Editing Darwin, Northern Territory (section)

== Sports ==
{{Main|Sport in the Northern Territory}}
[[File:Marrara_Oval_grandstand.png|thumb|Marrara Oval, the largest sports stadium in the Northern Territory]]
The [[Marrara Oval|Marrara Sports Complex]] near the airport has stadiums for [[Australian rules football|Australian rules]] ([[Marrara Oval|TIO Stadium]]), cricket, [[rugby league]], football, basketball (and indoor court sports), [[Sport of athletics|athletics]] and [[field hockey]]. Every two years since 1991 (excluding 2003 due to the [[SARS]] outbreak), Darwin has hosted the [[Arafura Games]], a major regional sporting event. In July 2003, the city hosted its first international [[test cricket]] match between [[Australia national cricket team|Australia]] and [[Bangladesh national cricket team|Bangladesh]], followed by Australia and [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lanka]] in 2004.

Australian rules is played all year round and the Territory's premier league competition, the [[Northern Territory Football League]] is based in Darwin. [[Australian Football League]] clubs generally sell a handful of games to the Northern Territory each year, some of which are played at [[Marrara Oval]]. Darwin is part of a bid for a Northern Territory AFL license for proposed entry into the competition by 2028 at the earliest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-06/nt-government-announces-scoping-study-for-afl-team-licence/10346610 |title=NT Government announces $100,000 scoping study in bid to secure AFL team licence |work=ABC News (Australia) |date=5 October 2018 |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-06/territory-explores-potential-bid-for-afl-team |title=Territory explores potential bid for AFL team |publisher=AFL |last=McGowan |first=Mark |date=6 October 2018 |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref> The Darwin-based [[Indigenous All-Stars (Australian football)|Indigenous All-Stars]] have participated in the [[Australian Football League|AFL]] pre-season competition. In 2003, a record crowd of 17,500 attended a pre-season game between the All-Stars and [[Carlton Football Club]] at Marrara.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=69|title=Marrara Stadium|work=Australian Stadiums}}</ref>

[[Rugby league in the Northern Territory|Rugby League]] and [[Rugby union in the Northern Territory|Rugby Union]] club competitions are played in Darwin each year, organised by the NTRL and NTRU respectively. The [[Darwin Hottest Sevens]] in the World tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, with [[Rugby Sevens]] club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s is the richest Rugby 7s tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name="Hottest 7s">{{cite web | date = 2011 | url = http://www.hottest7s.com/about/welcome/ | title = Welcome | access-date =  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130630074005/http://www.hottest7s.com/about/welcome/ | archive-date = 30 June 2013 | website = Hottest 7s In The World | url-status = live }}</ref>

Darwin hosts a round of the [[Supercars Championship]] every year, bringing thousands of motorsports fans to the [[Hidden Valley Raceway]]. Also in Hidden Valley, adjacent to the road-racing circuit, is Darwin's [[dirt track racing]] venue, [[Northline Speedway]]. The speedway has hosted a number of Australian Championships over the years for different categories including [[Australian Sprintcar Championship|Sprintcars]], [[Australian Speedcar Championship|Speedcars]], and [[Australian Super Sedan Championship|Super Sedans]].

The Darwin Cup culminating on the first Monday of August is a popular horse race event for Darwin and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. While it is not as popular as the [[Melbourne Cup]], it does draw a crowd and, in 2003, [[Sky Racing]] began televising most of the races. The Darwin Cup day is a public holiday for the Northern Territory ([[Picnic Day (Australian holiday)|Picnic Day]] public holiday).

There is one [[Greyhound racing in Australia|greyhound racing]] track in Darwin at Winnellie Park on Hook Road. It is the only track in the Northern Territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://australianracinggreyhound.com/tracks/|title=Winellie Park (Darwin)|date=11 September 2015|publisher=Australian Racing Greyhound|access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref>

In 2022, the [[Darwin Salties]] basketball club will debut in the [[Queensland]]-based [[NBL1 North]] competition, making the [[NBL1]] the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nbl1.com.au/news/darwin-basketball-northern-territory-to-make-nbl1-a-truly-national-competition|title=Darwin/ Basketball Northern Territory to make NBL1 a truly national competition|work=NBL1.com.au|date=10 November 2021|access-date=10 November 2021}}</ref>