Many sports are played in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia.

Animals in sport

The Katherine Show & Rodeo and Noonamah Tavern Rodeo

Australian rules football

Australian rules football is the Territory's most popular sport, particularly with

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

communities in Darwin,

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

. The governing body for football in the territory is the

AFL Northern Territory AFL Northern Territory is the governing body for Australian rules football in the Northern Territory of Australia. It supervises multiple leagues, but is mainly concerned with the co-ordination of the Northern Territory Football League. Th ...

. 18% of all Territorians in 2017 participated in Australian Football, the highest participation rate in Australia (and second worldwide). The sport also produces more professional Australian Footballers per capita in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

than any other state or territory. The Northern Territory is home to several representative teams, most notably the Aboriginal All-Stars. Also the

Flying Boomerangs The Flying Boomerangs are the underage Indigenous Australian Australian rules football team for men (the underage women's team is known as the ''Woomeras''). The team has played tests against junior teams from Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Ne ...

represent Australia internationally and the Northern Territory has a strong local competition, the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

. A professional club, the

Northern Territory Football Club Northern Territory Football Club, nicknamed NT Thunder, was a Northern Territory-based Australian rules football club that competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) between 2011 and 2019. It also competed in the VFL Women's in ...

(NT Thunder) was formed in 2008 and competed in the second tier semi-national NEAFL competition. Following a 2018 scoping study, in 2021 the Northern Territory AFL taskforce launched an official bid to enter a team into the national

(AFL) competition which is under consideration by the league for entry around 2030. Since the debut of Reuben Cooper in 1969 a large number of Territorians have played in the AFL, though a significant percentage have launched their professional football careers from other states, particularly South Australia. A proportionately high number of AFL players per capita are now from the Territory. Perhaps the most accomplished born and raised player is

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

Andrew Mcleod Andrew Luke McLeod (born 4 August 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games. ...

. Fellow Hall of Famer

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising St ...

is the only Territorian to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal. Darwin-born

Shaun Burgoyne Shaun Playford Burgoyne (born 21 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the SANFL, and Port Adelaide and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Burgoyne ...

holds both the AFL games and goals records with 407 games and 302 goals. Burgoyne and

Cyril Rioli Cyril Rioli (born 14 July 1989) is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Rioli was a member of four premiership teams and the Norm Smith Medallist from the 2015 ...

have played in 4 AFL premierships, more than any other Territorian.

Baseball

Baseball NT is the governing body of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

within the

Baseball NT Baseball NT is the governing body of baseball within the Northern Territory, Australia. Baseball NT was formed in 1968 under its original name, the Northern Territory Baseball League. Baseball NT is governed nationally by the Australian Base ...

is governed by the

Australian Baseball Federation Baseball Australia, formerly the Australian Baseball Federation is the national governing body of Baseball in Australia and owns the Australian Baseball League. Baseball is played in all the mainland states and territories, but it struggles fo ...

. Organised baseball is played in Darwin,

and

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and Catherina, other variations are feminine Given name, names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria ...

. Darwin has four clubs; Nightcliff Tigers, Palmerston Reds, Pints and Tracy Village Rebels. The East Darwin Beasts disbanded in 1986 and the

South Darwin Rabbitohs The South Darwin Rabbitohs are a semi-professional Rugby league club based in Marrara, Northern Territory. They play home games at TIO Stadium. They won one premiership in 2003 by beating the Darwin Brothers 51–50. See also *List of rugby l ...

disbanded in 2004. For a brief history of baseball in Darwin, see Darwin baseball league and

Northern Territory Buffalos Northern Territory Buffaloes was a baseball team from the Northern Territory that competed in the Australian national Claxton Shield competition from 1981 until 1988. The Buffaloes enjoyed little success during its eight-year admittance winning ...

. In Darwin, baseball is a dry-season sport, played between April and September each year. Alice Springs has five teams; Bulls, Cubs, Demons, Panther and Redbacks

Basketball

Basketball Northern Territory Basketball Northern Territory (BNT) is the governing body of basketball in the Northern Territory, Australia. BNT was founded as Northern Territory Basketball Association (NTBA) in 1948. Basketball was administered by NTBA until 1963, when its ...

(BNT) is the governing body of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

in the Northern Territory. The major association in the territory is Darwin Basketball Association (DBA). In 2022, the

Darwin Salties Darwin Salties is a NBL1 North club based in Darwin, Northern Territory. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is run under the joint management of Darwin Basketball Association (DBA) and Basketball Northern ...

will debut in the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

-based

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

competition, making the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia.

Combat sports

Boxing NT is the governing body for amateur boxing in the Northern Territory and is affiliated with

Boxing Australia Boxing Australia Limited (BAL) is the governing body for the sport of amateur boxing in Australia. All around Australia, the development of boxing is in the hands of the BA. The Australian Sports Commission (ASC), Australian Olympic Committee ( ...

. There are four clubs for affiliated with Judo NT they are Darwin Judo Club, Marrara Judo Club, The Judo Studio and Top End Judo Academy. Only two clubs for affiliated with Australian Karate Federation they are Okinawan Chinese Martial Arts Association and Darwin Shotokan Karate. Australian Armwrestling Federation holds Northern Territory Championships

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is administered by

Northern Territory Cricket Northern Territory Cricket, formally the Northern Territory Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in the Northern Territory of Australia. Cricket in the Northern Territory has produced state contracted players which include Kan ...

Cycling

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

is administered by Cycling Northern Territory. The Darwin Cycling Club was established in 1955.

Field hockey

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

is administered by Northern Territory Hockey Association and was formed in Darwin in 1948 Hockey was first played in the Northern Territory in Darwin in 1940

NT Stingers The Darwin Airport Resort Territory Stingers aka NT Stingers are a men's Australian field hockey team, representing Northern Territory in the Australian Hockey League. References Australian field hockey clubs field hockey Field hock ...

and

NT Pearls The NT Pearls aka Darwin Airport Resort Territory Pearls are a nationally competing women's field hockey team based in the Northern Territory of Australia. References {{reflist Australian field hockey clubs field hockey Field hockey ...

compete in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

Fishing

Million Dollar Fish was first held in 2015 and is the richest competition in Australia.

Golf

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

is administered by Golf Northern Territory. four clubs with full 18-hole designs are

Darwin Golf Club Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city ...

, Palmerston Golf & Country Club,

Alice Springs Golf Course Alice Springs Golf Club is a golf club in Australia. It is located in Desert Springs, Northern Territory. It was formed in 1985. It has hosted several notable golf tournaments. The Alice Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole championship layout golf c ...

and Tennant Creek Golf Club.

Ice sports

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 area ...

are played at Darwin Ice Skating Centre.

Motorsport

Darwin hosts a round of the

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

every year, the Darwin Triple Crown, bringing thousands of motorsports fans to the

Hidden Valley Raceway Hidden Valley Raceway is part of the Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex, located at 171 Hidden Valley Road, Hidden Valley, from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The Hidden Valley Motorsports Complex includes a 1 km drag racing track ...

. The Hidden Valley Raceway facility also contains a drag strip as part of Hidden Valley Raceway's main straight, and a nearby Speedway,

Northline Speedway Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia. Animals in sport The Katherine Show & Rodeo and Noonamah Tavern Rodeo Australian rules football Australian rules football is the Territory's most popular sport, particularly wit ...

, for short circuit dirt surface racing. In the south of the Territory, Australia's biggest Off-Road Race, the

Finke Desert Race The Finke Desert Race, or Tatts Finke Desert Race, an off-road, multi-terrain two-day race for motorbikes, cars, buggies and quad bikes through desert country from Alice Springs to the small and remote community of Aputula (called ''Finke ...

is held over a long circuit which takes in the settlement of

Aputula Aputula (formerly Finke until the 1980s) is a remote Indigenous Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is south of Alice Springs and east of Kulgera roadhouse on the Stuart Highway, near the border with South Australi ...

on the

Finke River The Finke River, or ''Larapinta'' (Arrernte), is a river in central Australia, one of four main rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin and thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year and when this happens, its wate ...

. The event is based out of

Alice Springs Inland Dragway Alice Springs Inland Dragway, also known as ASID is a motorsports complex located south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia. Owned and operated by the Central Australian Drag Racing Association (CADRA), it is the only purpos ...

Australia's only twin circuit

mud racing Mud bogging (also known as mud racing, mud running, mud drags, or mudding) is a form of off-road motorsport popular in Canada and the United States in which the goal is to drive a vehicle through a pit of mud or a track of a set length. Winn ...

track is at Top End Mud Racing.

Red CentreNATS Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

is an automotive lifestyle festival with Burnout competitions and

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

event's. The Outback Air Race starts in Darwin and finishes in

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

Ross Macpherson Smith Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, (4 December 1892 – 13 April 1922) was an Australian aviator. He and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919. Early life Smith's father migrated ...

and

Keith Macpherson Smith Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, KBE (20 December 1890 – 19 December 1955) was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, Sergeant James Mallett (Jim) Bennett and Sergeant Walter (Wally) Shiers, became the fir ...

won the

1919 England to Australia flight In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were pilot Ross Smith, his brother Kei ...

air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...

Netball

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

is administered by

Netball Northern Territory Netball Northern Territory is the governing body for netball in the Northern Territory. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing Territory Storm who have competed in the Australian Netball League. I ...

. Territory Storm represents Netball Northern Territory in the

Australian Netball League The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008 it has served as a second level competition, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below Suncorp Super Netb ...

Rugby league

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

is administered by the

Northern Territory Rugby League NRL Northern Territory (abbreviated as NRLNT, formerly the Northern Territory Rugby League) is the organisation responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Northern Territory. It controls the Darwin Rugby League, Darwin Junior Ru ...

. The territory has the highest participation rate per capita for Rugby League than any other state governing body in Australia. The

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

has conducted numerous clinics and hosted regular pre-season matches in the territory since 1998. Local domestic competitions are based in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Gove. A combined Northern Territory team also participates in the

Affiliated States Championship The Affiliated States Championship is an annual rugby league competition run by the Australian Rugby League involving the four affiliated states (Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia) plus the Australian Federal Po ...

Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

is administered by the

Northern Territory Rugby Union The Northern Territory Rugby Union, or NTRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the Northern Territory in Australia. It is a member of Rugby Australia. The Northern Territory Rugby Union manages competitions in several age ...

. Local senior club competitions are based in Darwin,

and

. Clubs in Darwin have women's teams and junior competitions, and

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were established ...

on the Gove Peninsula has a junior rugby competition. The

Darwin Hottest Sevens The Darwin Hottest Sevens, known as the Hottest 7s in the World or the Hottest 7s, is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Darwin, Australia on a weekend in early October. The event is sponsored by Heineken and is hosted by the Northern ...

tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, with Rugby sevens club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s, with a prize pool of $65,000 in 2013, is the richest Rugby sevens tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

Racing

The Darwin Cup Carnival culminating on the first Monday of August is a very popular horse race event for Darwin Turf Club and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. The first Darwin Cup winner at Fannie Bay was Satan's Son in 1956. Between events at the Darwin races 1915

Alice Springs Turf Club has the Pioneer Park Racecourse in

Connellan, Northern Territory Connellan is a suburb of the town of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Connellan is situated in the Arrernte traditional Aboriginal country. The suburb is named after the aviator Edward Connellan Edward John ("EJ" or " ...

. The

Camel Cup The Camel Cup is an annual camel racing festival held in Australia. The race usually takes place at Blatherskite Park in the town Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The event is organised by the Apex Club of Central Australia. History The first ...

is an annual

camel racing Camel racing is a popular sport in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia and Australia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up to ...

festival held in

. There is one

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

track in Darwin at Winnellie Park on Hook Road. It is the only track in the Northern Territory.

Sailing

Darwin Sailing Club has hosting regattas and sailing events, from NT Championships and frequent Australian Championship regattas to World Sailing Grade 3 Match Racing regattas and World Championship regattas. Gove Boat Club established in 1971 and is one of the oldest.

Shooting sports

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA) is a federated non-government organisation established in 1948 as a representative body to promote shooting sports and protect the legal rights and interests of firearm owners in Australia ...

has

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

s and facilities in Micket Creek (at

Berrimah Berrimah may refer to: * Berrimah, Northern Territory Berrimah is an Eastern Suburb in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. History Berrimah is on unceded lands of the Larrakia peoples. Before World War II, the Milit ...

(at Ilparpa) and

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termin ...

Soccer

Football Northern Territory Football Northern Territory (FNT) is the state governing body for soccer in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the national governing body. The Territory is also separated into three zones – Northern, ...

is the governing body for football (soccer) in the

. The Territory is also separated into three (Northern, Central and Southern) zones which have their own zone councils which administer leagues locally running their own league and cup competitions. The

Darwin Football Stadium Darwin Football Stadium is a sports stadium in Darwin, Australia in the Marrara Sporting Complex, and is located adjacent to the TIO Stadium. Work began on the stadium in 2007 and was officially opened on 28 July 2007 when it played host to a ...

was officially opened on 28 July 2007 when it played host to an

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Pre-Season Cup game between

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

and

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

. On 2 July 2009,

teams,

Adelaide United FC Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to f ...

and

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from t ...

played a pre-season friendly at the stadium. Reigning Football Federation Association Champions

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

defeated Darwin Olympic 6–1 in a cup match at

Marrara Oval Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

in August 2015. Michael Tsounias scored the lone goal for the home side. Alice Springs's most successful soccer club is Alice Springs Celtic FC The Refugee World Cup was held in Darwin.

Swimming

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

is administered by

Swimming Northern Territory Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

. Darwin hosted the

1992 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships The 1992 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships were held in Darwin, Northern Territory from 25 to 27 September at Casuarina Pool. They were organised by Australian Swimming. Medal winners Men's events Legend: Women's events Le ...

at Casuarina Pool.

Tennis

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 ...

is administered by

Tennis Northern Territory 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 cove ...

Events

The Northern Territory also hosts state and international sporting events. These have included: * The Barefoot Crab-Tying World Championships * The annual

in Alice Springs. * Since 1991 Darwin has hosted the

Arafura Games The Arafura Games is a unique, inclusive multi-sport event where athletes with a disability compete in the same program as able-bodied athletes. Competitors from around the world compete in the week-long games held every 2 years in Darwin, Northe ...

every two years until its cancellation in 2012. * The Australian

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

rugby union side trained in the Northern Territory in September 2002 in preparation for the World Cup in 2003. Wallabies coach Eddie Jones credited the Territory training camp as playing a crucial role in their upset semi-final victory over the New Zealand

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

. The Wallabies camped at Mount Borradile in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

and encountered a 4-metre saltwater crocodile. Jones stated; "the Darwin camp for us was very positive, as the guys physically and mentally benefited from training in the heat, and it was a very important experience for us". * In July 2003, Darwin hosted its first international

test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

match between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and then

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 2004. Two portable pitches were installed at Marrara in June 2003 for the Bangladesh test. The installation was supervised by

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground ...

curator Tony Ware. *

defeated the NT Chief Minister's XI in Darwin in July 2003. Bangladesh won by two wickets after being given a second innings target of 187. *

defeated

by an innings and 132 runs in Darwin in July 2003. Bangladesh's best batsman

Habibul Bashar Qazi Habibul Bashar ( bn, কাজী হাবিবুল বাশার; born 17 August 1972) is a retired Bangladeshi cricketer and the former captain of the Bangladesh cricket team. Under the managership of Dav Whatmore, he has been fo ...

scored 54 off 82 balls before being bowled by

Stuart MacGill Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill (born 25 February 1971) is an Australian former cricketer who played 44 Test matches and three One Day Internationals for the Australian national cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler, who has been cred ...

. Both Australian and Bangladesh players were presented with commemorative medallions by NT Minister for Sport

John Ah Kit John Leonard Ah Kit (22 July 1950 – 12 July 2020) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Arnhem in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2005. Early life Ah Kit was born on 22 July 1950 in Alice Springs, ...

and Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman. The medallions were to mark the test cricket match between the two countries. *

defeated the Northern Territory Chief Minister's XI in a four-day cricket match in June 2004. Sri Lanka won by five wickets, chasing 187 to win.

Tillakaratne Dilshan Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan ( si, තිලකරත්න මුදියන්සේලාගේ ඩිල්ෂාන්; born 14 October 1976), commonly known as TM Dilshan () is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of th ...

was not out of 66. *

defeated Sri Lanka at

in July 2004 by 149 runs. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 97 and 162. Australian bowler

Michael Kasprowicz Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...

finished with figures of 7-39. Sri Lanka criticized the condition of the Mararra Oval wicket in the wake of the defeat. Acting Australian captain

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...

stated that the wicket was "...not quite up to Test standard". * Darwin hosted an AFL match between Collingwood and the Aboriginal All-Stars on 12 February 1994. The All-Stars beat Collingwood 13-10 (88) to 10-8 (68). Prime Minister

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

tossed the coin at the beginning of the match. * The

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

defeated

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

18.12 (120) to 14.8 (92) in an Ansett Cup match on 13 February 1999. * The

defeated

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

17.14 (116) to 10.10 (70) at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

on 18 June 2005. The match was played in front of 13,047 fans. *

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

defeated the

14.21 (105) to 13.13 (91) on 7 August 2006 at

. The match was played on front of a record crowd of 14,100 people. * The

defeated The Fremantle Dockers by 26 points at

TIO stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

on 16 June 2007. * The

defeated

20.15 (135) to 11.15 (81) at

on 28 June 2008 in front of 11,400 fans. The victory gave the Bulldogs a temporary hold on the top of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

ladder. *The

Bangladesh national cricket team The Bangladesh men's national cricket team ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ক্রিকেট দল), popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the Inte ...

played three

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) matches in Australia in 2008 at

, Darwin. The Australians, captained by Michael Clarke, comfortably swept the series 3–0. * The

defeated

21.11 (137) to 7.2. (44) at

on 13 June 2009. *

defeated

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in an AFL match at

on 28 May 2011. The final score was 13.11 (89) to 10.14. (74). * The

defeated The Gold Coast Suns in an AFL match at

on 18 May 2012. The Bulldogs overcame a three-point deficit at halftime to win 9.18 (72) to 4.10 (34). * The

defeated

on 1 June 2013. The final score was 10.7 (67) to 8.10 (58). * The

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

were defeated by The West Tigers 20–4 in a NRL match at

ANZAC Oval The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comman ...

on 16 February 2015. The West Tigers were presented with the RFDS Challenge trophy after their victory by

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Adam Giles Adam Graham Giles (born 10 April 1973) is an Australian former politician and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016) as well as the former leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) in the unicameral Northern Territory Par ...

, minister

Gary Higgins Gary John Higgins (born 26 May 1954) is an Australian former politician. A member of the Country Liberal Party, he was elected to represent the seat of Daly in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2012 election. After the 2016 e ...

and

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...

chief executive Mick Toomey. The Parramatta Eels were sponsored by the Northern Territory Government. * The

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

defeated The

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

in an AFL match at

on 4 July 2015. The final score was 16.18 (114) to 9.6 (60). * The

defeated the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

10–4 in an NRL match at

on 8 August 2015. * Darwin hosted the quarter-final tie of the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

starting 17 July 2015. A grass stadium court and two practice courts were built for the event.

Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...

led Australia to victory over

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

with a straights set win over

Aleksandr Nedovyesov Aleksandr Nedovyesov (born 15 February 1987), formerly known as Oleksandr Nedovyesov, is a Ukrainian-Kazakhstani professional tennis player. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking of world No. 72 on 21 April 2014 and his highest doubles ranki ...

in the final deciding match. In doing so Australia came back from a 2–0 deficit. It was reported that 12,332 people attended the three-day quarter final tie. *

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...

brought their

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

premiership cups to Darwin on 16 November 2015. The cups were on display at the Waratah Sports Club. * Palmerston Magpies were affected by the

supplements scandal when

Alwyn Davey Alwyn Davey, Jr. (born 15 May 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) between 2007 and 2013. Early life Davey is of Indigenous Australian descent with t ...

and

Leroy Jetta Leroy Jetta (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian rules footballer who last played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. An outstanding junior, Jetta was twice named in the Under 18 All-Australian Team as well as bein ...

were suspended in January 2016. Jetta played in the side's mid-field while Davey was the team's coach. Davey and Jetta were two of 34 current and former Essendon players banned for the 2016 season. The Northern Territory was the only place in Australia where Australian Rules Football was played at the time of the announcement of the suspensions. * Peter "The Chief" Graham defeated Julius "Towering Inferno" Long for the World Boxing Foundation heavyweight championship at the

Darwin Convention Centre The Darwin Convention Centre is a convention centre located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Construction started on the convention centre in early 2006 and completed in June 2008, with the centre opening in July of that year. The conven ...

on 27 February 2016. Graham won on points after a cut above his right eye caused the fight to be stopped. It was judged that the cut was a result of an accidental head clash. Graham was ahead on all three judges' scorecards after five rounds of the 12 round contest.

References

{{Australian sport