Sport and Leisure

 Austrailan's enjoy an extensive range of sports and recreational activities. Much of Australia's population live in coastal cities. Our fabulous climate draws thousands to the beaches and the outdoors to enjoy family activities and competitive sports.

Australian Events

Australia has many famous events. Three of the most famous events are the Melbourne Cup, The Sydney to Hobart Yacht race and the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Some famous public holidays include ANZAC Day, Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday.

ANZAC Day is held on the 25th April and is the day we remember when the ANZACs (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) fought the Turks at Gallipoli in 1916. We also remember those who died in war.

Australia Day is held on the 26th January and is the day when Australia was founded in 1788 by Captain Arthur Phillip from England.

But the most famous event in Australia is a horse race called the Melbourne Cup. The race is held on the first Tuesday of November. It is 'the race that stops the nation.' In Victoria it is a public holiday. The trainer that has won the most is Bart Cummings from 1970 to 1996.

There are a lot more events that happen in Australia. But all of them have one thing in common. They are all a lot of fun.

By Anthony and Angela

Barbecues

In Australia barbecues (BBQs) and picnics are a very popular way of relaxing.

A BBQ is like a stove but it is used outside. BBQs are heated by wood or gas and have a metal plate on top or a grill. On it you can cook meat, seafood, garlic bread and onions. Often people have a salad of fresh vegetables with it.

Many people enjoy BBQs on a special day or a celebration like a birthday. Some people just have a BBQ because they want to bring their relatives together. If you go to a nice or special place you‘ll be likely see some people or a group of people you know.

People like having BBQs at swimming pools, near beaches, in parks and in the bush in National Parks. Sometimes in the middle of summer there are total fire bans to help prevent bushfires starting so people can't have outdoor BBQs if they're wood.

Our favourite place would probably be Manly Dam which is a freshwater dam surrounded by bushland right in the middle of the suburbs. There are nice picnic and BBQ tables and you can also go fishing and swimming there. There is a playground with a sandpit for the kids some people also like to bring their boats and water ski. I like going there because you can feed the ducks with your hands and they don‘t get scared.

By Sam and Marvic

Aussie fun in the water.

Australia is famous for beaches and relaxed lifestyle.

Most Australians enjoy their summer with a wide variety of water sports. Some people go to the beaches, to local swimming pools or even go down to a river. Lots of people have a swimming pool in their backyards.

Two important beach activities are Nippers and Life Saving.

Nippers is for children under 14 years of age and are held on most beaches on Sunday mornings in Spring and Summer. Activities vary depending on the child's age group and can include running and swimming races, paddle boards, and boat racing. They even have carnivals and compete against other beach Nippers. It is very popular and a great way to teach surf skills and safety.

Life Saving usually follows on from Nippers. Teenagers and young adults train to help people if their drowning or knocked unconscious when surfing and to stop surfboard riders and boats from going between the flags where swimmers are only allowed to go. They also watch for sharks and sound an alarm then go out in their boats to chase them away. If the ocean is too rough and dangerous they can sometimes close the beach and not allow people to swim.

From Andri and Tammy.

Museums and Galleries

There are lots of popular Australian museums like the Powerhouse Museum, The National Maritime Museum and the Australian Museum. Our school has been to all of them. There are three main kinds of museums: Art Museums, History Museums and Science and Technology Museums.

The Australian National Maritime Museum has thousands of exhibits depicting Australia‘s history, from ancient times when Aboriginal people trapped fish and traded with Asian neighbours, right up to the present.

Visitors can see what life was like on convict ships, how Australia 'rode on the whale‘s back,' how its first submarine fought bravely (and lost) in World War 1 at Gallipoli, what people packed when they sailed to a new life on these shores and even why surfboards have become shorter. There are displays, hands-on exhibits, a cinema and the latest museum computer games. Guided tours are also available.

Visitors can go aboard then HMAS Vampire, the former Royal Australian Navy destroyer. A free guided tour shows how the crew lived, worked and relaxed. The HMAS Vampire is a big ship.

The National Gallery of Victoria is Victoria‘s main Gallery, with one of the largest public collections in the world. It is in easy walking distance of Melbourne and close to public transport. A carpark is beneath the building.

The Gallery of Victoria maintains an exciting exhibition programme presenting significant art from around Australia and overseas. These exhibition and the diversity and outstanding quality of the collections are of continuing interest to all age groups.

By Talia and Debbie

Television

A  television is a box that runs on electricity and entertains us throughout the day. In Australia we spend a lot of time watching TV - a lot of children watch over two hours a day!! 

Three very popular children’s shows watched in Australia are ‘Bananas in Pyjamas’ for younger children, ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘The Simpsons’ for older children.

Some famous soapies in Australia are ‘Home and Away’ and ‘Neighbours’. ‘Home and Away’ is shot at Palm Beach, Sydney, about 10 km from where we live and ‘Neighbours,’ is filmed in Melbourne.

Some entertaining sports shows in Australia are ‘The Footy Show’ which is based on Rugby League football and ‘Sports Tonight’ featuring all different sports. Some of the sports shown are Football, Netball, Tennis and Soccer. Sports like these are sometimes shown live on air.

In Sydney we have the channels: ABC (channel 2), Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS (a multicultural ethnic channel where many programs are aired in languages other than English). In different parts of Australia there are different cable networks. They include Optus Vision, Foxtel and Galaxy. They give you a bigger variety of channels to watch.

By Leah, Kristy and Cheryl.

 Netball

Netball is one of the most popular sports for girls and women in Australia. It is a winter sport played by girls from eight and up. Netball is a sport where there are seven players on each team and you have to try to get as many goals as possible without cheating, stepping or the other team grabbing the ball from you.

One netball rule is that once you have caught the ball you can’t step. If you do, you will get pulled up by the umpire and the other team gets to have the ball.

Once you catch the ball you only have three seconds to shoot or pass the ball or you could be pulled up for ‘held ball’. There are only two people on each team that can shoot for a goal. Their positions are Goal Shooter and Goal Attack.

If your opposition has the ball and you go to defend them you have to stand at least one metre away, then you can put your arms out to defend them without touching her or the ball. You can only shoot a goal if you are in the goal semi circle.

There are seven positions; there are two of every position in a game and they are Centre, Goal Attack, Goal Defence, Wing Attack, Wing Defence, Goal Shooter and Goal Keeper. The Goal Keeper, Goal Shooter, Goal Attack and Goal Defence are the only people allowed in the goal semi circle.

We love netball during winter, it keeps you warm and fit and you get to meet lots of people and have fun as well.

By Patricia and Claire.

Football 

Football is a sport with many codes like Soccer, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Aussie Rules. In Australia it is a cultural necessity.

Soccer is a popular sport in Australia with an average crowd of 10 000 people per club game. Our Sydney competition has 14 teams in it and is played in the Summer and it is played from October to May. 

Rugby League is a sport where you use your hands to run and score a try and then convert it by a kick. League has two competitions the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and Super League - they are both popular.

 Rugby Union has similar rules to League because it gives 4 points for a try and 2 to convert in union. It is 5 points for a try and 2 for a kick. Also in League you have to let go of the ball after you’ve been tackled.

Aussie Rules is an Australia game which is very popular. Here in New South Wales it is very popular because of the Sydney Swans. It is played by running the ball with your hands and kicking the ball through four posts.

 In Australia football is just one way to keep fit and to have fun and meet new people. 

By Reese and Vinny.

Fitness and Health

 In Australia we are particularly concerned with keeping fit and healthy. Exercise and the right food is what keeps us fit and healthy and if you’re healthy you live longer.

All schools have programs that keep kids fit and healthy like:

Jump Rope for Heart and Gross Motor

Sports Carnivals and Daily P.E.

Circuit Training and Interschool Gala Days

Most schools participate in Jump Rope for Heart which is an association which raises money for people who have heart problems. They go to schools to demonstrate how to jump and do fun tricks. When you participate in Jump Rope for Heart you jump all day and by doing that you raise money for the National Heart Foundation.

All sports keep you fit and healthy. Children in our school play soccer, netball and rugby league.

 Schools in Australia also participate in Athletics carnivals, which involve long jump, shot put, high jump and long distance running. There are also swimming carnivals where the children race against each other.

 In Australia we keep fit by going to the gym, doing sports and exercising. 

You can also keep fit and healthy by eating the right foods like:

* fruit

* vegetables

* meats

* calcium foods like: milk, cheese and yoghurt. 

Keeping fit and healthy is really important to all Australians. 

By Chloe and Zoe.

Beach Sports

 In Australia beach sports are very popular and are mostly played in the Summer. They can be played in the ocean or on the beach. Some beach events are surfing, body surfing, swimming, running, volley ball and nippers.

 Beach volley ball is an Olympic sport. Players can win over $60,000 per series with competitions held annually. The aim of the game is to hit the ball over the net. If you’re serving and the ball touches the opposition’s ground you are awarded one point.

 Surfing is a sport which is done in the ocean. The aim of the game is to catch waves with a board while standing up on it and use all your skills to do moves.

Nippers is for kids under 14. They do a range of beach events such as sprints, swimming, board paddling and flags, which is a game where you dive for a flag which is half way buried in the sand. 

Iron man competitions are for adults and go for about 5 hours involving surf swimming, beach running and paddling a surf kayak .

Children near where we live love to go to the beach and do most of these sports.

By Patrick and Brock.

 Playground Games

 In Australia, children play a lot of games in the playground at school to keep them occupied. These games change regularly when they get bored with the old games.

 Infants children (5 - 7 years) enjoying playing games such as "mummies and daddies", "hide and seek", "duck, duck, goose", and ball games.

 Older primary children enjoy a range of games from running games, equipment games, ball games and sports.

 Some running games children play in the playground are "tip", "bullrush", "octopus", "line tag" and many others.

 Children like to use a lot of equipment for their games. Things that are popular in the playground are yoyos, marbles, skipping ropes, knuckle heads, pocket computerised games, dolls, etc. A lot of schools also have play equipment and sandpits which are very popular.

 Ball games that are popular are handball, cricket, soccer, netball, basketball, t-ball, and football.

 There are always new crazes with playground games, that excite the children and keep them busy for the whole lunch hour.

 by Simone, Jacqueline and Katherine

School Sports

 In Australia, school children play all types of sports all year round. We have excellent Australian weather that enables us to become fit and healthy people.

There are a great variety of sports that are played in schools all over Australia. Some of these are: netball, basketball, soccer, rugby league, rugby union, newcombe ball, swimming, athletics, baseball, softball, t-ball, volleyball, lacrosse, cricket, hockey, gymnastics and many others.

Schools are involved in competitive sports against each other. Some of the sports the girls prefer are netball, softball, hockey and lacrosse. The boys enjoy basketball, soccer, football, cricket, baseball, newcombe ball and tennis, however in a lot of these sports, both boys and girls can play.

There are also a lot of individual sports that Australian school children are involved in. These are swimming, running, athletics, gymnastics, skipping and so on.

As Sydney will be hosting the 2000 Olympics, children are trying harder in their sports to make themselves good enough to compete in the Games. Often children will represent their school in their district, and if they are good enough, they will go on to represent the state and maybe the country.

School sports help us to keep fit and healthy, and teach us to appreciate the outdoors more.

by Anita and Dom.