Sport in rural and regional Australia
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Sport plays an important role in
rural and regional Australia Regional Australia is a social geography, socio-geographical definition used in Australia to describe populated regions outside of the major metropolitan areas (typically the capital city) in each states and territories of Australia, state or terri ...
. Sport has been found to contribute to community identity, sense of place, social interaction and better health. Rural and regional Australian towns and cities are increasingly hosting sporting events that provide an economic stimulus and a sense of pride. These towns and cities have also developed many of Australia's elite athletes due to their unique social environment. The importance of sport was highlighted by the fact that "After the general store, the pub and the cemetery, one of the first things established in many a fledgling Australian country town was a sporting facility. Commonly it was a racetrack, sometimes a footy ground or tennis court carved out of someone's back paddock; if the climate was hot and there was ample water, possibly a pool."


Rural sports

Many sports are the predominantly or exclusively played in rural areas. These sports often reflect the skills required to work in rural areas and include:
polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
, polocrosse,
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
,
campdrafting Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. The riding style is Australian stock, somewhat akin to American Western riding and the event is similar to the American stock horse events such as cutting, w ...
, tent pegging, endurance horse riding,
woodchopping Woodchopping (also spelled wood-chopping or wood chopping), called woodchop for short, is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In woodchopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or s ...
, shearing sports and
Sheep Dog Trials A sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) — is a competition or test for working abilities of herding breeds dogs. It is a type of dog sport that emerged in the 1860s in New Zealand. By the 1870s regular trials ...
.


List of Sporting Events

Many Australian regional and rural towns have or currently host major sporting events. These events are used to showcase the town and assist in developing community spirit. Increasingly they are being used to provide an economic stimulus to towns. Examples of current and former events are listed in the table below.


Sportspeople

A research term "Wagga effect" was devised to describe the disproportionately high number of elite sports men and women who come from Australian regional and rural cities. It is argued that regional and rural cities offer children more space to play, a range of sports, participation with adults due to low participation numbers and local sporting heroes. It has been stated that 60 per cent of the Australian team at the
2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
grew up in rural and regional Australia. Besides developing international athletes, many
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 ...
(AFL) and National Rugby League players have their origins in country areas. In 2010, one-third of AFL players came from country Victoria.


Recognition

Several cities and towns have erected statues to recognise sportspeople and horses. These include: * Athletes – Marjorie Jackson in Lithgow, New South Wales, Cliff Young in
Beech Forest, Victoria Beech Forest is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The area of Beech Forest is largely used for potato farming. History The town was named after the many Nothofagus cunninghamii, myrtle beech trees of the area. Beech Forest P ...
* Australian rules footballers – John Coleman in Hastings, Victoria,
Darrel Baldock Darrel John Baldock AM (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Footba ...
in
Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
* Boxers – Les Darcy in East Maitland, New South Wales * Cricketers – Adam Gilchrist in Bellingen, New South Wales,
Glenn McGrath Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
in Narromine, New South Wales,
Don Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...
in
Cootamundra, New South Wales Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
* Cyclists – Hubert Opperman in Rochester, Victoria * Tennis players –
Evonne Goolagong-Cawley Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open sing ...
in
Barellan Barellan is a small town in Narrandera Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On Census night 2021, Barellan had a population of 276. It is a quiet Riverina wheat town on the Burley Griffin Way, with characteristic silos, ...
, New South Wales * Racehorses – Gunsynd in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Black Caviar in Nagambie, Victoria, Paleface Adios in Temora, New South Wales, Bernborough in
Oakey, Queensland Oakey is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. The Museum of Army Aviation is located at Oakey Airport. Geography The town is situated on the eastern side of the Darling Downs and the Toowoomba Region lo ...
, Patrobus in Rosedale, Victoria In addition, many sportspeople from cities and towns have sports field and facilities named after them. Examples are:


See also

* Sport in Australia


Further reading

*Burdon, Amanda, Good sports : sport – whatever the code, whichever the team – provides a rich backdrop to life in the bush, R.M. Williams Outback, (2009/2010), 68 36–44 * Mugford, Stephen
The Status of Sport in Rural and Regional Australia – Literature, Research and Policy Options
(2001), Canberra, Sports Industry Australia. *Tonts, Matthew
Competitive sport and social capital in rural Australia
Journal of Rural Studies (2005) 21 137–149 *Whimpress, Bernard, Regionalism in Oxford Companion to Australian Sport, (1994) 2nd ed, Melbourne, Oxford University Press 345–348


References

{{Australian sport Sport in Australia Rural culture in Oceania Rural organisations in Australia