Kinds of Australian Sports

Australians take their sports very seriously. In 2008, about $250 million of the nation's budget was allotted to the Australian Sports Commission and other sports-development projects. The government's confidence has been successfully rewarded with the country consistently being on the Olympic Games' top six contenders of the past decade. Australia's Olympic champions were mostly in swimming and other watersports; however, team sports such as football, rugby, cricket and soccer are considered their most popular sports.

  1. Football and Rugby

    • According to a national survey in 2006, Australian Rules football, which is governed by the Australian Football League, is the most watched sport in the country. It is a homegrown sport that traces its roots from 1859. Aside from the ball used in the game, it has a few similarities with American football, such as making goals and tackles; however, it is played with a different set of rules. Rugby League and Rugby Union are also two popular Australian sports that have some relation to the Australian Rules football. The Rugby Union, oftentimes referred to as simply "rugby," is played with 15 members on the field, while the Rugby League is played with 13 members and the Australian Rules football with 18 members.

    Cricket

    • Like most of Australia's sports, cricket is an influence from England and continues to be a favorite pastime even after more than a century. Cricket is known to have more than 100 pages of rules, and is somewhat similar to baseball. When a bowler throws the cricket ball, a batsman strikes it using a flat bat to prevent it from hitting a group of sticks fixed on the ground, which is called a wicket. The batsman is out if he fails to guard the wicket, or if he was able to hit the ball but an opponent catches it.

    Soccer

    • Even with soccer's immense popularity in England and the rest of the world, Australia's interest in the sport has only recently gained momentum with the successful entry of its national team in the 2006 World Cup Finals. Soccer was not counted among the top ten sports in Australia in 2004, but climbed to the sixth spot in 2010.

    Watersports

    • Watersports are huge favorites in Australia and these sports, especially swimming, are where the country's athletes consistently collect medals during the Olympic Games and World Championships. Its most decorated swimmer is Ian Thorpe, who amassed a total of five gold Olympic medals and 11 gold World Championship medals. Aside from swimming, which regularly ranks among the 10 most popular sports, Australians also enjoy sailing, rowing, surfing, skiing, canoeing, diving and snorkeling.