|
Sport And Recreation In New Zealand
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 (considered the national sport), rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport. Other popular sports include squash, golf, hockey, tennis, cycling, and tramping, baseball and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing rowing, and surf sports. Winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular, as are indoor and outdoor bowls. Administration Sport New Zealand is the main government agency responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. It was established in 2003 by the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002, consolidating three agencies into one, and was known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections both to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis. The rules of modern tennis have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Performance Sport New Zealand
Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The organisation believes whether New Zealanders are playing, coaching, refereeing, volunteering, managing or supporting – the power of sport helps bind communities and the nation together. The organisation also believes sport enriches the economy, improves wellbeing, helps children’s bodies and minds develop, and it makes people more resilient as communities and individuals. With this in mind, Sport NZ’s vision is to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to sport wherever they live, whoever they are and whatever their ability. The organisation’s wants to see more kids and more adults in sport and recreation, and more winners on the world stage through their subsidiary High Performance Sport New Zealand, which deals with elite athlet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-green bowls") or convex or uneven (for "crown green bowls"). It is normally played outdoors (although there are many indoor venues) and the outdoor surface is either natural grass, artificial turf or cotula (in New Zealand). History Bowls is a variant of the ''boules'' games (Italian ''Bocce''), which, in their general form, are of ancient or prehistoric origin. Ancient Greek variants are recorded that involved throwing light objects (such as flat stones, coins, or later also stone balls) as far as possible. The aspect of tossing the balls to approach a target as closely as possible is recorded in ancient Rome. This game was spread to Roman Gaul by soldiers or sailors. A Roman sepulchre in Florence shows people playing this game, stooping ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Indoor Bowls
New Zealand Indoor Bowls (NZIB) is a form of Indoor bowls that is a highly competitive strategic sport. As its only international fixture is a Trans-Tasman event played under Trans-Tasman rules, it is a sport unique to New Zealand. History Early development NZIB started in Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ..., New Zealand around 1908. Until 1925 however, there was a need for bowls that took a consistent green. The answer came when English bowl manufacturer Taylor Rolph began to produce four inch lignum vitae bowls in sets of 16 that were guaranteed to take a consistent green. These are believed to be the first indoor bowls made specifically for the New Zealand market. Another problem faced by the pioneers of the sport was finding a suitable mat. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games. Snowboarding was developed in the United States, inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing, and skiing. It became popular around the globe, and was introduced as a Winter Olympic Sport at Nagano in 1998 and featured in the Winter Paralympics at Sochi in 2014. , its popularity (as measured by equipment sales) in the United States peaked in 2007 and has been in a decline since. History The first snowboards were developed in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by his wife Nancy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS). History Skiing has a history of almost five millennia. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings. However, this continues to be debated. The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood". Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Sports
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice. Artificial ice can be used to provide ice rinks for ice skating, ice hockey, para ice hockey, ringette, broomball, bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, and spongee in a milder climate. The sport of speed skating uses a frozen circular track of ice, but in some facilities the track is combined in an enclosed area used for sports requiring an ice rink or the rink itself is used. Alternatively, ice cross downhill uses a track with various levels of elevation and a combination of bends. Long distance skating ( "marathon skating") such as tour skating is only performed outdoors and uses the available natural ice from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sport New Zealand
Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The organisation believes whether New Zealanders are playing, coaching, refereeing, volunteering, managing or supporting – the power of sport helps bind communities and the nation together. The organisation also believes sport enriches the economy, improves wellbeing, helps children’s bodies and minds develop, and it makes people more resilient as communities and individuals. With this in mind, Sport NZ’s vision is to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to sport wherever they live, whoever they are and whatever their ability. The organisation’s wants to see more kids and more adults in sport and recreation, and more winners on the world stage through their subsidiary High Performance Sport New Zealand, which deals with elite athle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rowing (sport)
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses long with several lanes marked using buoys. Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 17th century when professional watermen held races (regattas) on the River Thames in London, England. Often prizes were offered by the London G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailing (sport)
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps. On water, a sailing competition among multiple vessels is a regatta, which usually consists of multiple individual races, where the boat crew that performs best in over the series of races is the overall winner. There is a broad variety of kinds of races and sailboats used for racing from large yacht to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Sport (recreation)
Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants. On the water * Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races * Boating, the use of boats for personal recreation * Cable skiing, similar to wake boarding but with cables for artificial maneuvering * Canoe polo combines boating and ball handling skills with a contact team game, where tactics and positional play are as important as the speed and fitness of the individual athletes. * Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. * Dragon boat racing, teams of 20 paddlers racing the ancient dragon boat * Fishing, the recreation and sport of catching fish * Flyboard, a brand of hydroflighting device which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard into the air to perform a sport known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Sport And Recreation In New Zealand")
