Editing Culture of Australia (section)

===Other sports===
[[File:PharLap.JPG|thumb|left|[[Phar Lap]] winning the [[Melbourne Cup]], "the race that stops a nation"]]
[[Horse racing]] has had a prominent place in Australian culture since the colonial era, with the first spectator sports event in Australia being [[Lachlan Macquarie]]'s race meeting at [[Hyde Park, Sydney|Hyde Park]], Sydney, in 1810.<ref>Lester, Gary and Heads, Ian (2010). ''And the Crowd Went Wild'', Playright Publishing</ref> First run in 1861, the [[Melbourne Cup]] is known as "the race that stops a nation" for the enthusiasm with which Australians tune in for the annual race, and is said to encapsulate the country's twin obsessions of sport and [[gambling in Australia|gambling]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Melbourne Cup: The horse race that captivates and divides Australia |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/en/podcast-episode/melbourne-cup-horse-race-explainer/squgz9mad |access-date=16 August 2024 |website=SBS Language |language=en}}</ref>

[[Basketball]] is popular in Australia in terms of participation, especially among children.<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Sports%20and%20physical%20recreation~116 Sport and Physical Recreation], [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]. Retrieved 9 June 2014.</ref> The [[National Basketball League (Australasia)|National Basketball League]] (NBL) began in 1979 and is contested by eight teams—seven from Australia and one from New Zealand.<ref name=nbl-hq>[http://www.nbl.com.au/nbl-hq NBL HQ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626103747/http://www.nbl.com.au/nbl-hq |date=26 June 2015 }}</ref> The [[Women's National Basketball League]] (WNBL) is the top women's basketball league, having begun in 1981, and the [[Australia national women's basketball team|national women's team]] (the Opals) has won medals at the Olympics since 1994. [[Netball]] has the highest participation rate of any women's sport in Australia. Established in 2008, the [[ANZ Championship]] is the premier netball league in Australia and New Zealand, featuring five teams from each country. The [[Australian national netball team]] (the Diamonds) is considered the best in the world, having won 10 of 13 [[World Netball Championships]].

The Australian [[V8 Supercars]] series is steadily growing in popularity across the world, where television coverage allows.

Australia regularly raises world champion [[field hockey]] teams. Australian [[Road bicycle racing|cyclists]] have won international cycling competitions, most notably [[Cadel Evans]]' win in the [[2011 Tour de France]]. In 2008, the [[Tour Down Under]], centred around Adelaide, became the first [[UCI ProTour]] cycling race to be held outside of Europe. Among young people and within schools nationwide, various forms of handball or [[downball]] games have been among the most prevalent sports games for some decades.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

[[File:Kiandra carnival 1900 Charles Kerry.jpeg|thumb|[[Skiing in Australia]] began in [[Kiandra]], a goldmining town in the [[Snowy Mountains]] of New South Wales, in the 1860s.]]
Snow sports are enjoyed in the [[Australian Alps]] and in Tasmania. [[Skiing in Australia]] was first introduced by Norwegian miners in the gold mining town of [[Kiandra, New South Wales|Kiandra]] in the [[Snowy Mountains]] of New South Wales around 1859. The sport remains a popular winter activity in the south-eastern states and territories. Major [[alpine skiing]] resorts include [[Thredbo]], [[Perisher Ski Resort|Perisher]] and [[Charlotte Pass]] in New South Wales; [[Mount Hotham]], [[Falls Creek, Victoria|Falls Creek]] and [[Mount Buller]] in Victoria and [[Mount Ben Lomond]] in Tasmania. Extensive areas are available for cross country skiing within national parks including [[Kosciuszko National Park]] (NSW), [[Alpine National Park]] (VIC); [[Namadgi National Park]] (ACT) and in the [[Tasmanian Wilderness]]. Australia has long [[Australia at the Winter Olympics|participated in the Winter Olympics]] and has won medals at the Games since the 1990s.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Increased interest and participation in American sports has led to opportunities for Australians to play at the top level in sports such as [[baseball]], [[ice hockey]] and [[American football]]. [[Grant Balfour]] is a relief pitcher for the [[Tampa Bay Rays]], and played in the [[2008 World Series]]. The skill set of Australian rules footballers fits the mould of US [[National Football League]] (NFL) [[Punter (football)|punters]], and they stand out from their American peers with their ability to tackle returners. Two former AFL footballers competed in the 2009 [[National Football Conference|NFC]] Championship game as punters, [[Saverio Rocca]] for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] and [[Ben Graham (football player)|Ben Graham]] for the [[Arizona Cardinals]]. Graham's appearance in [[Super Bowl XLIII]] made him the first Australian to play in the NFL's championship game. The first College Bowl game to feature two Australians was the [[2012 BCS National Championship Game]] with punter [[Brad Wing]] from LSU and defensive end [[Jesse Williams (American football)|Jesse Williams]] for Alabama. In 2018, [[Nathan Walker]], the first Australian drafted by an NHL team, also became the first to play on a Stanley Cup winning team, the 2018 Washington Capitals.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}