Sport and recreation - News and events

Events | Featured projects | Announcements | Recreational activities

Events

The Great Australian Bushwalk - National

14 September 2008

This annual community event offers 120 free guided bushwalks in spectacular locations around Australia - the perfect chance to try bushwalking with Australia's leading community bushwalking organisations. Various locations.

Blackmores Sydney Running Festival - Sydney

21 September 2008

Last year the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival raised over half a million dollars for charities including the Heart Foundation, Osteoporosis Australia, Cure Cancer Australia, the Cancer Council and the ING Foundation. This year, the aim is to double that figure. The festival includes the Sunday Telegraph Family Fun Run, the Sunday Telegraph body+soul Bridge Run, Blackmores Half Marathon and Blackmores Sydney Marathon. Registrations are now open. Various locations.

2008 Australian University Games - Melbourne

28 September - 3 October 2008

The Australian University Games provide an opportunity for university athletes to compete against each other in a national multi-sport event.

The Coolum Kite Festival 2008 - Coolum, Queensland

11-12 October 2008

The 2008 festival will also showcase kite surfers from around Australia competing in the waves of Coolum Beach. Displays from parachute and aircraft fly-bys are also a regular inclusion, as is a cultural arts component and a popular music festival. Coolum Beach.

Samsung Melbourne Marathon - Melbourne

12 October 2008

The Melbourne Marathon includes four events: the Samsung Melbourne Marathon, the ASICS half Marathon, The Coffee Club 10km and the Active Feet 5.5km Run / Walk. All runs finish at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Registrations are now open. Various locations.

The Alice Springs Masters Games - Alice Springs

11-18 October 2008

The Alice Springs Masters Games are held biennially and run for a week in October and has over 30 sports are available for participants to compete in.

Red Bull Air Race - Perth, Western Australia

1-2 November 2008

In its fourth year, The Red Bull Air Race World Series will again conclude in Perth over the Swan River. The 2008 event will run over two days with qualifying taking place on Saturday 1 November and Race Day on Sunday 2 November. Spectators will be able to view the race from around the banks of the Swan River. Swan River.

League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia - Sydney

5 September - 23 November 2008

Remember the legends, see the treasures and relive the historic moments of rugby league. From Dally Messenger to Darren Lockyer, League of Legends: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia is an exhibition that tells some of the game's great stories from the past century. Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Featured projects

The Rides Calendar - New South Wales

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

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

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

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Western Australia
• Victoria

Collection resources and online publications

• Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
• Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) Museum
• Sydney Cricket Ground Museum
• Bradman Museum

Institutions and government organisations

• Sport and physical activity statistics - Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Australian Sports Foundation
• The National Institute of Circus Arts

Peak bodies and associations

• Australian Bicycle Council
• Outdoor Council of Australia
• Australian Commonwealth Games Association
• Outdoor Recreation Centre - Victoria

People

• Don Bradman

Featured websites/projects

• Sportex, Australian Institute of Sport - Canberra

Look, listen, play

• National Parks interactive games
• State forest party game

Related Culture and Recreation Portal Stories

Sport

• Don Bradman
• Football
• Sporting greats
• Sport and the media
• Tennis
• Surf life saving
• Swimming

Recreation

• The beach
• National parks
• Rocks and mountains
• Walks
• Zoos