Ballarat - Arts and Culture - Sport and Recreation

Sport and Recreation

Ballarat has a number of large parks, sport fields, organised sporting clubs and associations. Australian rules football and cricket are the most popular spectator and participation sports in Ballarat, while basketball, netball, horse racing and rowing have large followings. There are stadiums, both indoor and outdoor as well as training facilities for most sports.

Australian rules football is played at semi-professional and amateur levels with a large number of players at numerous venues, both dedicated such as Eureka Stadium and shared with cricket. The North Ballarat Roosters based out of Eureka Stadium compete in the Victorian Football League and currently have an affiliation with national Australian Football League (AFL) club the North Melbourne Kangaroos. Plans are currently in progression to upgrade Northern Oval (currently known as Eureka Stadium) for hosting regular AFL pre season matches, with an aim to accommodate seating for 20,000 people. The Ballarat Football League (founded 1893) is a strong regional league of which there are 6 teams (Ballarat, EastPoint, Redan, Sebastopol, Lake Wendouree and North Ballarat City) from Ballarat. The Ballarat Football Club (founded 1860) remains one of the oldest football clubs in the world. A team from Buninyong competes in the regional Central Highlands Football League.

Cricket is also played extensively with three international standard cricket ovals. Ballarat's Eastern Oval hosted a game in the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Horse racing and greyhound racing are popular, with dedicated facilities. The Harness Racing centre is considered to be among the best in Australia. The Ballarat Turf Club schedules around 28 race meetings a year including the Ballarat Cup meeting in mid-November. Ballarat Harness Racing Club conducts regular meetings at its racetrack in the city. The Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club holds regular meetings at Sebastopol.

Basketball is played at various levels with the Ballarat Miners and Ballarat Lady Miners who competing in the South East Australian Basketball League and playing out of the WIN Minerdome. The venue hosted basketball games for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Netball is similarly popular, with many netball clubs affiliated with local Australian rules clubs including Wendouree, East Point, Eureka, North Ballarat, Redan, Brown Hill and the Ballarat Netball Association.

Rowing and kayaking is centred around Lake Wendouree and the sport is particularly popular with the schools. The lake hosts the Victorian Schools Rowing Championships as well as the annual "Head of the Lake" rowing regatta—contested by Ballarat High School, Ballarat and Clarendon College, Ballarat Grammar School, St Patrick's College and Loreto College. The city hosted rowing events for the 1956 Olympic Games.

Association Football (known locally as soccer) is played mostly at an amateur level, with a competition known as the Ballarat District Soccer Association (BDSA). The Ballarat Red Devils play in the FFV State League division Two North-West.

Athletics facilities include an international standard athletics track at Llanberris Reserve on York Street Golden Point which is an Athletics Victoria venue and home to local athletics and little athletics clubs.

Swimming and water sport is facilitated at two Olympic sized pools as well as an indoor 25 metres (82 feet) competition short course pool. The main facility is the Ballarat Aquatic Centre located at Gillies Street Lake Gardens in the city's west.

Baseball was first organised in Australia at Ballarat in 1857. The Alfredton Eagles, Ballarat City Brewers and Mounties YC field teams in the Geelong Baseball Association Winter Division.

Golf is played at four main venues which include the Ballarat Golf Course on Sturt Street in the Easter suburb of Alfredton, home to the Ballarat Golf Club; the Midlands Golf Course on Heinz Lane in the northern suburb of Invermay Park which is home to the Midlands Golf Club; the Eureka Golf Course at Elford Street in the eastern suburb of Ballarat East and in the southern suburb of Buninyong at the Buninyong Golf Course.

The Ballarat Roller Derby League was formed in 2008, and held their first match in 2009. They have two teams who compete in local events, and a combined travelling team, the Rat Pack, who compete in interleague roller derby competitions.

Lake Wendouree is a large recreational lake that was created out of former wetlands and hosted the rowing events for the 1956 Summer Olympics. Victoria Park is an expansive reserve with tree lined avenues and sporting fields in suburban Newington. The suburbs feature some privately run wildlife parks including Ballarat Wildlife Park in Ballarat East and Ballarat Bird World in Buninyong.

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