Editing Bendigo (section)

== Sport ==
=== Cricket ===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth Oval Bendigo VIC.jpg|thumb|left|Queen Elizabeth Oval's 19th-century grandstand]]
[[Cricket]] and [[Australian rules football]] are the most popular sports in Bendigo. The [[Queen Elizabeth Oval]] (referred to locally as the QEO) hosts both sports. The Bendigo and District Cricket Association is the controlling body for 10 senior cricket clubs within the Bendigo area. The Emu Valley Cricket Association organises matches for 13 clubs around the Bendigo district, from Marong in the north to Heathcote in the south. Bendigo is a regional hub for state level sport, hosting numerous football, cricket, and other sports competitions annually.

=== Football ===
In terms of Australian rules football, [[Bendigo Gold]] were a semi-professional team which competed in the [[Victorian Football League]] until 2014. The Bendigo region is also home to the historic [[Bendigo Football League]], a strong Australian rules competition featuring 10 teams from throughout the region. One of the league's founding member clubs, the Bendigo-based [[Sandhurst Football Netball Club|Sandhurst Football Club]], was founded in 1861, making it one of the world's [[oldest football club]]s.

=== Other sport ===
The [[Bendigo Cup]] is a prominent [[horse-racing]] event.

The [[Bendigo Stadium]] hosted basketball games during the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]]. Bendigo's men's team is called the [[Bendigo Braves]] and the women's team is called [[Bendigo Spirit]]. In both 2013 and 2014, the women's team won the [[Women's National Basketball League]] championship. The city co-hosted the [[2003 FIBA Oceania Championship]].

Bendigo was the host to the second [[Commonwealth Youth Games]], held from 30 November to 3 December 2004.

Bendigo International Raceway, which existed on the showgrounds, opened as the Golden City International Raceway in 1971 and held racing for classes including saloons and stock cars. The venue also hosted [[motorcycle speedway]] and hosted the [[Victorian Individual Speedway Championship]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/bendigo-international-raceway.html |title=Bendigo (Vic)| website=Speedway and Road Race History |access-date=25 February 2024}}</ref>