If you are a sports fan then Australia has plenty to offer. Australia has produced international champions and world record holders in many sports.

A generally temperate climate, great sporting facilities, beautiful beaches and waterways, open spaces and bushland, all encourage Australians to take up outdoor activities as part of their lifestyle.

Australia has more than 120 national sporting organisations and thousands of State, regional and club bodies. It is estimated that about one third of the population are registered sports participants.

Many more are involved in activities such as fishing, bushwalking, recreational boating, horse riding and fitness programs. Water sports have a huge following and the high interest in sailing is reflected in Australia's entry in every America's Cup challenge since 1967.

Australians are also enthusiastic sports watchers. Crowds of more than 100,000 are common in Melbourne for the grand final of the Australian Football competition.

Canoeing and Kayaking

A great sport and recreational pastime - It's diverse, challenging, relaxing, rewarding and enjoyable. It's a way to exercise and become physically fit.

Through canoeing, a new world opens up and once on the water the stresses of every day life fades away.

Cricket

Australian's love their cricket (and are rather good at it) and are fanatical about it at a national level. The first Test match between Australia and England was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (still the world's largest cricket ground) in 1877.

Sir Donald Bradman is the biggest legend of Australian cricket with a batting average of 99.94 from 52 tests and a total of 6,996 runs. But the list of world class players is endless Clarrie Grimmett, Alan Border, brother’s Ian and Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh, Merv Hughes, brothers Mark and Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist

Rugby Union

This game has a huge following within Australia, with many boys playing it from a young age.

The national team, The Wallabies, are among Australia's most successful and celebrated sportsmen.

Rugby League

Closely related to Rugby Union, although more rough and tumble. There are fewer players on the field in a league match with thirteen men making the same fearless dash to the scoring line. In Australian League, State of Origin (relating to the players' state of origin) takes the place of internationals as NSW (Cockroaches) and QLD ( Canetoads) battle it out.

Australian Rules

Invented in 1859 to keep cricketers at the peak of their physical powers during the winter months, it is the oldest code of the football world and in Australia is under the auspices of the AFL (the Australian Football League).

Victorians are absolutely mad for it and the climax of the Aussie Rules calendar, the Grand Final in September, sees 100,000 people pour into the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).

Golf

Australians love their golf. With over 1,400 golf courses to choose from and some courses being ranked in the world’s top 30, it has become the country's biggest organised sport with over 1.3 million, or nearly 10%, of the adult population tee-ing off.

Some of the big tournaments held in Australia include the Australian PGA Championship, the Australian Open Championship, the Jacob's Creek Open Championship, the Clearwater Classic and the Perth International.

Horse Racing

Australians like a punt and to satisfy this national predilection, there is race meet on every single day of the year. The biggest race of the year is the Melbourne Cup. Held on the first Tuesday in November, thousand’s dress up and flock to race tracks and pubs all over Australia. The host state of Victoria enjoys a public holiday and the rest of the country takes an unofficial afternoon off.

Mountaineering

Abseiling, or rappelling as it is sometimes known, is an exciting adventure sport that everyone can experience and enjoy. While abseiling is a fun-filled activity it also has many useful applications in critical areas and industries such as Search and Rescue, Film, Construction, Science and the Military.

Exploring canyons requires an assortment of skills from swimming to wading and abseiling. Canyoners can expect to jump into pools of crystal clear water, swim through long passages, abseil down cascading waterfalls and paddle leisurely through subterranean waterways! The canyons are home to much unique plant and animal life including colourful flora, lush ferns, exotic mosses, native fish and multicoloured yabbies which can all be seen in any one day.

Rock climbing is easily the fastest growing and most exciting of all outdoor adventure activities. It is the ultimate outdoor pursuit. Nothing on earth can compare with the challenge and exhilaration of moving gracefully up a vertical cliff face in complete harmony with the rock. It has become so popular that many gym’s have had rock climbing walls purposely built to make the sport more accessible.

Scuba Diving

Australia has much to explore underwater, from coral reefs in Western Australia and Tropical Queensland to shipwrecks scattered around its border.

Scuba Diving is however a dangerous sport that must only be performed if you receive appropriate training, abide by the rules learned in that training, and recognise that there will always be dives out there beyond you personal ability, beyond your training and your equipment.

Soccer

About the sixth most popular sport in the country, Australian soccer suffered in the early days because of the physical distance between it and the rest of the soccer-playing world. International matches were a logistical nightmare and the big guns of Europe, with their full-time Australian based scouts, picked up talent and whisked them off to the other side of the world.

However, this changed dramatically under the tutelage of internationally renowned Dutch coach Gus Hiddink, who took Australia to the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006. This was only the second time that Australia had made the finals (the other, also in Germany, was in 1974). With this boost to the country's soccer profile, combined with the re-organisation of the national soccer league, it brought the game into a new era. Today, the large number of international Australian players such as Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka demonstrate the great talent of the Aussies.

Surfing

Surfing is huge in Australia, and with the perfect climate, world class beaches and surfing breaks, it’s no surprise why!

Although the origins of surfing are obscure, it is clear that it developed in Hawaii, where it was popular during the 19th century. It spread to the east coast of Australia in 1915 and became very popular with Australian youth in the 1960s.

Surfing culture is evident all over Australia and can easily be witnessed at beaches such as Bondi in Sydney, Bells Beach in Victoria and along the strip of Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

There are also other types of surfing practiced in Australia which are spin-offs of this very popular culture. Windsurfing, Kite-surfing and Stand Up Paddle Boarding are other popular sports within the code.

Swimming

Australia is the world's largest island, and like surfing, it is no surprise why Australian’s love to swim. Top swimmers world known are Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, Ian Thorpe, Kieran Perkins, Grant Hackett and Susie O'Neill, just to name a few.

Swimming at a high level in Australia is hard work. AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) swimmers will typically "do 11 sessions per week of two hours each in the pool, three 1 hour weights sessions, and up to three 1 hour fitness or conditioning workouts".

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