Sport in New South Wales

In 2005 a review of the game was carried out and it was decided that for the game to move forward in Sydney, and around Australia, some drastic changes would have to be made. A new club was founded in Sydney called

Outside Sydney, soccer has a similar history in the states larger regional cities (albeit on a smaller scale), and similar multicultural clubs have been formed such as:

The Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks are the state's representatives in the National Basketball League (NBL),^[3] Australia's premier Men's basketball competition. The Kings won three consecutive premierships in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05, while the Hawks won in 2001. The Sydney Kings play their home games at the Sydney SuperDome in Sydney while the Illawarra Hawks play home games at Wollongong Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, the Illawarra's commercial centre.

The next level below the NBL Championship is

The

Australian rules football, commonly known in NSW as "AFL" (after the national professional Australian Football League competition),^[5] is a developing game in most of NSW with increasing popularity. Ausplay reported that there were 69,168 regular participants in New South Wales in 2019 a figure that exceeds participation in rugby union making it the 3rd most participated football code in the state.^[6] The sport is governed by AFL NSW/ACT.

Two fully professional teams are based in New South Wales, both from Sydney: the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Formerly the South Melbourne Swans, the financially struggling club was relocated in 1982 and was renamed Sydney to capture a wider audience. After a long period with little success Sydney made the first of its six Grand Final appearances in 1996 and the first of two premierships in 2005. Since its first Grand Final appearance, Sydney has consistently averaged over 24,000 spectators to each home match, reaching a peak average home attendance of 36,612 in 1997. In 2003, Sydney drew a New South Wales record crowd of 72,393 which remains the record attendance in the history of the game for a match played outside of Victoria. The Giants, based in Western Sydney, were introduced in 2012. The two teams compete against each other in the Sydney Derby which drew a record crowd of 60,222 in 2016. The Giants have competed in the AFL Women's competition since its commencement in 2017 and the Swans have been granted a license to join in 2023.

Historically the game dates back to the 1880s in Sydney with the establishment of local competitions established in 1880; however, it has struggled for marketshare against other football codes. Its popularity is highest in the Southern Riverina region closer to the Victorian border.^[7]

Snow sports

New South Wales is home to Australia's highest snow country, oldest skifields and largest resorts. Recreational

Skifields up by Kosciusko's side were also established during this period, though their existence is now little realised. A rope tow was installed on Mount Northcote at the site and opened in 1954. The site proved excellent for speed skiing, but the hut was destroyed in an avalanche, which also killed one person, in 1956.^[19] Construction began at Thredbo in 1957.^[16] Today, Thredbo has 14 ski-lifts and possesses Australia's longest ski resort run, the 5.9 km from Karel's T-Bar to Friday Flat; Australia's greatest vertical drop of 672m; and the highest lifted point in Australia at 2037m^[20][21]

The last establishment of a major skifield in NSW came with the development of Mount Blue Cow in the 1980s. In 1987 the Swiss designed Skitube Alpine Railway opened to deliver skiers from Bullocks Flat, on the Alpine Way, to Perisher Valley and to Blue Cow, which also opened in 1987.^[17] The operators of Blue Cow purchased Guthega in 1991, and the new combined resort later merged with Perisher-Smiggins to become the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere.^[22] In 2009 Perisher had 48 lifts covering 1,245 hectares and four village base areas: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Smiggin Holes and Guthega.^[23]

The Kosciuszko Main Range in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales offer some of the most challenging cross-country and back-country skiing in Australia, notably Watsons Crags and Mount Twynam on the steep Western Face of the Range.^[24][25] The Mount Jagungal wilderness area provides some of the most isolated back-country ski terrain. High country huts, often a legacy of the era of cattle grazing in the mountains, provide emergency shelter in these regions.^[26]

Netball

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2013)

There are also many teams participating in other national sporting competitions based in New South Wales, mainly in Sydney and the surrounding areas. These include the Sydney Blue Sox in Australian Baseball League. The state's only major motorsport team is Albury based Brad Jones Racing.

Other events

The popular equine sports of

Sydney was the host of the

Each year the New South Wales Sport Awards are held. The major award is the Sport Star of the Year:[27]

• 1994 Michelle Martin – Squash
• 1995 Michelle Martin – Squash
• 1996 Alyson Annan – Hockey
• 1997 Chris McCormack – Triathlon
• 1998 Ian Thorpe – Swimming
• 1999 Ian Thorpe – Swimming
• 2000 Layne Beachley – Surfing
• 2001 Ian Thorpe – Swimming
• 2002 Layne Beachley – Surfing
• 2003 Layne Beachley – Surfing
• 2004 Petria Thomas – Swimming
• 2005
  Kate Bates
  – Cycling
• 2006 Brad Kahlefeldt – Triathlon
• 2007 Casey Stoner – Motorcycling
• 2008 Matthew Mitcham – Diving
• 2009
  Dani Samuels
  – Track & Field
• 2010 Stephanie Gilmore – Surfing & Tom Slingsby – Sailing
• 2011 Tom Slingsby – Sailing
• 2012 Michael Clarke – Cricket
• 2013 Jessica Fox – Canoe Slalom

Current professional franchises in national competitions

Sydney

Outside Sydney

Venues

Sydney

Outside Sydney

Sydney Olympic Park

Sydney Olympic Park is roughly in the geographical centre of Sydney. Created for the 2000 Olympics, it is now a major sporting centre in the city.

Sydney SuperDome

Sydney SuperDome hosts miscellaneous events as Sydney's premier indoors facility. It has a maximum capacity of 21,000.

Stadium Australia

The venue is the home ground of NRL teams, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs and serves as an occasional home ground for the Parramatta Eels. Stadium Australia also hosts a number of Sydney Swans home games and the occasional domestic cricket one-day match.

Other facilities

There are various other sporting and recreational facilities in the centre including another indoor arena, tennis centre, aquatic centre, athletics centre, hockey centre, archery centre, as well as the Sydney Showground. From 2009 until 2016, the area hosted a motor race in the form of the Sydney 500 on a street circuit within the former Olympic grounds.

Moore Park

Sydney Football Stadium

The

The Sydney Cricket Ground is mainly used for cricket games and Aussie rules matches. It is home to the Sydney Swans and NSW Blues. The ground held over 1000 rugby league first-grade matches in its history but is rarely used anymore.^[28]

References