Sport in New Zealand 1768579 224515910 2008-07-09T05:25:09Z Shudde 1069719 /* Soccer */ can't have two '''[[Sport]] in [[New Zealand]]''' largely reflects its [[Great Britain|British]] [[Colonialism|colonial]] heritage. Some of the most popular sports in New Zealand, namely [[rugby football|rugby]], [[cricket]] and [[netball]], are primarily played in [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] countries. New Zealand's most popular sport is [[rugby union]], the [[national sport]]. Other popular sports include [[cricket]], [[rugby league]], [[Football (soccer)|soccer]] and [[netball]] (the top ranking female sport by participation); [[golf]], [[tennis]], [[Sport rowing|rowing]] and a variety of [[Water sport (recreation)|water sports]], particularly [[sailing]]. Snow sports such as [[skiing]] and [[snowboarding]] are also popular. Equestrian sports are highly popular especially with women and participation numbers begin to overhaul rugby and other contact sports in older age groups. == 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: * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/research-policy/participation-in-sport Participation in Sport] * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/research-policy/research/sparc-facts-97-01/top-sports-and-physical-activities Top Sports and Physical Activities] * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/filedownload?id=97addb2b-23c1-4c91-928c-304a63decda0 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 * {{nbsp|2}}8% Cricket * {{nbsp|2}}8% Hockey The top five sports played in clubs by girls aged 5 to 17 are: * 17% Swimming * 13% Netball * 10% Horse riding * {{nbsp|2}}8% Tennis * {{nbsp|2}}6% Soccer The top five sports played by men are: * 26% Golf * 15% Cricket * 14% Tennis * 14% [[Touch football (rugby league)|Touch football]]* * 11% Rugby union {{smaller|* Less physical form of rugby}} The top five sports played by women are: * 11% Netball * 10% Tennis * {{nbsp|2}}9% Golf * {{nbsp|2}}7% Touch football * {{nbsp|2}}7% Skiing == Rugby union == {{main|Rugby union in New Zealand}} [[Rugby union]] is popular across all sections of New Zealand society and many New Zealanders associate it with their national identity. 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. The All Blacks traditionally perform a ''[[Haka of the All Blacks|haka]]'', a [[Māori]] challenge, at the start of international matches. This practice has been mimicked by several other national teams, notably the [[New Zealand national rugby league team|national rugby league team]] and the [[Tall Blacks|basketball teams]]. Outside [[Test match (rugby union)|Test]] matches, there are three widely followed competitions: * The ''[[Air New Zealand Cup]]'', created in [[2006]] as a successor to the [[National Provincial Championship]] (NPC), involves professional provincial New Zealand teams and occurs mainly during the winter months. * The ''[[Heartland Championship]]'', an amateur competition of lower-level New Zealand provincial teams, also created in 2006 as a successor to the NPC. * The [[Super 14]] (previously Super 12) is a competition involving teams from New Zealand, [[Australia]] and [[South Africa]]. == Rugby league == {{main|Rugby league in New Zealand}} 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 have never won the [[Rugby League World Cup]] but have been runners-up on two occasions. They lost to Australia in Auckland 1988 and again to the Kangaroos in Manchester 2000. == Cricket == {{main|Cricket in New Zealand}} [[Cricket]] is the highest profile summer sport in New Zealand, which is one of the ten countries that take part in [[Test match cricket]]. The national 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 [[Pro20]] World Championship. However New Zealand's Woman's Cricket Team has reached the World Cup finals. == Netball == {{Main|Netball in New Zealand}} [[Netball]] is the most popular [[women's sport]] both in terms of participation and public interest in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web | last = Phillips | first = Jock | title = Sports and leisure | publisher = Te Ara – the encyclopedia of New Zealand | url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealandInBrief/SportsAndLeisure/4/en | date = 2007-09-23 | accessdate = 2007-11-18}}</ref> 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 national netball team|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.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2006 Netball New Zealand Annual Report | url = http://www.netballnz.co.nz/site/_content/document/00005795-source.pdf | accessdate = 2007-12-22}}</ref> == Soccer == <!--Please don't change section title as any piped links may go dead.--> {{Main|Soccer in New Zealand}} [[Association football|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]] only once, in 1982; it was knocked out in the [[1982 FIFA World Cup|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sparc.org.nz/research-policy/research/sparc-facts-97-01/top-sports-and-physical-activities|title=Top sports and physical activities |publisher=[[SPARC]] |accessdate=2008-05-16 |date=[[2007-10-16]]}}</ref> == Basketball == The Tall Blacks competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and finished with a 1-5 record, their only win coming against Angola in the playoff for eleventh. 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. The Tall Blacks went on a South-American tour in 2006 as a lead up to the FIBA Basketball World Championships. They played Argentina (Olympic Champions and runners up in 2002 FIBA Championships), Brazil and Venezuela. They played four games against each country. The Tall Blacks got swept by Argentina and Brazil. They only managed one win against Venezuela but still loss the series 3-1. 2006 FIBA World Championships In 2006, a few months before the FIBA world championships. The Tall blacks took on the Australian Boomers in a post-tournament 4 game series. The Tall Blacks won a 2 game tie by points difference. The Tall Blacks also swept Qatar in a 2 game match up post tournament as well. In 2006, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish as in 2002. Instead, they finished in the final 16 of the FIBA Basketball World Championships, after a second round loss to Argentina, 79-62 which knocked them out of the tournament. After that disappointment, Tab Balwin resigned as the coach of the Tall Blacks, and the position was, as ,expected, replaced by Nenad Vucinic, his long time assistant coach. The Tall Blacks just managed to make it to the final 16 as they were beaten by: Spain, 86-70 (New 2006 FIBA World Champions), Germany, 80-56, Angola, 95-73. Their only wins coming from: Panama, 86-75 Japan, 60-57. The Tall Blacks 'fourth place' spot went to Argentina, the very team who knocked them out, and swept them in the post tournament series. Probably the most well-known former New Zealand Tall Black player in the National Basketball Association is Phoenix Suns forward Sean Marks, who is in his fifth NBA season. Another New Zealand player, former University of Wisconsin-Madison star Kirk Penney, signed in 2005 with two-time defending Euroleague champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. == 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. == Tennis == New Zealander [[Tony Wilding|Anthony ("Tony") Frederick Wilding]] was the World No. 1 player in 1913. == 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. == 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. == 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, [[Dennis Hulme]], in 1967. Four other New Zealanders have raced at [[Grand Prix motor racing|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. New Zealand has many drivers currently competing on the world stage: [[Scott Dixon]] is racing in the [[IndyCar Series]] and won the [[2008 Indianapolis 500]]; [[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 Park Raceway|Pukekohe]] circuit, with the race moving to [[Hamilton, New Zealand]], where it is contested on a [[Hamilton Street Circuit|street circuit]]. [[Brendon Hartley]] is racing in the [[British Formula Three Championship]] while testing for the [[Scuderia Toro Rosso]] Formula 1 team. [[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. On January 20, 2008, [[Taupo Motorsport Park]] hosted the fifth race in the [[2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season]]. [[A1 Team New Zealand]] has been a front-runner since the series inception. [[Jonny Reid]] has won seven races for the team leading it to the runner's up position in both the [[2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season|2006-07]] and [[2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season|2007-08]] seasons. [[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. Briggs was British League Riders champion from 1965 to 1970. Since then [[Graeme Crosby]] and [[Aaron Slight]] have both risen to the top of World Championship motorcycle racing, in [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|500cc]] and [[Superbike World Championship|Superbikes]] respectively but championships have been elusive. == 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. 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. == Equestrian == Equestrian sportsmen, sportswomen and horses make their mark in the world, with [[Mark Todd (equestrian)|Mark Todd]] being chosen international "Horseman of the Century", and many juniors at [[New Zealand Pony Clubs Association|pony club]] level. == 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 currently ranked by the FIH at 10th in the world<ref>[http://www.worldhockey.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,1181-185702-202924-126719-0-file,00.pdf FIH Men's Rankings as at 10 December 2007]</ref>, and the women's team ranked at 7th<ref>[http://www.worldhockey.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,1181-185735-202957-126751-0-file,00.pdf FIH Women's Rankings as at 18 September 2007]</ref>. == Gliding == New Zealand is famous among [[Gliding|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. [[Steve Fossett]] has recently tried to beat the world gliding altitude record there (see [[Gliding New Zealand]] and [[#External links|external links]] below). == 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 [[Rogaine (sport)|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 [http://www.nzorienteering.com/ New Zealand Orienteering Federation]. == Australian rules football == {{mainarticle|Australian rules football in New Zealand}} [[Australian rules football]] is a fast-growing sport in New Zealand, with programs established in [[Auckland Australian Football League|Auckland]], [[Canterbury Australian Football League|Canterbury]], [[Waikato AFL|Waikato]] and [[Wellington AFL|Wellington]]. The governing body of footy in New Zealand is the [[New Zealand AFL]]. New Zealand's national side are nicknamed [[New Zealand national Australian rules football team|the Falcons]] and they have been no stranger to success, winning the 2005 [[Australian Football International Cup|International Cup]] and coming third in 2002. 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 [[Australian rules football in South Africa|South Africa]] and [[Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea|Papua New Guinea]]. == Squash == [[Susan Devoy]] from New Zealand won the [[World Open]] Championship a record three times, in 1985, 1987, and 1990. She also won seven consecutive [[British Open Squash Championships|British Open]] titles from 1984 to 1990, and an eighth in 1992. == New Zealand national teams == === 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. === 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" [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10345531]. 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). * [[Badminton]] - Temporarily [[Badminton New Zealand|Black Cocks]], now no official nickname.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10345531 |title=Badminton: Black Cocks name reconsidered |publisher=New Zealand Herald |date=14.9.2005 |accessdate=2006-01-23}}</ref> * Men's [[Australian rules football]] - [[New Zealand national Australian rules football team|Falcons]] * Men's [[Basketball]] - [[New Zealand national basketball team|Tall Blacks]] * Women's [[Basketball]] - [[New Zealand women's national basketball team|Tall Ferns]] * Men's [[Cricket]] - [[New Zealand cricket team|Black Caps]] * Women's [[Cricket]] - [[White Ferns]] * Men's [[Field hockey]] - [[Black Sticks Men]] * Women's [[Field hockey]] - [[Black Sticks Women]] * Men's [[Rugby league|League]] - [[New Zealand national rugby league team|Kiwis]] * Women's [[Rugby league|League]] - [[Kiwi Ferns]] * [[Netball]] - [[Silver Ferns]] * Men's [[Rugby union]] - [[All Blacks]] * Women's [[Rugby union]] - [[Black Ferns]] * [[Wheelchair rugby|Wheelchair Rugby]] - [[Wheel Blacks]] * Men's [[Football (soccer)|Soccer]] - [[New Zealand national soccer team|All Whites]] * Women's [[Football (soccer)|Soccer]] - formerly [[New Zealand women's national soccer team|SWANZ]], now [[New Zealand women's national soccer team|Football Ferns]] * Men's [[Softball]] - [[Black Socks]] * Men's [[Gridiron]] - [[IronBlacks]] * Men's [[Ice Hockey]] - [[Ice Blacks]] * Women's [[Ice Hockey]] - [[Ice Fernz]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/research-policy/participation-in-sport Participation in Sport] URL accessed on 23 January 2006 * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/research-policy/research/sparc-facts-97-01/top-sports-and-physical-activities Top Sports and Physical Activities] URL accessed on 23 January 2006 * [http://www.sparc.org.nz/filedownload?id=97addb2b-23c1-4c91-928c-304a63decda0 SPARC Facts complete (pdf)] URL accessed on 23 January 2006 * [http://www.nzorienteering.com/ New Zealand Orienteering Federation] URL accessed on 23 January 2006 {{New Zealand topics}} {{Oceania in topic|Sport in}} <!--Catgories--> [[Category:Sport in New Zealand| ]] <!--Other languages--> [[fr:Sport en Nouvelle-Zélande]]