Melbourne, one of the great sporting cities of the world, has been for some time now considered to be the national sporting capital of Australia, and Melbournians have been called ‘sports-mad’. The center of Sports in Melbourne is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the only stadium in the world to have hosted both Olympic Games as well as Commonwealth Games. Over a kilometer out of the city is the MCG, which has the capacity to seat almost 100,000 people, and is the site of the first ever Test cricket match, between Australia and England, the site of the first ever Australian Rules Football game and the home of the annual Grand Final of Aussie Rules.
According to a report by Sweeney Sports, based on participation, attendance and media interest, the biggest sports in Australia based on interest, are swimming (61%), Australian rules (54%), cricket (54%), tennis (52%), and football (soccer) (50%), followed by rugby league (42%), and rugby union (40%).
Some of the most popular Sports in Melbourne are: 1. Australian rules football
2. Baseball
3. Basketball
4. Cricket
5. Cycling
6. Football (soccer)
7. Golf
8. Hockey
9. Horse racing
10. Lacrosse
11. Motor sports
12. Netball
13. Rugby league
14. Rugby union
15. Softball
16. Tennis There are also a number of winter Sports in Melbourne such as: 1. Skiing
2. Snowboarding
3. Cross-country skiing
4. Biathlon
5. Freestyle skiing (including aerial skiing and moguls)
6. Ice hockey
7. Curling
8. Short track speed skating and
9. Figure skating Sports in Melbourne are so important, that the city has played host to scores of key sporting events including the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival (featuring the ‘race that stops the nation’, the Melbourne Cup), the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the Australian round of the MotoGP, the Australian Open Tennis Championship and the AFL Grand Final. Melbourne also hosted the first Olympic Games in the southern hemisphere in 1956, as well as the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Yearly, Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments; the famous Melbourne Cup horse race; the ‘Boxing Day’ cricket test match held between 26 December–30 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. People in Melbourne are great lovers of activities and sports, and there are a number of Sports played in Melbourne.
|
