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Featured Stories

Art of the land in Western Australia Heidelberg School Crossing the Great Dividing Range

Sport and recreation - News and events

Events | Featured projects | Announcements | Recreational activities

Events

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - National

AFR Midnight Rambler with crew from 1998 Hobart race. Image courtesy of Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008.

26 December 2008 - 1 January 2009

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008 will be conducted on the waters of Sydney Harbour, the Tasman Sea, Storm Bay and the Derwent River. Over the past 63 years, the Rolex Sydney to Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Davis Cup tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England.

Skandia Geelong Week - Geelong

24-26 January 2009

More than a yachting event, Skandia Geelong Week is the Melbourne Cup of the sailing world. More than 100,000 visitors will head to the Geelong Waterfront for the free three-day shoreside program featuring more than 60 live performances on three waterfront stages, art exhibitions, aerobatic displays, fireworks, gourmet food and wine, children's entertainment and activities, beach volleyball, outrigger canoeing and art and craft markets.

Tour Down Under - Adelaide

18-25 January 2009

Image courtesy of Tour Down Under 2009.

The Tour Down Under is a week-long festival of action and entertainment when the world's best cycling teams light up South Australia in the first race of the prestigious UCI ProTour calendar. From beaches to vineyards, through the city of Adelaide and iconic South Australian towns, the six-stage Tour Down Under is a truly world-class event that showcases the speed, skill and spectacle that is professional cycling. Various locations.

12th Australian Masters Games - Geelong

Image courtesy of 12th Australian Masters games.

20 February - 1 March 2009

The Confederation of Australian Sport (CAS) is the owner of the Australian Masters Games, a biennial event. The Games will be conducted under CAS's charter of 'Sport for All', providing the opportunity for participation and competition for people over the age of 30 years, regardless of background or ability, with the aim of encouraging lifelong participation in sport. While the competition is important, one of the key attractions of the Games is the social interaction and spirit of camaraderie experienced by participants. Various locations.

Featured projects

The Rides Calendar - New South Wales

Big Ride 2007. Image courtesy of Bicycle NSW.

Bicycle NSW offers over 100 free organised and guided bike rides each month. They vary in length, difficulty and scenery. All you need is a bike in good working order, a helmet and the desire to see New South Wales by bike. Children are welcome on some rides, some rides provide refreshments, some are for mountain bikes only, and some are for the over 50s.

Sport Administrator Network

July 2007
Sport Administrator Network is a free service targeted to the presidents, vice presidents, club secretaries, treasurers, committee members and general administrators at all sport associations, clubs and controlling bodies across Australia. Updated daily and distributed in a weekly e-news alert, reports are grouped into key categories such as Funding & Grants, and Sport Development, which allows readers to quickly and easily monitor important news and information. It also features a forum for clubs to make announcements, a searchable archive and links to other websites.

Good Sports, Managing alcohol in sports

February 2007
Good Sports aims to reduce alcohol and other drug problems, increase the viability of sporting clubs, and improve the range and quality of sports options available within the community. The program helps sporting clubs manage alcohol responsibly and reduce alcohol-related problems such as binge and underage drinking.

Play by the Rules

Participation in sport and recreation, particularly at the community level, should be fun. Preventing and eliminating discrimination and harassment goes a long way to ensure enjoyment from participation. Play by the Rules is a program that provides information and online training on discrimination, harassment and child protection to address inappropriate behaviour in sport. The Play by the Rules program complements the Australian Sports Commission's Harassment-free Sport Strategy.

Preventing Sport Rage - New South Wales

New South Wales Sport and Recreation's online sport-rage prevention program, unveiled last year, is proving a popular source of information on addressing bad behaviour in sport. The site has specific tips for parents, players and coaches to encourage them to become good role models and help create a positive sporting environment.

Active Australia Schools Network

Image courtesy of the Australian Sports Foundation.

More than 1,100 schools around Australia are members of the Active Australia Schools Network, which helps fund specialist school sporting programs. Schools share ideas through a regular newsletter, have access to current resources and get all the planning tools they need to increase student numbers in sport and physical activity programs. Memberships details and more information can be found on the website.

Running a Club - Victoria

Clubs provide enormous community and social benefits. They also have a responsibility to offer a fair, safe and equitable sporting environment. When running a club, it is important to consider and enforce codes of conduct, risk management strategies and member protection guidelines to ensure everyone has a fun, safe and inclusive experience.

Announcements

Melbourne's new National Sports Museum

13 March 2008
Melbourne's new National Sports Museum is located at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cricket display From Backyard to Baggy Green takes pride of place in the collection of 2300 items representing Australia's sporting history and includes the display of cricket bats from 1770 to the present. The AFL football team, a set of goalposts and a life-sized statue of former Carlton captain Alex Jesaulenko taking the mark of the century in the 1970 grand final. The Brabham-Repco car in which Sir Jack Brabham won the F1 championships in 1966 has been lent to the museum. The Faster, Higher, Stronger section is devoted to Olympic memorabilia. The museum is hoping for 350,000 visitors in the first year. The museum has been built with a $25m grant from the Federal Government and replaces tech Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum.

Recreation activities

The beach

Most of Australia's population lives close to the coastline and the beach has long occupied a special place in the Australian identity. For more information about Australian's beaches, visit our Australian beach story.

Walks

Walkers, South Australia. Image courtesy of South Australian Office for Recreation and Sport

Before the colonisation of Australia, Indigenous Aborigines walked the land as hunters and gatherers. In the early years of colonisation, putting 'one foot in front of the other' was simply a means of transport. Over the years, however, walking has evolved into a recreational activity and today it is a popular way for people to enjoy the outdoors and Australia's unique bushland, flora and fauna. For more information, see our story on Walks - city walks, bushwalking and rogaining.

Rocks and mountains

Australia is a very flat continent where the average elevation is just 330 metres, the lowest in the world. What Australia lacks in height is more that made up for in the variety, geological age and unique appearance of its mountains and rocky outcrops - some of the oldest and most interesting exposed rocks in the world. For more information - see our story on Rocks and mountains.

National parks

Australia has over 500 national parks. Over 28 million hectares of land is designated as national parkland, accounting for almost four per cent of Australia's land areas. In addition, a further six per cent of Australia is protected and includes state forests, nature parks and conservation reserves. Further information can be found in our story on National Parks.

Zoos and aquariums

Australia has a wealth of public and private zoos and aquariums. Some include exotic species such as big cats and elephants, while others focus on Australian animals and birds. Some emphasise their breeding programs for endangered animals. For a list of Australia's zoos and aquariums, visit our Australian story on Zoos.

Key online resources

Sporting events and recreational activities by state or territory

Collection resources and online publications

Institutions and government organisations

Peak bodies and associations