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Sport and Tourism in Australia

Contents:

I. Introduction

II. Main Body:

· Sports and Recreation

· Cricket

· Australian Rules Football

· Rugby

· Other Sport

· Tourism

III. Conclusion

IV. The list of the used literature

I. Introduction:

Tourism is the world's largest and fastest growing industry. In recent years there have been increases in international tourism for the purpose of experiencing another culture. There is a wide-spread opinion that the economic impact of tourism is always positive while the social and environmental impact is always negative. Indeed, increasing incomes to regions due to tourists are easy to see as well as numerous host-tourist conflicts and destruction of the environment and local cultures. However, tourism can have both positive and negative outcomes for residents in communities when sharing and preserving their culture and nature could be seen as conflicting goals. (Besculides, Lee, McCormick, 2002:303) In this paper I will consider impacts of tourism with reference to the Australia. The area is unique because of its nature and variety of sea activities, e.g. fishing, boat trips, sailing etc.Today those resources which used to be source of living for the local community have become very attractive for tourists. It is a challenge to get most profits of the situation and avoid possible conflicts.

II. Sports and Recreation

Often referred to as the national identity, Australians take sport very seriously. You can't walk into a bar without a sports event from somewhere in Oz on TV. In winter, Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria catch footy fever for Australian Rules Football, while New South Wales and Queensland traditionally follow rugby. In summer, cricket is the spectator sport of choice across the nation. Star Aussie Rules football players and top cricketers enjoy hero status. Tune in to H. G. Nelson and Roy Slaven's Sunday afternoon Triple-J radio show This Sporting Life for a taste of Aussie sport culture, or check out the ridiculously popular Footy Show, on television's Channel 9.

Cricket

The uninitiated may have trouble making sense of a sport where people can "bowl a maiden over of five flippers and a googly," but visitors won't be able to avoid the enthusiasm. Two teams of 11 players face off in a contest that can last anywhere from an afternoon to five days. Each summer, international cricket overshadows the national competition. Not just a scrimmage, a "test match" is the most lengthy and serious form of international cricket. In 1877, Australia's cricket team headed to England for its first international test against the mother country, emerging victorious. The Australians, as a shocked English reporter wrote, had "taken off with the ashes" of English cricket. Ever since then, British and Australian Test teams have been in noble contest for "the Ashes" (the trophy is a small, symbolic urn) with other former British colonial countries such as India, Pakistan, and South Africa joining in the competition. In December and January, international teams arrive for a full tour, consisting of five test matches, one each in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane. The five-day tests, accompanied by smaller one-day matches, are over by February, just in time for the country to turn its attention to national cricket and the Sheffield Shield finals in March.

Australian Rules Football

In Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, the Australian Football League (AFL) teams fill the winter void that the end of the cricket season leaves. Played on cricket ovals, the game was originally designed to keep cricket players in shape in the off-season. The AFL grand final, in early September, is a marvelous spectacle at the home of Australian sport, the MCG. For more information on footy, see Footy 101, p. 22.

Rugby

According to legend, rugby was born one glorious day in 1823 when one inspired (or perhaps frustrated) student in Rugby, England, picked up a soccer ball and ran it into the goal. Since then, rugby has evolved (or devolved) into an intricately punishing game with two variants: rugby union involving 15-man teams, and rugby league with 13-man teams. Despite the international reputation of the national union team, the Wallabies, rugby union sometimes carries a muted following. Since they defeated France to win the World Cup in 1999, though, rugby union has grown in popularity. Matches such as the Super 12 tournament and Tri-nation series (Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand) often pack stadiums and pubs. Part of the Tri-nation series, the Bledisloe Cup (first played in 1931) perpetuates a healthy animosity with Australia's down-under cousin, New Zealand.

Rugby league attracts a much larger following, especially in New South Wales and Queensland. The national league competition culminates in the National Rugby League (NRL) final in September. The only match that comes close to the intensity or popularity of the NRL final is the State of Origin series in June, when Queensland takes on New South Wales. Both games promise a mix of blood, mud, and plenty of drinking. For more info, check out www.rugbyworld.com.

Other Sport

While the Australian team hasn't entered the World Cup since 1974, soccer is widely played, and Australia's National Soccer League has a fierce fanbase. Melbourne hosts one of tennis' Grand Slam events, the Australian Open, each January. Grassy tennis courts, bowling greens, and golf courses pepper the cities coast-to-coast. Most towns also have a horse racing track, and on the first Tuesday in November, the entire country stops to watch jockeys jockey for the prestigious Melbourne Cup, where fashionable and outlandish attire sometimes appears more important than the race. On Boxing Day, even as the Melbourne Cricket Test gets underway, half of Australia's amateur sailing community fills Sydney Harbour with billowing white sails to begin the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, the highlight in a full calendar of water sports. Australia is famous for its surfing, which for some is a competitive sport in addition to a great way to spend a summer morning.