Sport in New Zealand

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Contents 1 Participation rates 2 Sports 2.1 Rugby union 2.2 Rugby league 2.3 Cricket 2.4 Netball 2.5 Soccer 2.6 Basketball 2.7 Horse racing 2.8 Tennis 2.9 Golf 2.10 Olympic Games 2.11 Motorsport 2.12 Rowing 2.13 Canoeing 2.14 Sailing 2.14.1 America's Cup 2.15 Boxing 2.16 Equestrian 2.17 Hockey 2.18 Gliding 2.19 Orienteering 2.20 Softball 2.21 Triathlon 2.22 Australian rules football 2.23 Squash 2.24 American Football 3 New Zealand national teams 3.1 National team colours 3.2 National team names 4 References 5 External links

Sport in New Zealand largely reflects its British colonial heritage. Some of the most popular sports in New Zealand, namely rugby, cricket and netball, are primarily played in Commonwealth of Nations countries. Sport is very popular in New Zealand and despite New Zealand being a very small nation, it has enjoyed great success in many sports notably Rugby Union (The national sport) and also Rugby League, Cricket, Americas Cup Sailing, Netball, motorsport and many other sports.

New Zealand's most popular sport is rugby union, the national sport. Other popular sports include cricket, which is considered the national summer sport, rugby league, soccer and netball (the top ranking female sport by participation); golf, tennis, rowing and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing. Snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular.

[edit] Participation rates

Data on participation rates in sport in New Zealand is published by SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand). SPARC's data can be found at:

• Participation in Sport
• Top Sports and Physical Activities
• SPARC Facts complete

This data relates to the period 1997 to 2001. Some care needs to be taken when interpreting it. For example, "Top Sports and Physical Activities" above gives Rugby Union as the fifth most popular sport for New Zealand adult men with 137,100 participants, and soccer as twelfth most popular with 83,800. Neither Rugby Union nor Soccer appear in the top fifteen sports for adult women. On the other hand "Participation in Sport" states that 158,100 New Zealand adults participated in Rugby Union in the previous twelve months and 143,300 New Zealand adults participated in soccer; a difference of 60,000.

The top five sports played in clubs by boys aged 5 to 17 are:

• 17% Soccer
• 16% Rugby union
• 14% Swimming
•   8% Cricket
•   8% Hockey

The top five sports played in clubs by girls aged 5 to 17 are:

• 17% Swimming
• 13% Netball
• 10% Horse riding
•   8% Tennis
•   6% Soccer

The top five sports played by men are:

• 26% Golf
• 15% Cricket
• 14% Tennis
• 14% Touch football*
• 11% Rugby union

* Less physical form of rugby

The top five sports played by women are:

• 11% Netball
• 10% Tennis
•   9% Golf
•   7% Touch football
•   7% Skiing

[edit] Sports

[edit] Rugby union

Rugby union is popular across all sections of New Zealand society and many New Zealanders associate it with their national identity. It is the national sport. It has the largest spectator following of all sports in New Zealand. New Zealand's national rugby team, the All Blacks, has the best winning record of any national team in the world, and is currently ranked world number 2^[1]. The All Blacks won the first rugby world cup and will host the 2011 World Cup. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka, a Māori 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 matches, there are three widely followed competitions:

• Super 14 (previously Super 12 and soon to be Super 15), the elite club competition in the southern hemisphere, involving teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
• Air New Zealand Cup, created in 2006 as a successor to the National Provincial Championship (NPC), involves professional provincial New Zealand teams and is played mainly during the winter months.
• Heartland Championship, an amateur competition of lower-level New Zealand provincial teams, also created in 2006 as a successor to the NPC.

[edit] Rugby league

Unlike Australia, where rugby league is the dominant rugby code, rugby union is the more popular code in New Zealand. The New Zealand domestic league is semi-professional and does not enjoy a high profile. However, the Australian National Rugby League (NRL), in which New Zealand Warriors play, is popular. The New Zealand national side has competed in the Rugby League World Cup since 1954. They are the current World Champions and they won the World Cup for the first time on 22 November, 2008 at Lang Park, Brisbane.^[2]

[edit] Cricket

Cricket is the national summer sport in New Zealand, which is one of the ten countries that take part in Test match cricket. The provincial competition is not nearly as widely followed as the case with rugby, but international matches are watched with interest by a large proportion 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 to win its first test. The national team began to have more success in the 1970s and 1980s. New Zealand's most famous cricketer, the fast bowler Richard Hadlee who was the first bowler to take 400 wickets in test cricket, played in this era. Although traditionally New Zealand have had one of the strongest sides they have never progressed past the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup where they ended up five times, the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games and the semi-finals of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. However New Zealand's Woman's Cricket Team has reached the World Cup finals.

[edit] Netball

Netball is the most popular women's sport both in terms of participation and public interest in New Zealand.^[3] 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, which, with Australia, 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 sport is administered by Netball New Zealand, which registered 125,500 players in 2006.^[4]

[edit] Soccer

Soccer (also known as "football" or "Association football") is less popular in New Zealand than in most other countries. The New Zealand national soccer team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1982 and in 2010; it was knocked out in the first round. The country's only professional soccer team, Wellington Phoenix FC, plays in the A-League which is otherwise an all-Australian competition. The sport is administered by New Zealand Football, which changed its name from "New Zealand Soccer" in 2007 to move in line with common usage around the world. The two major domestic competitions are the New Zealand Football Championship which is played between eight regional teams, and the Chatham Cup which is knock-out competition played between clubs. Neither the Phoenix nor the NZFC franchises play in the Chatham Cup. Soccer is especially popular amongst boys and girls, and is the second most popular participation sport for both boys and girls (aged between 5 and 17 years old) in New Zealand.^[5]

New Zealand hosted the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2008.

[edit] Basketball

in 2001 they defeated Australia in a three-game series to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis. At the tournament they finished fourth, after beating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals before losses to Yugoslavia and Germany. Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron was the only non-NBA player named to the all-tournament team in Indianapolis.

The Tall Blacks qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics but again finished with a 1-5 record and lost to Australia in the playoff for ninth place. Their most noted moment was on the 7th day of the games, when they beat Serbia and Montenegro (the world champions) 90:87.

Probably the most well-known former New Zealand player in the National Basketball Association is Phoenix Suns forward Sean Marks, who is in his fifth NBA season.

[edit] Horse racing

Although its popularity has waned in recent years, horse racing (or just racing) is often considered to be one of the three Rs of New Zealand culture (the others being rugby and beer). It is principally associated with gambling. The various cup days in the major cities attract large crowds.

[edit] Tennis

New Zealander Anthony ("Tony") Frederick Wilding was the World No. 1 player in 1913.

[edit] Golf

New Zealand's Michael Campbell won the 2005 U.S. Open Golf Championship.

The New Zealand Amateur team of Philip Tataurangi, Michael Campbell, Steven Scahill and Grant Moorehead won the Eisenhower Trophy (World Amateur team event) in 1992 in Vancouver.

Sir Bob Charles (golfer) has won the British Open and a large number of other Titles.

[edit] Olympic Games

The country achieves well on a medals-to-population ratio at the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games; see New Zealand Olympic Committee, New Zealand Olympic medalists and New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

New Zealand's most celebrated Olympian is probably middle distance runner Peter Snell, who won three gold medals and broke several world records during the 1960s.

[edit] Motorsport

Despite New Zealand being a small country, it is very successful at motorsport. 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 World Champion, Denny Hulme, in 1967. Four other New Zealanders have raced at Grand Prix level: Bruce McLaren (four wins), Chris Amon, Howden Ganley and Mike Thackwell. Bruce McLaren founded the McLaren racing team, which was named after him.

Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren also won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car race. Bruce McLaren and Denny Helm won four Can-Am sports-car racing championships, 1967-1970.

New Zealand has a multiple Indy Racing League champion, Scott Dixon, winner of the 2003 and 2008 Championships.

New Zealand has many drivers currently competing on a high level on the world stage: Greg Murphy and Steven Richards are among several New Zealand drivers who contest the Australian V8 Supercar Championship, which holds a round in New Zealand each year. Until 2007, this was held at the Pukekohe circuit, with the race moving to Hamilton, New Zealand, where it is contested on a street circuit. Brendon Hartley is racing in the British Formula Three Championship while testing for the Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing Formula 1 teams.

A1 Team New Zealand has been a front-runner since the series inception. Jonny Reid has won seven races for the team helping it twice claim second place in the Championship, 2006-07 & 2007-08. On January 20, 2008, Taupo Motorsport Park hosted the fifth race in the 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season.

Rallying is a popular sport at all levels in New Zealand, and hosts rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship and Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 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, who was a seven-times Australian Rally Champion.

Ivan Mauger won a record 6 motorcycle speedway World Championships, 1968,1969,1970,1972,1977,1979 - R/Up 1971,1973,1974. Barry Briggs is a New Zealand motorcyclist who won four individual world speedway titles from 1957 to 1966 and took part in a record 87 world championship races. He was an individual world champion from 1957 to 1958, in 1964, and in 1966. He was a team world champion in 1968 and 1971.

Since then Graeme Crosby and Aaron Slight have both risen to the top of World Championship motorcycle racing, in 500cc and Superbikes respectively but championships have been elusive.

[edit] Rowing

Rowing has been a consistent medal winner at the Olympic Games with the first coming in 1920. Medals were also gained at the following Games; 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 2000, 2004, 2008

In addition an number of Rowing World Cup events have been won by New Zealanders.

[edit] Canoeing

New Zealanders first won Olympic Games medals in 1984 when they won four events. The 1988 and 2004 Games also saw medal success.

[edit] 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

[edit] America's Cup

Auckland hosted consecutive America's Cup regattas in 2000 and 2003. In 2000, Team New Zealand successfully defended the trophy they won in 1995 in San Diego, but in 2003 they lost to a team headed by Ernesto Bertarelli of Switzerland whose Alinghi was skippered by Russell Coutts, the expatriate Kiwi who helmed the victorious Black Magic in 1995 and New Zealand in 2000 as well as many other Kiwis. Coutts and Brad Butterworth, 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 contest in Spain, but reached a settlement that kept him out of that contest.

[edit] Boxing

Amateur boxing was earlier a popular sport in New Zealand but during the 1950’s 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 Bob Fitzsimmons and Torpedo Billy Murphy, both World Champions. Herbert Slade, David Tua, and Tom Heeney were all contenders for the Heavy-weight Championship. See New Zealand boxers

[edit] Equestrian

Equestrian sportsmen, sportswomen and horses make their mark in the world, with Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Century", and many juniors at pony club level. Mark Todd won a Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games, and again at the 1988 Games. A Bronze Medal was also won in the Teams Event at the 1988 Games. Further medals were won at the 1992, 1996, & 2000 Games

[edit] Hockey

In New Zealand "hockey" refers to field hockey (as opposed to ice hockey) and is popular with both genders. New Zealand's men's' and women's teams are both known as the "Black Sticks". The best result attained thus far by the men was a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics (beating arch-rivals Australia). The best placing by the women thus far has been a 4th placing at the 1986 Women's Hockey World Cup.

The men's' team is ranked by the FIH at 7th in the world^[6], and the women's team at 11th^[7], as of 8 September 2008.

[edit] Gliding

New Zealand is famous among glider pilots for hosting the 1995 World Gliding Championships at Omarama 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 tried to beat the world gliding altitude record there (see Gliding New Zealand and external links below).

[edit] Orienteering

Orienteering is a popular sport in New Zealand that combines cross-country running with land navigation skills in the woods. Variations of the sport popular in New Zealand include bicycle orienteering, ski 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 the New Zealand Orienteering Federation.

[edit] Softball

New Zealand's mens' softball team, nicknamed the Black Socks, have been highly successful on the international stage despite the sport being a minority in NZ. The Black Socks shared the inaugural World Championships in 1976 with the USA and Canada, and won outright in 1984, 1996, 2000 and 2004.

[edit] Triathlon

Hamish Carter 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, 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 is ranked number 1 in the world.^[8] She won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006, and Andrea Hewitt took bronze at the same event.

[edit] Australian rules football

Australian rules football is a small sport in New Zealand, with programs established in Auckland, Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington. The governing body of footy in New Zealand is the New Zealand AFL.

New Zealand's national side are nicknamed the Falcons. They won the 2005 International Cup in 2005, came third in 2002 and were runners-up in 2008.

New Zealand AFL currently has more than 500 senior players and 15,000 juniors. They are regarded as one of the "top three" Aussie Rules nations outside Australia, the others being South Africa and Papua New Guinea.

[edit] Squash

Susan Devoy won the World Open Championship a record three times, in 1985, 1987, and 1990. She also won seven consecutive British Open titles from 1984 to 1990, and an eighth in 1992.

[edit] American Football

American football is a small sport in New Zealand,^{[citation needed]} with programs established in Auckland, Waikato, Hawkes Bay and Wellington. The governing body in New Zealand is the New Zealand American Football Association.

New Zealand's national side are nicknamed the Iron Blacks.

[edit] New Zealand national teams

[edit] National team colours

New Zealand's national sporting colours are not the colours of its flag, but are black and white (silver). The silver fern is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport.

[edit] National team names

The national men's rugby team is known as the "All Blacks" rather than the New Zealand rugby team; 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", "Wheel Blacks"), 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" [1]. The men's national soccer team is called the "All Whites" 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 "All Ferns" naming schema are the Kiwis (men's Rugby League) and SWANZ (the name formerly used for women's soccer).

Sport	Men's	Women's
Badminton	Temporarily Black Cocks, now no official nickname.[9]	n/a
Australian rules football	Falcons	n/a
Basketball	Tall Blacks	Tall Ferns
Cricket	Black Caps	White Ferns
Field hockey	Black Sticks Men	Black Sticks Women
League	Kiwis	Kiwi Ferns
Netball	n/a	Silver Ferns
Rugby union	All Blacks	Black Ferns
Wheelchair Rugby	Wheel Blacks
Soccer	All Whites	formerly SWANZ, now Football Ferns
Softball	Black Sox	White Sox
Gridiron	IronBlacks	n/a
Ice Hockey	Ice Blacks	Ice Fernz

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Participation in Sport URL accessed on 23 January 2006
• Top Sports and Physical Activities URL accessed on 23 January 2006
• SPARC Facts complete (pdf) URL accessed on 23 January 2006
• New Zealand Orienteering Federation URL accessed on 23 January 2006

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