What would be Australia's official national sport?

Australia has neither a de jure (written into law) nor a de facto (commonly assumed but not writteninto law) official national sport. For a nation steeped in sporting tradition there is many sports incontention to take the mantle, but which sports have made the biggest contribution to Australianculture and identifies with Australian values and thus might be the most suitable candidate to be ourofficial national sport? Matt Hogan investigates.

Most countries that choose a de jure national sport do so to honour the tradition and heritage of thenation. Quite often they are sports that are unique to or were at least were invented in the countryand thus are part of the nation's story. They are not always the most popular nor the mostparticipated in sports, for instance, in Argentina the de jure sport is pato, Mexico's is charreria andBrazil's is capoeira.

Surf lifesaving's unique contribution to Australia makes it a contender for the national sport. Photo:Dan Townsend / flickr / CC BY-NC

One such sport that is giving a lot back to the Australian community is surf lifesaving, a competitivesurf sport that officially began in 1907 in Bondi. The sport evolved from the training activities oflifesavers and is seen as a unique Australian version of the Ironman events. Events in surf lifesavinginclude ocean swimming, beach running and paddle boarding. There are also other events like thesurf boat races and mock rescues.

Bondi Surf Lifesaving spokesperson Maite Chusan says it would be "huge" for the sport to berecognised.

"The fact it's a volunteer organisation that provides an invaluable service to society and everyonecan feel safe at patrolled beaches because of the work that the lifeguards put in ... I actually don'tknow why it isn't already Australia's national sport."

Surf lifesaving currently teaches beach awareness to school children in coastal communities andruns programs to bring children from rural communities to the beach and train them in beachprotocols and basic surf skills.

In Canada, both a summer sport and winter sport are recognised as national sports - lacrosse and icehockey respectively - because it is seen as fair to recognise sports from the distinctively different

seasons. It is possible that Australia could recognise both a coastal and a rural sport to representdifferent ways of life in the same land.

Campdrafting is a unique Australian rodeo-style sport involving a horse and rider working cattle.The drover cuts out one beast from a heard of cattle and controls it around a type of obstacle course.This sport was developed in Queensland among the stockmen and drovers but the first official eventwas held in Tenterfield in 1885.

Campdraft is another uniquely Australian sport, and one that pays homage to our agricultural roots.Photo: Ian Sanderson / flickr / CC BY-NC-ND

Australia holds its colonial heritage with much prestige and to honour Australia's own outback sportcould be fitting. It would draw attention and pride to rural Australia and it might encourage the cityslickers to learn more about the history and importance of Australia's agricultural roots.

Countries that have de facto national sportssuch as the US (baseball), India (fieldhockey), Japan (Sumo) and England(cricket) have bestowed the title throughmedia and the natural course of custom intheir respective countries.

Australian rules football developed in thelate 1850s in Victoria. As the namesuggests, it is a game unique to our shoresand is immensely popular in most parts ofour beloved land. According to theAustralian Bureau of Statistics, Aussie rulesis more than twice as popular inparticipation rates for men than any otherfootball code. It also is also the most

attended and highest revenue-earning sport. It qualifies as our nomination for a de facto nationalsport over the other football codes for these reasons.

Despite its popularity, it would be controversial to pick one of the football codes out for specialconsideration over the others and might possibly cause friction among the public and the differentcodes. Aussie rules has always been popular in the southern and western states but it has onlyrecently infiltrated the hearts of New South Welshmen and Queenslanders who prefer other football

codes.

Cricket has been played in Australia for over two hundred years. The game was developed inEngland and was played between the colonies as early as 1803, so its no surprise that cricket hasblossomed to be our premier summer sport. The first Australian tour to England was an all-Indigenous team in 1868. In 1882, a famous victory by Australia began one of the most famoussporting rivalries between Australia and England, the Ashes.

Cricket has also spawned some of Australia's greatest sporting heroes including Don Bradman,Shane Warne and Dennis Lillee. Cricket mounts a strong case, but it is already the de facto nationalsport of England and the West Indies.

There are many more sports in contention including swimming, cycling and surfing (to name a few)and perhaps that's the problem, according to government spokesman Andrew Blow. "We are such amulticultural and diverse country, the idea that any one sport could accurately represent allAustralians is a tough call."

However Mr Blow was unsure of the government's official stance and whether it would consider theidea of discussing the topic.