What sports are played in Australia?

Answer 1

The main sports played in Australia are cricket, rugby, tennis and Australian rules football (Aussie Rules).

But Australia, being one of the chief sports nations of the world, plays many sports.

It is a top nation in hockey, soccer, swimming, cycling, lawn bowls, sailing, rugby, cricket, netball and women's Basketball and is superb at many water sports.

However, just a few of some other major sports it freely engages in are:

Basketball, soccer, Water Polo, Table Tennis, squash, downball and four square games (mainly among the young), golf and volleyball.

Answer 2

The first known sport played in Australia was cricket. Australia was settled by the British, and cricket is strong in England. The first known cricket match was played at Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia on 8 January 1804.

The first uniquely Australian sport created in Australia was AFL: Australian Football League - ('Football' does not mean soccer).

Answer 3

In Australia, a great variety of sports are played, from team sports right down to solo sports.

• cricket
• Australian Rules Football (AFL)
• Soccer (completely different to football)
• tennis
• basketball
• netball
• softball
• tee-ball
• Rugby
• Volleyball
• Beach volleyball
• hockey
• Touch
• badminton
• squash
• lacrosse
• swimming
• cycling
• watersports such as boating, surfing and body-boarding
• Wind surfing
• water-skiing
• sailing
• fishing
• gymnastics
• Martial Arts
• diving
• hiking / bushwalking
• horse-racing
• harness racing
• Dog Racing
• athletics

One major difference exists between Australia and places such as Europe and North America: there is little opportunity for winter sports such as ice-hockey and ice-skating, although there are national associations for these sports. However, the snow season starts early in June in the Australian Alps (New South Wales and Victoria) and parts of Tasmania, and at these times, visitors flock to the snowfields for skiing and other snow sports.

Answer 4

the indigenous people of Australia have been playing sports for thousands of years so it would be hard to put your finger on an exact date, sport usually play a part in the training and improving performance in everyday hunting and working requirements. Below are some examples of some of the gamed played by Australia's original inhabitants,

BattendiThis Aboriginal game was set up to enhance both a spear-thrower's accuracy and distance. Points are awarded on both bases, with the target throws making for a particularly entertaining contest. Battendi was played in areas of South Australia. BrambahlA traditional Indigenous game where two men hold a long rope at each end to swing it. When it is in full swing in goes the skipper and performs several activities while skipping. BoogalahA game where a ball, made of sewn-up kangaroo skin, is thrown in the air. Whoever catches it goes with all of their totem group into a group in the middle, the others are circling around. The ball is thrown into the air until one of the circle outside catches it. Then both groups change positions. The totem keeping it longest wins. BubberahA game about come-back boomerang throwing. The boomerang which returns closest wins. BuroinjinA ball game similar to basketball played with a ball made up of kangaroo skin (called a buroijin and stuffed with grass) by the Kabi Kabi people of southern Queensland GoomboobooddooA traditional Wrestling game. Bodies are greased to make them slippery, then family clans compete against each other. The side that finally throws the most men wins. Gorri, WungoolayA game in which Aboriginal boys and men throw or roll a small object (a tennis ball or a disc) along a line at a moving target. Players are required to try and strike the moving object with spears from a distance of about 15m to score points for their team. This kind of game has historical references to hunting wildlife and helped children learn accuracy of the eye and speed in casting the spear, improving physical fitness and focus. It appears to be common to Western Australia and Victoria. Gurril BoodthulPlayers in this Aboriginal game throw boodthuls, or miniature war clubs, towards a bush. The clubs have to skim through the top of the bush which accelerates them beyond the bush. Winner is whose boodthul travelled furthest. KaiIn this traditional game from the Torres Strait a number of players stood in a circle and sang the 'Kai wed' (ball song) as they hit a ball and tried to keep it up in the air with the palm of one hand at a time. This Indigenous game was played using the thick, oval, deep red fruit of the Kai tree which is quite light when dry. KalqA traditional Indigenous game where men used a throwing stick ('woomera') to project a big killing spear ('kalq') towards the next player. They used their woomeras to deflect the spear to the next player. Boys used spears with blunted ends when they played this game. The game is traditional to the Cape York Peninsula in North Queensland. Kee'anA game in which competitors throw a large animal bone with twine attached to it (acting like a comet ball) over a net into a pit or hole. The aim was for the bone and twine not to touch the net which required great skill and prepared for hunting. North Queensland was home to this traditional game. KeentanA keep-away game of catch ball played by both genders. The game was also called the 'kangaroo-play' because the players jumping up to catch the ball resembled the movements of a kangaroo.

Keentan was known by the Kalkadoon nation in north-west central districts of Queensland.

KolapAn object throwing game using beans of the Kolap tree. Common on Mer Island in the Torres Strait late last century. KokanA traditional hockey type game using a small ball ('kokan') played on a long stretch of sandy beach. The ball was struck with a bat or club made from bamboo. A popular game in many areas of the Torres Strait and Papua and New Guinea where various types of this game were known. KoolcheA ball throwing and hitting game traditionally played by Aboriginal people in the Lake Eyre district of South Australia. The balls were made of any material that could be easily worked and had the size of Bowling balls. Two teams lined up on opposite ends of a dry claypan rolling their balls to the other end and trying to break the other team's balls. This traditional Aboriginal game ended when almost all balls were used and takes its name from the word 'kolchee' for the balls. Marngrook, Marn GrookA traditional game from the Gunditjmara people in western Victoria.

Marngrook is said to be the Aboriginal game that provided the first lawmakers of football with some of the fundamentals of the game millions know and love as Australian Rules (Aussie Rules) Football [7], a view which is not totally undisputed.

'Marngrook' means 'Game Ball'. The National Indigenous Television (NITV) turned the radio program The Marngrook Footy Show into a TV show in 2007.

Jim Poulter wrote the book Marn-Grook, Original Australian Rules in 1985.

MuhanganingA running game children of Arnhem Land in northern Australia played in the flickering lights from the firebrands of the grown-ups sitting about a camp site. ParndoThis traditional Aboriginal ball game was played in South Australia near Adelaide (Kaurna nation). The parndo (ball) was made with a piece of opossum skin, flattish in shape and about the size of a tennis ball. This is a kicking and hand passing game. PulyuggeA keepings-off style of game traditionally played throughout Australia. Players prevent themselves from being tagged while in possession of a ball which can vary in size but is normally made of bound animal skin with either grass or charcoal filling. The game doesn't have a point system, but is more of an engaging game aimed to enhance life skills. TaktyerrainA mock combat game like 'poison ball' or 'brandy'. Toy spears made from grasses, reeds and rushes were thrown, sometimes with a toy throwing stick (woomera). This traditional Aboriginal game was played by both girls and boys. TarnambaiChildren collected the seed heads of the spring rolling grass (Spinifex) and took them to the beach where they tossed them into the air. The wind blew them along and the children tried to catch them running at full speed. A common game on Bathurst Island, 100 kms north-west of Darwin in the Northern Territory. WanaThis traditional game was played by girls only. A short piece of stick was placed on the ground to represent a baby. Each girl had to defend her child from the digging sticks of the other girls who pretended to try to kill the baby by throwing the sticks at the 'mother'. The mother tried to fend them off using her own digging stick ('wana').

Wana taught girls to defend their young children. Sometimes adult women stood by the side of their men to ward off the attack of a rival tribe. This traditional game was known in Western Australia.

WemeA stone bowling game where one player threw a stone which was then used as a target by the next player. Players alternated turns. This traditional game was known to the Walbiri people of Central Australia. WhagooThe popular hide and seek game was also known to Aboriginal people. WimberooA fireside game. Each player warmed a dry Coolabah leaf until it bent a little, then hit it into the hot current of air of a fire. Winner is whose leaf travelled highest. WoggabaliriA traditional kind of football game that involved ball made of possum fur. The ball was spun by the women and only about five centimetres in diameter. The game trained agility and required suppleness of limbs. WulijiniA traditional game of hand hitting or handball played with a zamia (Cycas media) seed by the people of Bathurst Island in northern Australia. In the Meda district of north-western Australia players used flat pieces of wood. YahweerhA sort of sham trial fight. One man has a bark shield, and he has to defend himself with it from the bark toy boomerangs the others throw. YiriA traditional aiming or accuracy game. The general idea is to aim a spear at a moving target which could be pieces of wood or bark placed in running water. In modern versions competitors throw tennis balls at a moving tyre. The game was recorded being played by the boys at Ulladulla in New South Wales.

The source of this material came from the website (Traditional Aboriginal games)in the link below

Answer 5

Australia has its own unique code of football (which is not remotely related to soccer) called Australian Rules, or AFL.

Answer 6

The football code of Australian Rules was invented in Australia.

Answer 7

The first sport in Australia was an aboriginal game called marngrook. This was later adapted to become AFL, or Australian Rules Football, a very popular game today.

Answer 8

Rugby and cricket originated in England and are popular in Australia

Answer 9

Australians play Cricket