canberra more than a century ago.
Abby Bishop is an Australian professional basketball forward/center who plays for Southside Flyers of the Australian WNBL. She has played for the Australian Institute of Sport from 2005 to 2006, the Canberra Capitals from 2006 to 2010, Dandenong Rangers from 2010 to 2011 Canberra Capitals. She is currently a member of the Adelaide Lightning (2016/2017). She is a member of the Australia women's national basketball team and won a gold medal during the 2007 Oceania World Qualifications series and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Australian Provincial Championship, or APC was a rugby union football competition played in Australia. It was one of several provincial competitions since the late 1960s, including the Wallaby Trophy and Ricoh National Championship, that have not continued.
Lauren Jansen is an Australian basketball player from the Canberra. She has played several seasons for the Canberra Capitals.
Marianna Tolo is an Australian basketball player for the University of Canberra Capitals in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She has also played for the CJM Bourges Basket in the LFB and Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. She has also been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team.
Carly Wilson is an Australian former basketball player. She played for several teams in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), including the Dandenong Rangers, Australian Institute of Sport, Perth Lynx and Canberra Capitals. She represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games, where the team won a gold medal.
Tessa Rose Lavey is an Australian professional basketball player for the Bendigo Spirit of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and an Australian rules football player with the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).
Natalie Hurst is an Australian basketball player. She played junior basketball in Canberra and went on to play for the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL. With the Capitals, she won league championships in 1999/2000, 2001/2002, 2002/2003, 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. In 2011/2012, she played for the French club, Aix en Provence. She is a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, with her first national team cap in 2009. She won a gold medal in 2009 at the FIBA Oceania Women's Championships. She is a member of the 2012 national team.
Susanna Geh was an Australian basketball player.
The organisation of sport in Australia has been largely determined by its Federal system of government – Australian Government and six states and two territories governments and local governments. All three levels play an important role in terms of funding, policies and facilities. Each major sport is managed by a national sports organisation, with state counterparts that manage community sporting clubs. Umbrella or peak organisations represent the interests of sports organisations or particular sport issues. Education sector plays a small role through universities and schools. Private sector's involvement is extensive in professional sport through facilities, club ownership and finance/sponsorship.
Abby Cubillo is an Australian professional basketball player. She plays for the University of Canberra Capitals in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She is a national champion and a world champion, and the first player born and raised in the Northern Territory to play in the WNBL.
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see also: Sport in Australia |
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