FINAL REFLECTION

Before I came to Sydney, I knew very little about Australian sports. Although I had heard about rugby and cricket before, I did not know any of the rules. I had never seen a game of either sport. I had absolutely no idea that netball or lawn bowls even existed. I read in my guidebook before coming to Sydney that Australians played a lot of sports. However, I did not know how significant sport plays a role in Australian culture. I learned that children are socialized at an early age to engage in physical activity whether it is organized or recreational sport. From what I witnessed at the University of Sydney, sport is also ingrained in college life on campus. I also learned that Australians cherish their sports teams and love to cheer them on at professional sporting events. The field trips opened my eyes to indigenous sport as well.

            Our first field trip to watch the nippers was both exciting and educational. The atmosphere reminded me of youth soccer in the United States. Both environments provided an experience for young children where they could participate in an active experience while learning important skills both socially and physically. I learned that Australian’s physical environment plays a significant role in participation in sport. Children learn swimming and surf rescue at an early age because most of them live in communities located right by the ocean. I was impressed by the seeming fearlessness of the children running into the enormous waves at Maroubra beach. It is my perspective that young swimmers in Australia are tougher than American youth swimmers. I learned that the Surf Live Saving Association depends a great deal on the support of volunteers to provide a safe, fun, and educational environment.

I decided to attend a cricket game on my own to learn more about the rules and structure of sport at the college level. I watched a match between St. Johns and St. Andrews at the University of Sydney. It was a great feeling to know that I could just sit by the cricket field for a couple hours without having to pay a fee to get in. Collegiate games in the United States usually require tickets or money for entry. At my home university, we can go to any sport game for free. However, I still have never been to watch many of the sporting events at campus. Therefore, I was very excited that I could just drop by the cricket game whenever I wanted. The fans, who were mostly residents of the two competing colleges, were very supportive of the players. They made signs and cheered them on from the sidelines. Even though I found American baseball more enjoyable, I valued this experience because cricket is unique to Australian culture.

            After going to the cricket game on my own, I was inspired to go to watch a professional rugby league game on my own. I attended a match between the Roosters and the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Football Stadium. I was proud of myself that I knew there are two types of rugby, rugby league and rugby union, before attending this event. I really enjoyed this experience because I was able to get a taste of sporting events in Australia as a form of entertainment. This experience was educational because I learned a lot about the rules and regulations of rugby league. I also was able to get a feel for the passion that Australians feel about sport. I was attracted to a particular section in the stadium because the fans were loud, energetic, and enthusiastic. In addition, it was enjoyable to watch a game that is interrupted little by penalties, television breaks, and promotional stunts. I learned that the passion for the game rather than commercialization drives Australian sports. Our field trip to the indigenous rugby league match at the Coogee Oval provided a good contrast to the rugby league game at the SFS. I learned that participation in sport pervades all ethnic and racial groups. The indigenous rugby players were extremely tough and aggressive. The players did not care about the fans or the weather conditions given that it started to pour in the second half. They were very focused on playing their best and winning pride for their team.

            My favorite event this semester was the field trip to the Sydney Swans AFL game. Again, I noticed how accessible it is to attend Sydney’s sporting events. I noticed on the Sydney Cricket Ground’s website beforehand that they encouraged attendees to take public transportation to the game. The site even laid out all of the major transportation routes to make it easy for people to get there. I thought this was symbolic of Australia’s sport culture. It shows that they really care about people getting to the game rather than raking in large sums of money in parking fees. We arrived just a little bit late and the match had already started, which is typically not the case in the US. I learned that Australians do not waste time on big elaborate introductions and promotional acts. Australian football itself is very entertaining because it is very fast-paced and quick. People who attend American NFL games also tend to be older males, who go with their buddies or work friends. However, I noticed a wide variety of people at the Swans game ranging from young kids to older adults. Everyone seemed like they were having a great time whether they were with family or hanging out with friends while sharing a beer.

            Overall, I really enjoyed this course because I had the opportunity to learn through personal experience rather than academic materials. The field trips were both educational and enjoyable as they aided the lectures taught in the material and provided a way to explore Australian culture first-hand. I appreciated how enthusiastic and knowledgeable the instructors were about Australian sport. They effectively conveyed the role of sport in Australia’s sense of who they are in the world. I thought I was just going to learn about the rules and structure of each sport. However, I was pleased by how much I learned about the intersection of sport and Australian culture. I even enjoyed writing in my blog every week because it gave me a chance to interpret my observations and impressions of each event. I was so impressed by how much I learned that I made my family read my blog too. I also was able to educate my other study abroad friends about Australian sport, who did not have the opportunity to take this class.

            

The Australian Netball Diamonds

After attending the junior netball games at Nagle Park, my perceptions of netball were not great. I thought the game required less skill and athleticism than other sports. However, I also took into account that the players were younger and therefore by nature less skilled and competitive. Therefore, I decided to give netball the benefit of the doubt by researching more about it at the elite level. I came across the Australian Netball Diamonds, which represents Australia at the international level. The team is composed of 12 players, who are selected prior to each major competition. I was excited to find out that the Australian Netball Diamonds will compete in the 13th World Netball Championships in Singapore from July 3-10, 2011. Fun fact: Singapore is the only Asian country to host the championship. The Diamonds will compete against 15 other teams, including the top 5 teams from the 2007 World Netball Championship, from which the Diamonds won a gold medal. The selection process starts in two days on May 27th. I also ventured onto the Diamonds' Facebook page for fans. I was surprised that only 3,230 people liked this fan page. However, I do believe my perspective of netball has changed from learning about the Diamonds. From reading the comments on the Diamond's Facebook page, I realized that the Australians, particularly women, are very proud of the Diamonds and their success internationally. More importantly, I think the Diamonds inspire young girls to be passionate about sports and to pursue netball to the highest level.

Sydney Swans vs. Hawthorn

On Sunday, I went on the class field trip to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Sydney Swans take on the visiting Hawthorn Hawks. I was very excited to watch this AFL match because football is such a big part of Australian sport culture. I came dressed in red and white ready to cheer on the Swans. The stadium was packed with fans, who were mostly supporting the home team. There were more fans at this match than at the rugby league game I attended recently. I soon realized why this might be true. At least in my opinion, AFL is much more exciting than rugby league because it is faster-paced. There are more possession changes and goals in roughly the same amount of time. The ball was constantly in motion as it was thrown or kicked to teammates across the field. I noticed the AFL players were leaner than rugby league players. I remembered learning in class that AFL players do a lot more running than rugby league players do, which means they probably have to do more conditioning than strength training. I also noticed that the field was oval shaped, which although seems odd, it was great for spectating because you can see more of the action. The past history between the two teams favored the Swans, winning the last 10 of the 11 matches at the SCG against the Hawks. However, this was not the case on Sunday. The match was close at the beginning, but the Hawks found their motivation in the second term.  The Hawks completely dominated the third quarter securing a 46-point victory over the Swans.

White Water Rafting!

I was not able to make the field trip last Saturday (May 14) to the ANZ stadium because I was in Melbourne for the weekend. I decided to share my experience White Water Rafting during Easter break instead. I went White Water Rafting with two friends on level 3 rapids. We were given helmets, a life jacket, and a paddle each. We expected it to be fairly easy and relaxing because the stream was calm and slow. However, we were not aware that they were going to remove the dam releasing water into the stream to make the rapids more forceful. Thankfully, we were accompanied by two guides in our boat. The journey down the river started off rather slow, but before we knew it, we were paddling down small rapids and crashing into rocks. We started to realize our guides were crashing into the rocks on purpose to make it more exciting and fun for us. We stopped at multiple points to regroup and regain our energy. At certain points, I had to grab onto the rope to stop from falling off and I even fell into the raft a couple times. The experience was much more strenuous than I had expected.
When I got back to Sydney, I did some research on competitive White Water Rafting in Australia, and discovered the Australian Rafting Federation, founded in 2000. The ARF is an internationally recognized body that organizes White Water Rafting competitions in Australia. 30 million people worldwide are actively involved in White Water Rafting as one of the fastest growing adventure sports. Team Oz reps a consistently high standing in worldwide competition. Team Oz depends a great deal on sponsorship and financial support from their fans to be able to compete nationally and internationally. The ARF is also extremely devoted to ensuring the future success of the Rafting Industry within Australia. A picture of Team Oz is featured below:

Junior rugby and netball!

We arrived at Nagle Park Maroubra early Saturday morning at 9:15 am to watch junior sporting events. We were at a massive field divided up into mini rugby fields. The rugby players were mostly 8-year-old boys, aside from a "pink" girls team. Parents, siblings, and their dogs lined the fields cheering on the boys. They were accompanied by their coaches on the field, who were instructing them as they went along. I was surprised how much the boys were allowed to tackle each other, especially since they were so young. Their parents and coaches were encouraging them to be tough and aggressive. I overheard a boy saying that his team was going to "crush" the other team. 

At 10:30 am, we walked over to the junior netball games across the street. We watched our teacher's daughter play against the Butterflies team. They were a bit older (12-years-old) than the rugby players, which was a little bit more exciting because they needed less assistance from coaches. I was surprised by their outfits because girls are not accustomed to wearing skirts uniforms in the States, other than field hockey players. I was also surprised by how many rules and regulations there were in netball. I wondered how the goalkeeper could prevent their opponents from shooting if they had to be 3 feet away. I also thought it was interesting that the players couldn't dribble or take a step after receiving the ball. I learned that netball is very team oriented. However, I would not have liked to play netball growing up because I enjoy sports with more action and physical contact. I also would not have liked wearing a short skirt, especially because I think girls' sports are taken less seriously, in my opinion, when they wear "girly" uniforms.