Sport in

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 count ...

largely reflects the nation's

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

heritage, with some of the most popular sports being

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

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 ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

and

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 ...

, which are primarily played in

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union (considered the

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while oth ...

), rugby league, cricket,

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

sailing, world championship and

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

events, and

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

. Other popular sports include

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

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 ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

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 ...

and a variety of

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

, particularly

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

, and surf 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 ...

such as

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 (IO ...

and

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 Paralympi ...

are also popular, as are

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

and outdoor bowls.

Administration

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 o ...

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 Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) until February 2012. Sport New Zealand is accountable to the government through the Minister of Sport and Recreation. A subsidiary of Sport New Zealand,

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 org ...

(HPSNZ), is responsible for managing the country's high performance programme.

Participation

The New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council (NZSSSC) runs an annual census of sport participation amongst secondary school students (age 13 to 18). The data only includes students that had a "meaningful engagement" in the sport, e.g. representing their school in a team.

Major sports

Rugby union

2011 Rugby World Cup Australia vs New Zealand(7296134444)

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 the national sport in New Zealand. It has the largest spectator following of all sports in New Zealand. New Zealand's national rugby team, the

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 ...

, has the best winning record of any national team in the world, and is currently ranked third in the world. The All Blacks won the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in 1987, and again on home soil in 2011. They won their third World Cup in 2015 in England, becoming the first holders to successfully defend their title. The All Blacks traditionally perform a ''

haka Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompani ...

'', a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

challenge, at the start of international matches. This practice has been mimicked by several other national teams, notably the national rugby league team, and the basketball teams. Outside

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

matches, there are three widely followed competitions: *

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

(previously Super 6,

Super 10 The Super 10 was a rugby union football tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The competition ran for three years from 1993 to 1995 and was the predecessor of Super 12 and Super 14, ...

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, and Super 14), the elite club competition in the southern hemisphere. It has involved teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa since its formation, and in 2016 added teams in Argentina and Japan (with the Japan team also playing select "home" matches in Singapore). It is played from summer right through until winter (February to August), with a 3-week break in June for international tests to take place. * ''

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

'' (previously Air New Zealand Cup and ITM Cup), created in 2006 as a successor to the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

(NPC), involves semi-professional provincial New Zealand teams and is played mainly during the Winter and spring months, from August to November. * ''

Heartland Championship The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the countr ...

'', an amateur competition of lower-level New Zealand provincial teams, also created in 2006 as a successor to the NPC and is also played in the winter and spring months, from August to November. In the sevens variant of rugby union, the men's national team has been the main force in the sport since the creation of the

World Rugby Sevens Series The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...

in 1999, winning the World Series 12 times in its 16 seasons. They have also won the

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...

thrice, in 2001, 2013 and the most recent edition in 2018, and won the first four gold medals awarded in sevens at the Commonwealth Games (1998–2010). The country also hosts one round of the World Series each season at

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. In women's sevens, the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

is about as dominant as the men; they won the first three editions of the

World Rugby Women's Sevens Series The World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby sevens tournaments for women's national teams run by World Rugby. The inaugural series was held in 2012–13 as the successor to the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup held ...

(2013–2015) and are the current holders of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, winning the women's tournaments in 2013 and 2018. New Zealand will host the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup it will be the first ever Women's Rugby World Cup to be held in the southern hemisphere.

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 the national summer sport and the second most popular sport in New Zealand, which is one of twelve countries competing in

Test match 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 f ...

. The provincial competition is not nearly as widely followed as rugby, but international matches are watched with interest by a large portion of the population. This parallels the global situation in cricket, whereby the international game is more widely followed than the domestic game in all major cricketing countries. Historically, the national cricket team has not been as successful as the national rugby team. New Zealand played its first Test in 1930, but had to wait until 1956 until its first Test victory. The national team began to have more success in the 1970s and 1980s. New Zealand's most famous cricketer, the fast bowler

Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the 1980 ...

who was the first bowler to take 400 wickets in test cricket, played in this era. New Zealand has traditionally been stronger in

one-day cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...

, having reached the final of both the

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 ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, beating South Africa and India in the semi-finals but ultimately losing to Australia and England in the final. (They tied the match in

but lost on boundary countback). The team also won the 2000 edition of the

ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The 2013 tournament was intended to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy, but it was extended to 2017 due to i ...

and reached the 2009 final, and won the bronze medal at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

Martin Crowe Martin David Crowe (22 September 1962 – 3 March 2016) was a New Zealand cricketer, Test and ODI captain as well as a commentator. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1982 and 1995, and is regarded as one of the count ...

and

Kane Williamson Kane Stuart Williamson (born 8 August 1990) is a New Zealand cricketer who is currently the Captain (cricket), captain of the New Zealand national cricket team, New Zealand national team in limited overs cricket. He is considered as New Zealand' ...

won the prestigious 'Player of the Tournament' award in the

1992 Cricket World Cup The 1992 Cricket World Cup (officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was the fifth staging of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in Australia and New Zealand from 22 February to 25 Mar ...

and

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...

respectively.

Geoff Allott Geoffrey Ian Allott (born 24 December 1971) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 31 One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 1996 to 2000. He retired from all cricket in 2001, following series of injuries International career ...

was the highest wicket taker in the

1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...

along with

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...

. Fast bowler

Kyle Mills Kyle David Mills (born 15 March 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former international cricketer who is the former bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was also a former captain of the New Zealand cricket team in limited-overs ...

is the highest wicket taker in

matches.

Martin Guptill Martin James Guptill (born 30 September 1986) is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays as an opening batsman in limited overs formats of the game. Guptill is the first cricketer from New Zealand and the fifth overall to have scored a d ...

was the highest run-scorer in the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

and even broke the record of the highest score in World Cup matches during his knock of 237 against

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in the quarter-final.

Trent Boult Trent Alexander Boult (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand international cricketer who has played for New Zealand national cricket team, New Zealand cricket team. He currently plays in various T20 leagues around the globe as a Fast bowling, fas ...

was the highest wicket taker in the

along with

Mitchell Starc Mitchell Aaron Starc (born 30 January 1990) is an Australian international cricketer who plays for the Australian national team and New South Wales in domestic cricket. A left-arm fast bowler and a lower order left-handed batsman, Starc repre ...

Kyle Jamieson Kyle Jamieson (born 30 December 1994) is a New Zealand cricketer. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in February 2020 against India. In May 2020, New Zealand Cricket awarded him with a central contract, ahead of the ...

was the Player of the Match in the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship final. In

Twenty20 cricket Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inning ...

, New Zealand has twice reached the semi-finals of the

ICC T20 World Cup The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...

, doing so in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, and has reached the final in

2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament, with the matches played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The West Indies were the defending champions, but were eventua ...

by defeating England in the semi-final. Many New Zealand cricketers regularly feature in T20 leagues around the globe every year. In June 2021, they beat India in the

ICC World Test Championship The ICC World Test Championship is a league competition for Test cricket run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which started on 1 August 2019. It is intended to be the premier championship for Test cricket. It is in line with the ...

Final in Southampton to become the inaugural World Test champions. They were hence ranked the number one Test team in the world. New Zealand has won two multinational ICC tournaments- 2000 edition(now referred to as

) under

Stephen Fleming Stephen Paul Fleming (born 1 April 1973) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team, who is the current head coach of Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. He is considered one of the g ...

and

under

. New Zealand's Women's Team, the

White Ferns The New Zealand women's national cricket team, nicknamed the White Ferns, represents New Zealand in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of international women's cricket ...

have reached the final of their World Cup four times, winning the 2000 edition of the tournament. There is also a

London New Zealand Cricket Club The London New Zealand Cricket Club is a cricket club in London, England, founded in December 1951 at New Zealand's High Commission to the United Kingdom and plays teams in the United Kingdom and Europe. Various players of the New Zealand nat ...

based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, for

New Zealanders New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Aotearoa), colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citiz ...

living in or based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Basketball

The Auckland-based

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

are the only New Zealand-based team in the National Basketball League of Australia. Four players from New Zealand have gone on to play in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

: Steven Adams, Aron Baynes,

Sean Marks Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the firs ...

, and

Kirk Penney Kirk Samuel Penney (born 23 November 1980) is a New Zealand professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers between 1999 and 2003, where he was twice named first-team all-conference and an al ...

. On the international stage, the Tall Blacks (New Zealand's national team) came in 4th place at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

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 the most popular

women's sport The participation of women and girls in sports, physical fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, and stage of econ ...

, both in terms of participation and public interest in New Zealand. As in many netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport, with men's netball largely ancillary to women's competition. The sport maintains a high profile in New Zealand, due in large part to its national team, the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

, which with

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 ...

, has remained at the forefront of world netball for several decades. In 2008, netball in New Zealand became a semi-professional sport with the introduction of the trans-Tasman

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. The sport is administered by

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

, which registered 125,500 players in 2006.

Rugby league

Unlike Australia, where

is the dominant rugby code, rugby union is the more popular code in New Zealand. The New Zealand domestic league is semi-professional and enjoyed by many great sports fan. However, the Australian

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 ...

(NRL), in which

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

play, is hugely popular overtaking rugby. . The New Zealand national side has competed in the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

since 1954. They were the previous World Champions, winning the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

for the first time on 22 November 2008 at

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The team also reached the

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 ...

Rugby League World Cup (hosted by England and Wales) final on Saturday 30 October 2013. They lost to Australia in the final, 34–2. The team's most recent title came in the

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 ...

Rugby League Four Nations tournament by beating Australia, which brings their

Rugby League Four Nations The Rugby League Four Nations (known as the Ladbrokes Four Nations in 2016, for sponsorship purposes) was a biennial rugby league football tournament run in partnership between the Australian Rugby League Commission, Rugby Football League and N ...

championships total to two.

Association football

Football has always been a significant sport in New Zealand, and was introduced by the first English settlers. It is considered the regional sport of

Greater Wellington Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

, which in turn is the only region in New Zealand not to have

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

as the most popular sport. This is exemplified by

having New Zealand's only major professional side, the

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

, which plays in the Australian

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 ...

. Football's greater regional popularity has been due to extensive support among the city's half a million people, especially since inner city clubs were formed immigration from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

in the postwar period. These clubs were often ethnically based, including

Wellington Olympic AFC Wellington Olympic AFC is a New Zealand amateur football club based in Berhampore, Wellington. The club's premier team competes in the Central League through which they have qualified for the New Zealand National League. Club history The club w ...

(

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Wellington United Wellington United AFC is an association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand, that competes in the Central League. History Wellington Diamond United Wellington Diamond United was the result of the merger of Diamond and Zealandia/Well ...

(

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and Hungarian), and

Island Bay United Island Bay United is a football club in the southern suburb of Island Bay in Wellington, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1931 as Wellington Technical College Old Boys. In 1966 the name was changed to Island Bay United. Island Bay United ...

(

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

). The

Miramar Rangers Miramar Rangers AFC is an amateur New Zealand association football club in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. The club is one of the most successful in New Zealand having won the Chatham Cup four times and the National League title twice. Over t ...

have often been considered Wellington's local powerhouse. Several Wellington Phoenix players have gone on to have major success overseas, such as

Sarpreet Singh Sarpreet Singh (born 20 February 1999) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Jahn Regensburg, on loan from Bayern Munich II. He also represents the New Zealand national team. Born in New Zealan ...

Roy Krishna Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team. Club career Early career Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ...

Marco Rojas Marco Rodrigo Rojas (born 5 November 1991) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chilean side Colo-Colo and the New Zealand national team. During his time in the A-League with Melbourne Victory, Rojas was dubb ...

and

Liberato Cacace Liberato Gianpaolo Cacace ( ; born 27 September 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Empoli and the New Zealand national team. Club career Island Bay As a youth, Cacace played for Island Bay Unite ...

Wynton Rufer Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...

, considered the country's greatest ever footballer, was born and raised in Wellington. Nationally, the sport is administered by

New Zealand Football New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...

, which changed its name from "New Zealand Soccer" in 2007 to move in line with common usage around the world. Use of term "football" to refer to the sport is increasingly favoured by news sources and publications. The New Zealand national team, nicknamed the "All Whites", has qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

twice. At their first appearance in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, the All Whites were knocked out in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

with three losses. Their next appearance in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

saw another first-round exit, but with considerably more success on the field; the All Whites earned three draws, including a 1–1 result against defending champion

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, ending up as the only team that was not beaten in this edition. The country's only professional football team,

Wellington Phoenix FC Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

, plays in the

which is otherwise an all-Australian competition. The two major domestic competitions are the

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

, which is played between eight regional teams, and the

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...

which is a knock-out competition played between clubs. Neither the Phoenix nor the NZFC franchises play in the Chatham Cup.

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League (New Zealand), Northern League. Auckland City have established the ...

won the semi-professional

OFC Champions League The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier men's club soccer competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been ...

competition in a record eight times;

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

, and earned the bronze medal at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup held in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Nowadays, the ''Navy Blues'' are looking into the possibility of joining the

as the second New Zealand team after the Wellington Phoenix. Football is especially popular amongst young people. In 2017, football was played by 25,037 secondary school students, making it the fourth-most popular sport behind netball, rugby union and basketball. New Zealand hosted the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

, the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The tournament is held in even-numbered ye ...

in 2008 and the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

and will co-host the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

alongside

Other Sports

Thoroughbred horse running

The various Cup days in the major cities attract large crowds, the biggest ones being

Auckland Cup The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race was ...

week and the

Wellington Cup The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in late January at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham by the Wellington Racing Club. History Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been raced over various ...

festival. Horses often travel to Australia and vice versa for racing and breeding purposes. The world-famous

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial ...

and many

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

winners were bred in New Zealand.

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

is the most prominent type of horse racing in New Zealand, although there is still a strong following of

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

(or "trotters" and "pacers" as they are sometimes known).

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

is New Zealand's second-most successful Olympic sport with 24 medals, of which 10 have been gold. Arthur Porritt was New Zealand's first Olympic athletic medallist, winning bronze in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. The race was later immortallised in the 1981 film ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...

'', although at Porritt's request his character in the film was renamed "Tom Watson". The nation in particular has been strong in middle-distance events. New Zealand men have won Olympic gold in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

three times:

Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushingto ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Peter Snell Sir Peter George Snell (17 December 1938 – 12 December 2019) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. Snell ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and John Walker in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. Snell also won back-to-back gold medals in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and 1964. The national governing body is

Athletics New Zealand Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was founded in 1887 as the ...

, which formed in 1887 as the New Zealand Amateur Athletics Association and adopted its current name in 1989.

Australian rules football

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

is a growing sport in New Zealand with programs established under the reorganised governing body of

AFL New Zealand AFL New Zealand is the governing body of Australian rules football in New Zealand. AFL New Zealand currently has 30,000 Registered Players. National team Australian rules football is a sport played in New Zealand rapidly gaining popularity. A ...

. Australian rules football was previously much more popular in New Zealand, with a team competing at the

1908 Melbourne Carnival The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival b ...

. Participation dropped after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The game was re-established in New Zealand in the 1970s. Leagues currently exist in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

, and

. The

won the

Australian Football International Cup The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. New Zealanders who have played 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 ...

, the premier Australian rules football competition, include

Joe Sellwood Joseph Reuben Sellwood (24 January 1911 – 18 October 2007) was a New Zealand born Australian rules football player, playing 181 games (180 club, 1 representative) from 1930–1945. Family The son of Reuben and Jane Sellwood, Joseph Reuben ...

Wayne Schwass Wayne Schwass (born 27 November 1968) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He is notable as being the first New Zealand–born AFL player known to be of Māori people, Māori heritage. He holds ...

, Thomas O'Halloran,

Danny Dickfos Danny Dickfos (born 30 September 1970) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League. Early life Dickfos, of Maori descent, grew up in Brisbane Qu ...

Trent Croad Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). During his 222-game AFL career, he achie ...

and

Karmichael Hunt Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is a former multi-code international rugby league footballer who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Having played professional rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules ...

American football

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

is a small sport in New Zealand with programs established in

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

and

. The governing body is the

New Zealand American Football Federation New Zealand American Football Federation, abbreviated NZAFF, is the recognised national body for American Football in New Zealand. Member leagues Currently, there are three leagues in New Zealand. Each is affiliated to the governing body. *Americ ...

. The New Zealand national team is called the

New Zealand Steelblacks The New Zealand National American Football Team, nicknamed the Steelblacks, represent New Zealand in international American football ( gridiron) competitions. Steelblacks is the new nickname for the team following the transition of governance of ...

Baseball

The

Auckland Tuatara The Auckland Tuatara is a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Auckland, New Zealand. They are the only team from New Zealand to compete in the ABL, and one of two expansion teams that entered the league in the ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

are currently the only professional baseball team playing in New Zealand. The Tuatara began their inaugural season during the 2018–19 Australian Baseball League season, and originally played their home games at McLeod Park in

Te Atatū South Te Atatū South (also written as "Te Atatu South") is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand. Its location allows the suburb easy access to the city and Henderson town centre. Its elevation allows views back on to the city and Wait� ...

. For their second season, they moved their home games to

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

Albany, New Zealand Albany ( mi, Ōkahukura) is one of the northernmost suburbs of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It is located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour, northwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is in the Albany w ...

. The

New Zealand national baseball team The New Zealand national baseball team, also known as the Diamondblacks, is the representative team at the international level for New Zealand. The team is controlled by Baseball New Zealand, the country's governing body. The team competes in the ...

are known as The Diamondblacks.

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

is a growing sport in New Zealand. In 1996 brothers Glenn and Reid Hamilton represented New Zealand in the first ever beach volleyball event at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

at Atlanta, USA. In 2012 Kirk Pitman and Jason Lockhead reached 20th in the world rankings. Anna Harrison (née Scarlett) and Susan Blundell were the highest ranking female pairing reaching 33rd in the world rankings. In 2018 Beach Volleyball made its

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

debut. Tauranga brothers Sam and

Ben O'Dea Ben O'Dea (born 6 May 1992) is a New Zealand beach volleyball player. Ben and his brother Sam O'Dea represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where they won the bronze medal in the men's pair competition. They were the nation's f ...

claimed the bronze medal while Shaunna Polley and Kelsie Will gained 5th place. The national governing body is Volleyball New Zealand.

Equestrian

Equestrian sportsmen, sportswomen and horses make their mark in the world, with Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Twentieth Century", and many juniors at

Pony Club Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide. Origins Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...

level. Mark Todd won a gold medal in

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

at the 1984 Olympic Games, and again at the 1988 Games. He won Bronze at the 2012 London games. A Bronze Medal was also won in the Teams Event at the 1988 Games. Further medals were won at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games.

Boxing

Amateur boxing Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

was earlier a popular sport in New Zealand, but during the 1950s there was a move to stop schools promoting boxing championships and the sport is now only of minority interest. Despite this there has been success at Commonwealth and Olympic Games level. Professional boxing in New Zealand has produced Joseph Parker,

Geovana Peres Geovana De Cassia Peres (born 8 February 1977) is a Brazilian-born New Zealand professional Muay Thai fighter and former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She became the first female light-heavyweight world champion, having held ...

Daniella Smith Daniella Smith (born 30 July 1972, in Kaikohe, New Zealand) is a New Zealand former professional boxer. She became the first female fighter to win an IBF title, having held the welterweight version from 2010 to 2011 and is the second New Zeala ...

Maselino Masoe Maselino Francis Masoe Fao (born June 6, 1966 in Apia, Western Samoa) is a retired Samoan boxer who represented American Samoa at three Olympics starting with the 1988 Summer Olympics. As a professional, Masoe made history becoming the first Sa ...

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...

and

Torpedo Billy Murphy Thomas William Murphy (3 November 1863 – 26 July 1939) was a New Zealand boxer. An early World Featherweight Champion, he was the first world champion of any weightclass to come from New Zealand. In his early career, he took the New Zealand ...

, Cherneka Johnson all World Champions.

Herbert Slade Herbert Augustus Slade (10 January 1851 – 6 April 1913), also known as "Maori" Slade, the Big Maori, the Maori Mauler or the Australian Giant, was a New Zealand boxer of Irish and Māori descent, who fought John L. Sullivan for the heavyweig ...

David Tua Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was kno ...

Kali Meehan Kalivati Gerald Meehan (born 9 March 1970) is an Australian professional boxer of Fijian descent. He turned pro after a career in rugby league. His son Willis Meehan plays rugby league and boxes. Amateur career Before becoming professional, ...

Lani Daniels Te Arani Moana Daniels (born 15 July 1988, Whangarei, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Maori professional female boxer. She is a three time New Zealand National Professional Boxing champion, holding the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association ...

Michelle Preston Michelle Preston (born 11 November 1978 in Manchester, United Kingdom) is a Muay Thai Fighter and professional boxer. Preston resides in Auckland, New Zealand, where she has fought most of her professional fights. Preston has held many titles in ...

and

Tom Heeney Thomas Heeney (18 May 1898 – 15 June 1984) was a professional heavyweight boxing, boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July ...

were all contenders for a World Championship.

Canoeing

New Zealand enjoyed success in canoeing and kayaking at the Summer Olympics in the 1980s with sprint kayakers such as Ian Ferguson and

Paul MacDonald Christopher Paul MacDonald (born 8 January 1960) is a New Zealand sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. He is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most successful international athletes and holds innumerable ...

, winning four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles games, and gold, silver and bronze at the 1988 Seoul games. The sport had a lower profile in the 1990s and 2000s, with the single Olympic medal success in the time being

Ben Fouhy Ben Fouhy (born 4 March 1979, in Taumarunui) is a New Zealand flatwater and marathon canoeist who has been competing since the early 2000s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the silver in the K-1 1000 m event at Athens in 2004 ...

's silver medal at the 2004 Athens games. In the early 2010s, canoeing and kayaking returned to international success with sprint kayaker

Lisa Carrington Dame Lisa Marie Carrington (born 23 June 1989) is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of five gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K1 200metres a ...

winning multiple gold medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games.

Cycling

New Zealand has produced a number of notable cyclists, across a variety of disciplines including

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

Downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

and BMX. New Zealand won two cycling medals at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

–

Hayden Roulston Hayden Roulston (born 10 January 1981, in Ashburton) is a former New Zealand professional racing cyclist. He won the silver medal in the men's 4000 m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000 m team pursuit at the 2008 Summer O ...

took silver in the Men's 4000 m Individual Pursuit, while the men's team pursuit team took bronze. At the

2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling in 2017. They took place in Hong Kong in the Hong Kong Velodrome from 12 to 16 April 2017. The last time the championships took place in Asia was at the ...

, the New Zealand team took a total of five medals, equalling the country's record medal tally previously achieved at the

and 2014 Worlds, with

Ethan Mitchell Ethan Mitchell (born 19 February 1991) is a former New Zealand track cyclist. He is a multiple-time World Champion, an Olympic medallist, and Commonwealth Champion. Career Mitchell has had a successful career in track sprinting after special ...

, Sam Webster and

Eddie Dawkins Edward James Dawkins (born 11 July 1989) is a New Zealand track cyclist. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games he won the silver medal in the men's sprint and the bronze medal in the men's 1 kilometre time trial. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won ...

winning the gold in the men's team sprint for the third time in four years and Mitchell additionally becoming the first New Zealander to medal in the individual sprint. In road racing, George Bennett became the first New Zealander to take an overall win in a

UCI WorldTour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annu ...

event when he won the

2017 Tour of California The 2017 Amgen Tour of California was a road cycling stage race that took place between 14 and 20 May. It was the 12th edition of the Tour of California and the 22nd event of the 2017 UCI World Tour; the first time that the race has been staged ...

. New Zealand is famous in Downhill Racing too; riders as Sam Blenkinsop, Brook McDonald, Nathan Rankin and Wyn Masters are some of the fastest downhill racers in the world. The sport is governed in New Zealand by

Cycling New Zealand , abbrev = CNZ , logo = Cycling-NZ-Logo-Landscape.jpg , logosize = 200px , sport = Cycling , category = , image = , caption = , jurisdiction = New Zealand , membership = , founded = , aff = UCI , affdate = , region = OCC , regionyear = ...

Extreme sports

Extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

are increasingly popular in New Zealand, both with residents and tourists.

Bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

and

zorbing Zorbing (also known as globe-riding, sphereing, orbing) is the recreation or sport of rolling downhill inside an orb, typically made of transparent plastic. Zorbing is generally performed on a gentle slope but can also be done on a level surfa ...

were both invented in New Zealand.

Futsal

The

New Zealand national futsal team The New Zealand national futsal team, nicknamed the Futsal Whites, is the representative side for New Zealand in international futsal and is governed by New Zealand Football (NZF). The nickname is a reference to the New Zealand national football ...

, nicknamed the Futsal Whites, is the representative side for New Zealand in international

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

and is governed by

(NZF). New Zealand made the bid for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup but lost out to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Gliding

New Zealand hosted the 1995

World Gliding Championships The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern ...

Omarama Omarama is a small town (population 291 at 2018 census) at the junction of State Highways 8 and 83, near the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, in the South Island of New Zealand. Omarama is in the Waitaki District, in the southern Canterbu ...

in North Otago, near the centre of the South Island. The Southern Alps are known for the excellent wave soaring conditions. In 2002 and 2003,

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

tried to beat the world gliding altitude record there (see:

Gliding New Zealand Gliding New Zealand (GNZ) controls the sport of gliding in New Zealand for those clubs and other organisations that are affiliated to it. It sets standards and manages the training of pilots, instructors, engineers and tow pilots. It also organ ...

and

external links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. Hyperlinks are considered either "external" or "internal" depending on their target or destination ...

below).

Golf

New Zealand's

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the s ...

won the 2005 U.S. Open Golf Championship. The New Zealand amateur team of Campbell, Phil Tataurangi, Steven Scahill and Grant Moorehead won the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

(World Amateur team event) in 1992 in Vancouver. Sir Bob Charles has won the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and a number of other titles.

Lydia Ko Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer and the No. 1-ranked woman professional golfer. She first achieved the top ranking on 2 February 2015 at of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked ...

, born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

but raised from infancy in New Zealand, was #1 in the women's

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs p ...

, and won two events on the US-based

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

before turning professional in 2013. She has since won seven more LPGA events, and for a time was #1 in the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by eight women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (L ...

for professionals. The first of Ko's two stints as #1 in the professional rankings began in February 2015, before her 18th birthday, making her the youngest player of either sex to reach the top of the world rankings. Later in 2015, Ko won her first major championship, the

Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...

, becoming the youngest player of either sex to win a professional major championship, and became the youngest-ever LPGA Player of the Year. Tournaments and competitions include

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

New Zealand Women's Open The New Zealand Women's Open was a women's professional golf tournament on the ALPG Tour. It was founded in 2009 and became a co-sanctioned event on the Ladies European Tour the following year. The 2017 edition was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour a ...

New Zealand Amateur The New Zealand Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of New Zealand. It has been played annually since 1893, except for the war years, and is organised by New Zealand Golf. Currently the event is played over five days and consists ...

and

New Zealand PGA Championship The New Zealand PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the SEC NZ PGA Championship. History The tournament been played since 1909, with some gap periods. It was orig ...

Hockey

In New Zealand, like most other Commonwealth nations, "

" without an identifier refers to

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 ...

, as opposed to

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

and other kinds of hockey. The

New Zealand Hockey Federation New Zealand Hockey Federation Incorporated, also known as Hockey New Zealand, is the governing body overseeing, promoting and managing the sport of field hockey in New Zealand. It is a full member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and th ...

(also known as Hockey New Zealand) administers the sport in New Zealand, and had 48,174 registered players in the 2013 winter, of which 52.8 percent were female and 47.2 percent were male. The New Zealand men's national team and women's national team are both known as the "Black Sticks". The best result attained thus far by the men was a gold medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

in Montreal. The best placing by the women thus far has been a 4th placing at both the 1986 Women's Hockey World Cup and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In the Commonwealth Games they have won a silver medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

, bronze at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, and gold at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. , the men's team is ranked 8th and the women's team is ranked 4th in the world by the

International Hockey Federation The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (English: International Hockey Federation), commonly known by the acronym and initialism, acronym FIH, is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey. Its headquarters are i ...

(FIH).

Ice hockey

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

has been played in New Zealand since 1937, but is a fairly small sport and has currently around 1600 active players. The national governing body is

New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation (NZIHF) is the governing body of ice hockey in New Zealand. Member Associations * Auckland Ice Hockey Association * Canterbury Ice Hockey Association * Southern Ice Hockey League :*Mackenzie Ice Hockey Associ ...

which is made up of 3 Regional Associations. Since 2005 the NZIHF organizes the

New Zealand Ice Hockey League The NZIHL is New Zealand’s national ice hockey league. It is an amateur league that was formed in 2005 to develop the sport in New Zealand and to give the top players regular competition against each other to improve the skill level of the game ...

that currently consists of five teams, two teams from

, one from

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, one from Queenstown and one from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. New Zealand's men's national ice hockey team is called the Ice Blacks and the

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

the Ice Ferns.

Indoor Bowls

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 E ...

was introduced in 1908 and today is made up of 37 centres and 767 clubs covering all of New Zealand. Membership peaked in 1963 with 73,100 affiliated members, today it has an estimated 20,000 members currently affiliated. Many members are attracted to the sport due to the competitiveness and skill required to successfully compete with being named as an interprovincial representative being a goal of most players.

Kabaddi

New Zealand has a small but growing

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

following. The men's national team took part in the 2012 Kabaddi World Cup, and the women's team surprisingly reached the final on debut in the Women's 2013 World Cup, a feat which they repeated in

. The sport is run in New Zealand by the New Zealand Kabaddi Sports Federation.

Kickboxing

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

is a growing sport in New Zealand. New Zealand have had multiple world champions including

Ray Sefo Ray Sefo (born 15 February 1971) is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner Up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eig ...

Mark Hunt Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winn ...

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

and many more.

King in the Ring King in the Ring is a kickboxing tournament that is held in New Zealand. Tournament format King in the Ring is a last man standing eight man tournament that is complete in one night. Seven boxing bouts will be contested in one night, each bout ...

in a regular eight-man kickboxing tournament that happens between three and five times a year in New Zealand.

Kī-o-rahi

Kī-o-rahi is a traditional Māori ball sport played in New Zealand with a small round ball called a ''ki''. It is a fast-paced sport incorporating skills similar to

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

and

touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...

.Shane Gilchrist
'Game on, the "ki" is back in court'
, ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'', 5 October 2007 In 2005 Ki-o-rahi was chosen to represent New Zealand by global fast-food chain McDonald's as part of its 'Passport to Play' programme to teach physical play activities in 31,000 American schools. The New Zealand Ki-o-rahi representative organisation, Ki-o-Rahi Akotanga Iho, formed with men's and women's national teams, completed a 14 match tour of Europe in September and October 2010.

Motorsport

Despite New Zealand not having a major car industry since the 1990s, it is very successful at

. There are many levels of competitive motors sport series in New Zealand, which are most simply broken down into watersports (hydro-planing, jetski racing and thundercat racing), automobile racing (Club and national level circuit racing and rallying, with some international events, as well as speedway) and finally motorcycle racing (street, circuit and dirt/motocross). To date, New Zealand has seen one

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Champion,

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...

, in 1967. Five other New Zealanders have raced at

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

level:

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...

(four wins),

Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon (20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand ...

Howden Ganley James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of ...

Mike Thackwell Michael Thackwell (born 30 March 1961) is a former racing driver from New Zealand, who participated in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula 1. The fifth youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in f ...

and

Brendon Hartley Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his t ...

. Bruce McLaren founded the

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

racing team, which was named after him. In addition to their Formula One careers, Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren won the

1966 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1966. It was also the seventh round of the 1966 World Sportscar Championship season. This was the first overall win at Le Mans for the Ford GT4 ...

sports-car race.

Earl Bamber Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class. He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup an ...

won the

2015 24 Hours of Le Mans The 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 83e 24 Heures du Mans) was an 24-hour automobile endurance event for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 10 to 14 June 2015 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close ...

, and won again in 2017 with fellow kiwi

. Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme won four

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

sports-car racing championships, from 1967 to 1970.

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

championship in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020. Dixon has won 53 races to date in his IndyCar career, the second most after American driver

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

. New Zealand has many drivers currently competing on a high level on the world stage:

Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won ...

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989) is a New Zealand racing driver in the Supercars Championship racing in the Number 97 Holden ZB Commodore car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. With three Supercars Championship wins (2016, 2021, 202 ...

and

Fabian Coulthard Fabian "Fabs" Coulthard (born 28 July 1982) is a British-born New Zealand professional race car driver, currently competing in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving as an endurance co-driver for Chaz Mostert with Walkinshaw Andretti United ...

are among several New Zealand drivers who have contested the Australian-based

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 ...

, which holds a round in New Zealand each year, currently at the

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

circuit.

Greg Murphy Gregory Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first internati ...

has won the pinnacle race of the Supercar season, the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...

, four times.

won the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

in 2015. Two New Zealanders currently compete in the American

for

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...

, and

for

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

A1 Team New Zealand A1 Team New Zealand is the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Management The team was formed by and is owned by prominent Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap, well known for this car dealerships. The team is mana ...

was a front-runner since the series inception.

Jonny Reid Jonathan Ross Reid, more commonly known as Jonny Reid, (born 18 October 1983, in Auckland) is a New Zealand racing driver. Career Early career Reid started his career in karting at the age of 8. In 1996, Reid won his first title, the New Z ...

won seven races for the team helping it twice claim second place in the Championship, 2006–07 & 2007–08. On 20 January 2008, Taupo Motorsport Park hosted the fifth race in the 2007–08 A1 Grand Prix season.

Rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

is a popular sport at all levels in New Zealand, and has previously hosted rounds of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

(the last time being in 2012) and hosts the

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S ...

each year. A highly competitive national championship is run each year, and some drivers also take part in the Australian Rally Championship, most notably the late

Possum Bourne Peter "Possum" Raymond George Bourne (13 April 1956 – 30 April 2003) was a champion New Zealand rally car driver. He died under non-competitive circumstances while driving on a public road that was to be the track for an upcoming race. Awards ...

, who was a seven-times Australian Rally Champion.

Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rally driver. He was PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018 and 2021. Career Paddon was introduced into motorsport at an early age, ...

is New Zealand's top rally driver competing in the

for Hyundai.

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

, born in

on 4 October 1939, won a record 6

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, 1969,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He also finished on the podium of the World Final in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

(3rd),

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

(2nd),

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

(2nd) and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

(2nd). Mauger also won the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985 each team consisted of four riders ...

riding for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

, while winning the title for a fourth time with the

team in

. Mauger was also the Speedway World Pairs Champion in 1969 and

as well as the Long Track World Champion in 1971, 1972 and 1976, a total of 15 World Championships in speedway racing. With his Long Track title in 1971 he also became the first rider to have won all four World Championship competitions, while winning in 1972 saw him become the first rider to win both the Speedway and Long Track World Championships in the same year. In 1999, Ivan Mauger was voted the best speedway rider of the Millennium by the readers of Speedway Star and Vintage Speedway magazines.

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedw ...

, born in Christchurch on 30 December 1934, is a New Zealand motorcyclist who won four individual Speedway World Championships (

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

, 1958,

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

) and took part in a record 87 world championship races. Briggs also won the Speedway World Team cup with Great Britain in 1968 and 1971. Between 1954 and 1970, Briggs appeared in a record 17 consecutive World Individual Finals.

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a care ...

became New Zealand's first motorsport World Champion when he won the 1954 Speedway World Championship, backing that up to win a second time in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. Moore also won the World Pairs Championship with Ivan Mauger in 1970. Although born in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

in 1933, Moore's parents moved to New Zealand while he was still a child and he always considered himself to be a Kiwi and rode under the New Zealand flag. Since then

Graeme Crosby Graeme Crosby (born 4 July 1955) is a former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A versatile rider, Crosby was equally capable on either four stroke Superbike racers or two stroke Grand Prix racers. He is the only p ...

and

Aaron Slight Aaron Tony Slight (born 19 January 1966) is a New Zealand former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Superbike World Championships from to , finishing second in the championship twice and third four times. He later competed ...

have both risen to the top of World Championship motorcycle racing, in

500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

and Superbikes respectively but championships have been elusive. Also

John Britten John Kenton Britten (1 August 1950 – 5 September 1995) was a New Zealand mechanical engineer who designed a world-record-setting motorcycle with innovative features and materials. Biography John Britten was born to Bruce and Ruvae Britten in C ...

designed a revolutionary motorcycle called the

Britten V1000 The Britten V1000 is a handbuilt race motorcycle designed and built by John Britten and a group of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand during the early 1990s. The bike went on to win the Battle of the Twins in Daytona International Speedway's ...

Shayne King Shayne King (born 1975) is a former professional Grand Prix motocross racer from New Zealand. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1993 to 2001. King is notable for being the first New Zealand competitor to win an FIM motocros ...

became the first rider from New Zealand to win the 500cc

Motocross World Championship FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...

in 1996.

Stefan Merriman Stefan William Merriman (born 24 March 1973 in Tauranga, New Zealand) is a former professional motorcycle trials and enduro rider. He won the World Enduro Championship in 2000 (250cc), 2001 (400cc), 2003 (250cc), and 2004 (Enduro 1). Career Mer ...

is a four-time winner of the

World Enduro Championship The FIM Enduro World Championship, formerly known as the World Enduro Championship, is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes (E1, E2 and E3), along ...

for

enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a ...

motorcycling. In 2003

Wade Cunningham Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Racing career Indy Lights Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Champ ...

become New Zealand's first ever

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

world champion by winning the

Karting World Championship The Karting World Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. It is held annually since 1964, and is karting's flagship event. The FIA (International Automobile Federation) created the CIK (International Karting Commissi ...

. Cunningham later raced in the US Indy car series.

Orienteering

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

is a popular sport in New Zealand, that combines

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

with land

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

skills across a range of settings. Variations of the sport popular in New Zealand include

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

orienteering,

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

orienteering, and rogaines. Orienteering is a popular sport for youth and juniors, and New Zealand regularly sends competitors to both the World Orienteering Championships and the Junior World Orienteering Championships. Orienteering in New Zealand is organized by th
New Zealand Orienteering Federation

Matt Ogden Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

won the middle-distance event at the 2012

Junior World Orienteering Championships The Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) are an annual orienteering competition. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition. Representative countries must ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Rowing

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

has been a consistent medal winner at the Olympic Games with the first coming in 1920. New Zealand have won medals at every Olympics between 1968 and 2016, with the exception of 1980. At the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

of 2005, in Kaizu, Gifu, Japan, New Zealand won 4 gold medals in 4 consecutive races – now known as the " Magic 45 minutes". In 2006, Nathan Cohen became the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

in any sport, rowing a

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

. In addition a number of

Rowing World Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each ev ...

events have been won by New Zealanders.

Rowing New Zealand Rowing New Zealand is the sports governing body for rowing in New Zealand. Its purpose is to provide leadership and support to enable an environment of success for the New Zealand rowing community. This includes secondary schools, clubs, masters ...

is the governing body.

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapir ...

in the Waikato and

Lake Ruataniwha Lake Ruataniwha is an artificial lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed in 1977–1981 as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces, ...

in the

Mackenzie Basin The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest suc ...

are the two premier rowing venues in New Zealand. Karapiro hosted the

2010 World Rowing Championships The 2010 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 October to 7 November 2010 on Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organised by FISA (the International Rowi ...

Sailing

New Zealand sailors have won a large number of international events, including Olympic Games medals in 1956, 1964, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2016. New Zealand holds the

sailing title, having won it three times in the challenge's history.

Surf lifesaving (surf sports)

In New Zealand, surf lifesaving sport encompasses a number of different disciplines, including surf swimming, board paddling, surf ski, beach flags, beach sprint, Ironman with competitors starting from the age of 7. Surf lifesaving is a relatively popular minor sport with and estimated 8,000 competitors of which 2,500 attend Ocean Athletes (Junior Nationals 10–14) and Nats (Senior nationals). The New Zealand team also known as the Black Fins have also been highly successful in recent years placing 2nd in the 2010 World Championships and are currently the only country apart from Australia to have won World Champs, (1956, 1998, 2012, 2014, 2016) which is respectable considering the comparatively small size of the sport in the country.

America's Cup

hosted consecutive

regattas in 2000 and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. In 2000, Team New Zealand successfully defended the trophy they won in 1995 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, but in 2003 they lost to a team headed by

Ernesto Bertarelli Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family's wealth at £11.5 billion, an increase of £1 ...

of Switzerland whose ''

Alinghi Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as ...

'' was skippered by

Russell Coutts Sir Russell Coutts (born 1 March 1962) is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman. Early and personal life Coutts was educated at Otago Boys' High School (1975–1979) and is a Life Member of Paremata Boating Club, where he learnt to sail in ...

, the expatriate Kiwi who helmed the victorious ''

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

'' in 1995 and ''New Zealand'' in 2000 as well as many other Kiwis. Coutts and

Brad Butterworth Bradley William Butterworth (born 1959) is a New Zealand yachtsman known for the role he played as tactician and skipper in the America's Cup for Team New Zealand and the Alinghi team of Switzerland. Butterworth was born in Te Awamutu, New Zeal ...

, along with several other Team New Zealand members, defected to Bertarelli's Alinghi team, taking with them a wealth of experience that allowed the new team to win the America's Cup on the first challenge. Coutts was later dismissed from the Alinghi team; he fought a court battle with Bertarelli to allow him to sail in the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and ''Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift o ...

contest in Spain, but reached a settlement that kept him out of that contest. The

2021 America's Cup The 36th America's Cup in March 2021 was the latest staging of the America's Cup yacht race. It was contested on the inner Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, New Zealand, between the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia of I ...

will be held in Auckland's

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

after New Zealand won the

2017 America's Cup The 2017 America's Cup was the 35th staging of the America's Cup yacht race. The challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand, won by a score of 7 to 1 over the defender, Oracle Team USA. It was held on the Great Sound in Bermuda from June 17 to June 2 ...

Winter sports

New Zealand has several areas for

and

, on both islands.

Whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

and

Turoa Turoa (or Tūroa) is a skifield on the south western side of Mount Ruapehu, the highest mountain in the North Island of New Zealand, in Tongariro National Park. The area has been used for skiing since before the completion of the Mountain Roa ...

are the only commercial resorts on the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

; Queenstown, Wanaka and

are the top locations in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

to access the mountains. In addition to the commercial ski resorts, New Zealand has many non-profit club fields across both the North and South Islands, particularly in the region of the Southern Alps close to Christchurch such as

Craigieburn Valley Craigieburn Valley Ski Area is a club skifield in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island, about 104 km west from Christchurch.

, Broken River and

Temple Basin Temple Basin is a club skifield in Arthur's Pass, in New Zealand's South Island. Operated by two clubs, the Temple Basin Ski Club, and the Canterbury University Snow Sports Club, the ski area has 3 rope tows, two on-site lodges, two shelters and a ...

. In the North Island, there are club field skiing options on

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second highest point in the North Island, after Mount Ruapehu. The mountain has a secon ...

at the

Manganui Manganui Ski Area, located in Taranaki, in New Zealand's North Island is a club skifield. Like all club fields, it has accommodation onsite, in the form of the 33-bed Manganui Lodge. It has 3 rope ski tows and a T-bar A surface lift is a typ ...

area and also on the Eastern aspect of

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

Tukino Tukino skifield is located on the eastern face of Mount Ruapehu, in the central area of the North Island, New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmass ...

. International snowboarders from New Zealand include Mitch Brown, who placed 25th at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

in the men's halfpipe, and his sister

Kendall Brown Kendall Brown (born 15 August 1989 in Dunedin, New Zealand), is a halfpipe snowboarder based in Wanaka, New Zealand. At age 16 years old, at the 2006 Winter Olympics she finished 25th. At the 2010 Winter Olympics she finished 15th, after dislocat ...

, who placed 15th at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in the women's halfpipe. Also New Zealand snowboarder Jacob Koia is currently sitting in 18th position on the TTR world rankings. Notable skiers include Claudia Riegler and Olympic medallist

Annelise Coberger Annelise Coberger (born 16 September 1971) is a New Zealand former alpine skier. Born in Christchurch, she became the first person from the Southern Hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics when she won silver in the slalom at Alb ...

Softball

New Zealand's men's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team, nicknamed the " Black Sox", have been highly successful on the international stage despite the sport being the second most popular summer sport behind

in NZ. The Black Sox shared the honours at the World Championships in Lower Hutt in 1976 with the US and Canada, and won outright in 1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2013 and 2017. They were the runners up at the 2009 World Champs to Australia. They were 3rd in the inaugural World Championships in Mexico City 1968 ; this team was affectionately known as "The Pilgrims". The

New Zealand women's national softball team New Zealand women's national softball team, nicknamed the White Sox, is the women's national softball team for New Zealand. The "White Sox" name is one of many national team nicknames (indirectly) related to the All Blacks as well as to the famo ...

are nicknamed the White Sox. They won the World Championships in 1982.

Squash

Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

has been played competitively in New Zealand since 1932. In 2010, there were 220 clubs affiliated with the national organisation,

Squash New Zealand Squash New Zealand is the governing body of squash in New Zealand. Founded in 1932, Squash New Zealand is affiliated to both the World Squash Federation and Oceania Squash. Regional and club administration Squash New Zealand is responsible ...

. Competitions are played at club, regional and national level. Dame

Susan Devoy Dame Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy (born 4 January 1964) is a former New Zealand squash player and senior public servant. As a squash player, she was dominant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the World Open on four occasions. She served ...

won the World Open Championship a record four times, in 1985, 1987, 1990, and 1992. She also won seven consecutive

titles from 1984 to 1990, and an eighth in 1992. At the

Squash in the 2010 Commonwealth Games Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

Joelle King Joelle King (born 30 September 1988) is a professional squash player who represents New Zealand. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 4 in April 2014. Early life King was born and raised in Cambridge, New Zealand. She is the ...

and

Jaclyn Hawkes Jaclyn Hawkes (born 3 December 1982 in Hong Kong) is a New Zealand professional squash (sport), squash player. Hawkes grew up in Hong Kong and lived there until she was 15 when she moved to New Zealand. She started playing squash aged five ...

won gold in the women's doubles. King and Martin Knight won silver in the mixed doubles. New Zealand hosted the Women's World Team Championships in 2010. They were held at

International Pacific College Institute of the Pacific United is a Japanese and New Zealand tertiary educational institution based in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Another network of the institute is International Pacific University, which was established in 2007 in Okayam ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. In the

Squash at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Squash at the 2018 Commonwealth Games was held at the Oxenford Studios on the Gold Coast, Australia from April 5 to 15. A total of five events are scheduled to be held, two each for men and women and a mixed doubles event. Schedule Me ...

won gold in the women's singles and

Paul Coll Paul Daniel Coll (born 9 May 1992) is a professional squash player from New Zealand. In March 2022, he became the first New Zealand man to achieve a world ranking of World No. 1. He is the current British Open champion, having won this tourn ...

took silver in the men's singles. King won gold again with

Amanda Landers-Murphy Amanda Landers-Murphy (born 7 June 1991 in Rotorua) is a New Zealand professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of world No. 35 in February 2013. Of Māori descent, Landers-Murphy affiliates to Te Āti Awa Te Āti Aw ...

in women's doubles. King and Coll won bronze in the mixed doubles.

Surfing and surfsport

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

in New Zealand has ahistory dating back as far as 1963, when the first national championships were held at

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...

and won by Peter Way. Surfing has since become more popular with many New Zealanders competing on the international scene. In 1976, New Zealand hosted the Amco/

Radio Hauraki Radio Hauraki is a New Zealand rock music station that started in 1966. It was the first private commercial radio station of the modern broadcasting era in New Zealand and operated illegally until 1970 to break the monopoly held by the state-o ...

Pro at North

Piha Piha is a coastal settlement in West Auckland, on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, and especially ...

which became the first event of the very first year of the World Professional Surfing Tour. The event was won by Michael Peterson. In 1987, Iain Buchanan would go on to compete on the world tour finishing 34th overall, the highest placing ever for a New Zealand surfer. New Zealand's top surfer Maz Quinn at a young age won the

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

Pro-Junior Series in Australia in 1996, then competed in the World Pro Junior final in France coming second overall to

Taj Burrow Taj Burrow (born 2 June 1978) is an Australian retired professional surfer. Taj retired from the WSL World Tour in June 2016 where he left a legacy of power and impressive surfing. Early life Burrow was born in Yallingup, Western Australia, A ...

. Maz Quinn placed 7th on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) in 2001 to qualify for the World Championship Tour (WCT) – the first Kiwi to do so. Woman's surfing has also come far in recent years with New Zealand surfer Paige Hareb currently sitting in 8th position on the

ASP World Tour The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional ...

of Surfing.

Surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...

is also popular in New Zealand, with national championships being held yearly.

Quidditch

Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by witc ...

was introduced to New Zealand around 5 years ago and is currently played mainly at the university level, though some attempts have been made to introduce the under 16 version 'kidditch' to schools. New Zealand is currently listed as an 'emerging area' as there are "more than zero teams but... oregular competitive activity". The governing body is QuANZ (Quidditch association of New Zealand) which reports to the IQA (International Quidditch Association). Each year QuANZ hosts an international camp, inviting players from NZ, Australia, and other countries to take part in a 3-day training weekend, held in Christchurch. The national team 'Black Brooms/Tawhai Pango' made their international debut at the 2018 IQA World Cup in Florence, Italy. The team performed better than expected with a final ranking of 20th out of 29 after beating Finland but losing to Malaysia and Germany in pool play, then beating Switzerland and losing a second game against Malaysia. The final game was lost to The Netherlands in the play off for the 19/20 rank. Currently New Zealand's biggest contribution to quidditch as a sport is in overseas leagues where many New Zealanders play for regional teams in Australia and England. The current president of Quidditch UK is NZ born Matthew Bateman.

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 ...

was introduced to New Zealand in the 1870s, soon after the modern form of the game was invented in England. The first New Zealand Tennis Championships were played at Farndon in

in 1886.

participation in tennis began soon after, with many Māori playing at a high standard by the 1890s. Sir Maui Pomare, the first Māori to qualify as a doctor, won the USA Inter-Varsity Tennis Championships in 1899 while he was studying there. This began a great legacy of Māori participation in tennis, with many players of high calibre emerging over the years, most recently professional players like

Kelly Evernden Kelly Graeme Evernden (born 21 September 1961) is a former professional tennis player from New Zealand. Evernden turned professional in 1985 and won his first tour doubles title in 1986 at Cologne. His first top-level singles title came in 198 ...

Rewa Hudson Rewa Harriman (née Hudson; born 15 September 1980) is a retired New Zealand female tennis player. Hudson has won seven doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. On 16 February 1998, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 3 ...

and

Leanne Baker Leanne Baker (born 8 January 1981) is a former New Zealand professional 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 pl ...

. But perhaps the doyenne of Māori tennis was Ruia Morrison, who played with great honour in international competitions, and at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, in the early days of the professional era. New Zealand and Australia, combined as Australasia, were founding members of the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

(ITF) in 1913. New Zealander

Tony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

was the World No. 1 player in 1913. He was Wimbledon Champion in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913. He was a pivotal figure in helping Australasia win 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 ...

in 1907, hold it in 1908 and 1909, and to win it again in 1914. He was killed in action during

on 9 May 1915 in the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

, northern France. New Zealand has competed in the

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...

since 1965, when they played Argentina (won 2–1) and Australia (lost 0–3). At a Fed Cup regional tournament held in Christchurch in 2007, New Zealand played Jordan (won 3–0), India (lost 1–2), Chinese Taipei (lost 1–2), Kazakhstan (won 3–0), and Hong Kong (won 2–1). New Zealand's representatives at the Olympic Games have been: 1912, Stockholm – Tony Wilding (Australasia); 1988, Seoul –

Belinda Cordwell Belinda Jane Cordwell (born 21 September 1965) is a sports commentator and a former professional tennis player from New Zealand, who represented her native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A former world top 20 player, her best res ...

and Kelly Evernden (singles) and Bruce Devlin with Kelly Evernden (men's doubles); 1996, Atlanta –

Brett Steven Brett Andrew Steven (born 27 April 1969) is a former New Zealand tennis player. Steven began his tennis career at the age of 10 as a ball boy and by the age of 16 he participated at his first tournament. Steven turned professional in 1988 an ...

; 2008, Beijing –

Marina Erakovic Marina Erakovic ( ; hr, Marina Eraković ; born 6 March 1988) is a retired tennis player from New Zealand. She achieved career-high rankings of 39 in singles and 25 in doubles, and won one singles title, at Memphis in February 2013, and eigh ...

. The Heineken Open is part of the ATP International Series played in Auckland each year, just before the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

Triathlon

Hamish Carter Hamish Clive Carter (born 28 April 1971 in Auckland) is a New Zealand triathlete. He won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics, his second Olympic games. Carter also competed on the International Triathlon Union World Cup c ...

of New Zealand won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and was rated world number one for several years. Other successful triathletes from New Zealand include

Bevan Docherty Bevan John Docherty (born 29 March 1977) is a triathlete from New Zealand, who won medals twice at the Olympic Games. Docherty attended Tauhara College, Taupo. Life Docherty and his sister Fiona grew up in Taupo, in the North Island of New ...

, who won the ITU world championship, and a silver in Athens (both in 2004). He has also gained a bronze medal in Beijing 2008, and a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games (Melbourne in 2006). On the women's side,

Samantha Warriner Samantha Warriner (born 1 August 1971) is a retired triathlete who represented New Zealand in triathlons ranging from sprint distance up to the Ironman. She was born in Alton, Hampshire, England. She turned professional at the end of 2005 after ...

was ranked number 1 in the world. She won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006, and

Andrea Hewitt Andrea Hansen (née Hewitt, born 4 April 1982) is a New Zealand triathlete who placed third at the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships and competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. Biography Hewitt was born in Christchurch, ...

took bronze at the same event.

Volleyball

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

is the second most popular sport for girls in NZ aged 13–18 and sixth for boys. Volleyball has been growing in popularity at school level in recent years especially amongst girls. The national governing body is Volleyball New Zealand which is made up of 14 Regional Associations. Within each Association there are clubs and/or representative teams. The main events on the calendar each year are the National Secondary Schools Championships and the National Club Championships. The New Zealand women's national volleyball team won the gold medal on several occasions.

International competitions

Olympic Games

New Zealanders first competed at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in 1908, with Australia as a combined

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

team. The

New Zealand Olympic Committee The New Zealand Olympic Committee (before 1994, The ''New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association'') is both the National Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Association in New Zealand responsible for selecting athletes to re ...

was formed in 1911 and was recognised by the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

in 1919. New Zealand first competed as an independent nation in 1920 and has attended every games since with the exception of the 1980 Moscow games, which New Zealand boycotted (four New Zealand athletes did compete at the 1980 games though under the NZOC flag). The nation first attended the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

in 1952, and has competed at all but two (

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

) Winter Olympic Games since. After the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

, New Zealand as a nation has won 120 medals: 46 gold, 28 silver, and 46 bronze. All but three of those medals were won at the Summer Olympic Games. In addition, three medals, one gold and two bronze, were won by New Zealanders in 1908 and 1912 as part of Australasia. New Zealand ranks 34th on the

all-time Olympic Games medal table The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which ...

by total medals, and 29th when weighted by medal type. The most successful sports of New Zealand have been rowing (24 medals, including 11 gold) and athletics (24 medals, including 10 gold). New Zealand's most celebrated Olympian is probably middle-distance runner

, who won three gold medals and broke several world records during the 1960s.

Commonwealth Games

New Zealand is one of only six nations to have competed at every

since they were founded as the British Empire Games in 1930. The country has hosted three editions of the games: the 1950 British Empire Games and the 1990 Commonwealth Games in

, and the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

New Zealand national teams

National team colours

New Zealand's national sporting colours are black and white (or silver). The

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport.

National team names

The national men's rugby union team is known as the "All Blacks". The national women's netball team is known as the "Silver Ferns". Historically, rugby and netball dominated team sport in New Zealand, and the national teams of other sports have acquired names which have been formed with reference to these two (see: list below). The women's rugby team is known as the "Black Ferns", rather than the "All Silvers". Some of these names seem to have arisen as genuine nicknames (e.g. "

Tall Blacks The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...

", "

Wheel Blacks The Wheel Blacks are the national wheelchair rugby team of New Zealand. The team won the gold medal at the 2004 Paralympic games in Athens. The Wheel Blacks squad is made up from players from different regions around New Zealand. They include Au ...

"), and some are neologisms developed as marketing devices (e.g. Black Sticks (hockey), Black Caps (cricket)). New Zealand Badminton temporarily named their teams "Black Cocks". The men's national soccer team is called the "

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

", as they play in an all-white strip. At the time the national soccer team was formed, an all-black strip would not have been allowed. Two notable exceptions to the "Black/Ferns" naming scheme are the "Kiwis" (men's Rugby League) and "SWANZ" (the name formerly used for women's soccer). ; ;Notes

References

https://www.stuff.co.nz/.../basketball/.../basketball-increasing-as-sport-of- choice-among-new-zealand-youth Retrieved 19 July 2017

Administration

Participation

Major sports

Rugby union

Cricket

Basketball

Netball

Rugby league

Association football

Other Sports

Thoroughbred horse running

Athletics (track and field)

Australian rules football

American football

Baseball

Beach volleyball

Equestrian

Boxing

Canoeing

Cycling

Extreme sports

Futsal

Gliding

Golf

Hockey

Ice hockey

Indoor Bowls

Kabaddi

Kickboxing

Kī-o-rahi

Motorsport

Orienteering

Rowing

Sailing

Surf lifesaving (surf sports)

America's Cup

Winter sports

Softball

Squash

Surfing and surfsport

Quidditch

Tennis

Triathlon

Volleyball

International competitions

Olympic Games

Commonwealth Games

New Zealand national teams

National team colours

National team names

References

External links