Final Blog Report

I originally decided to enroll in “Sport and Learning in Australian Culture” because I thought it would be a fun and exciting way to experience an aspect of Australian culture that I might not have otherwise been able to experience. The class set up field trip opportunities for me that I probably would not have figured out on my own. I did not realize that this class would also have a huge element of history and social conflict behind Australia’s most popular sports. I also did not realize how much of the class would be devoted to the ups and downs of these popular sports being started in elementary schools.

This semester I have both attended and participated in a wide variety of Australian sporting events. I have attended cricket, rugby league, rugby union, a half marathon, and horse racing. The sports that I have tried during my time in Australia include surfing, snorkeling, sand boarding, cricket, and lawn bowling. All of these sports were brand new experiences for me and they made my semester here the best it could be.

From a very young age sports have been an enormous part of my life. It was one aspect of my childhood that my dad stressed very heavily as key ingredient to being successful in the other areas of my life. Because of that, every season I was busy playing a sport. Not only were sports a positive activity to fill up any leisure time I had, but also they allowed me to maintain my physical and mental health. Sports helped me to develop strong time management skills and to learn to work as a team member as opposed to individually. All of those useful lessons helped me become the person I am today. Both in and out of school I am able to apply the lessons I learned in sports to make myself the best I can be.

I believe that because I have such a strong background with sport, this class was really exciting for me. By learning about the history behind each sport, then learning the rules, and then watching it played live, I was able to fully experience a sport. This was definitely the most valuable way to learn the culture behind each of the popular sports in Australia. When I actually took that learning a step further to actually playing the sports, I was able to fully understand why these sports became so popular in the first place.

The first sport that I experienced in Australia occurred on a weekend trip I took to Jervis Bay. I had an afternoon surf lesson with my study abroad program. For some reason, while watching my instructors get up onto the boards, I thought the sport seemed really easy. I thought that I for sure would be able to pick the sport up quickly. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It took an hour of practicing both on the beach and in the water to finally stand up on the board. After attempting to surf all afternoon, I was exhausted and had a much greater appreciation for professional surfers. I had no idea how tasking it was on the body to get up on a wave. Experiencing a brand new sport this early on was extremely significant to my whole time abroad in Australia.

My favorite sporting event that I saw during my time in Australia was rugby. I had no idea that there was a difference between rugby union and rugby league. I also had no idea how many different age groups and skill levels competitively played rugby. I saw youth rugby, college rugby, indigenous rugby and professional rugby. Each game was completely different although the rules were essentially the same. It was amazing to be able to see where rugby skills started at such a young ago, to where they end up at the professional level. I had never seen rugby being played before I came here. I go to college in Hartford, Connecticut, and no one around there plays this sport. When I go home it is definitely going to be a part of my time in Australia that I will miss.

One of the sports that was talked up a lot before I actually saw it played was netball, and to be honest I was disappointed. I found the sport to be quite boring to watch and did not have any contact. I was really looking forward getting to know a brand new sport that is played mainly by women. All of the famous sports that I am used to watching are either co-ed or played only by men. There are not very many widely popular sports where women are the dominant sex. Netball was similar to women’s basketball, but from what I have seen from both sports, basketball is a much faster paced, and an all around more exciting game to watch.

Of all of the sports that I participated in, lawn bowling was my favorite. Before I went to play, I thought the game was only for older people and it seemed really boring. After hearing the rules and giving it a try, I quickly understood why so many people enjoy playing. It was similar to bocce ball; however, the ball was weighted on one side. This made the game have an interesting addition to a game that I was used to playing. It made the game much more difficult than I had anticipated.

Overall, I can confidently say that my semester abroad in Australia would not have been as amazing if it weren’t for the class “Sport and Learning in Australian Culture.” I got an inside look into the culture of Australia through examining different peoples relationships with sport. I was really lucky to be a part of this class. To be able to experience a brand new culture that is so involved with sport made my time in Australia truly memorable. This class was a blast and I would highly recommend taking this course to anyone studying abroad in Australia.

Sydney Half Marathon

Last weekend I attended the Sydney half marathon because several of my friends were competing in the event. We got to the race around 7am and decided to stand by the finish line to see everyone completing the race. There were way more people both watching and competing than I had pictured. I managed to get a really good spot along the fence to watch the competitors finish. It was really inspirational to see the men and woman finish a run this long. I have competed in shorter races before, but I had never seen a half marathon before.

My dad used to run in marathons and triathlons so from a young age I have been hearing about running and what a difficult sport it is. It was exciting to see a running event in a different country, and as I had figured, everything was exactly the same as at home.

My favorite part of the day was seeing the disabled runners compete. There was so much affection and support from the crowd and the other runners when they finished. It made me want to start training to compete in an event like this myself. This was probably my favorite sporting event that I saw my entire time in Australia.

Rabbitohs vs. Tigers Rugby League Game

Last weekend I went on the class field trip to the Rabbitohs vs. Tigers rugby league game. This was the first professional rugby league game that I had ever attended. The first thing I noticed was how empty the stadium was. I had assumed that the entire stadium would be filled because rugby is so popular in Sydney and the rest of Australia. However, there were full sections of the stadium that had zero fans in it.

The second thing i noticed was how little security was present on the field. It would have been so easy for any fun to run out onto the field. Every professional sporting event that I have been to at home, such as Football, made it nearly impossible to get out onto the field. I am assuming that fewer security is needed here because fans running out onto the field is less of a problem than it is in the United States.

The professional rugby league game was really exciting to go to because I had only seen rugby at the youth and university levels before. I had seen professional rugby on TV but it was far more exciting to watch a live game. Now that I understand rugby, I wish there was more rugby being played at home in America. It would definitely be something that I would love to regularly attend.

Sydney University Rugby Union

Last weekend I went to a rugby union match between University of Sydney and a Northern Sydney team. The game was held at night on oval one on campus. The first thing I noticed was how few people there were. I am used to attending a very small university of 2000 students, so I assumed that a university this large would have an enormous amount of students in attendance.

Although there weren’t as many people at the game as I had expected, the game was really exciting to watch. The more rugby I watch, the more I enjoy and understand the game. I had always thought that rugby was a slower moving game than football, however I realize that it is just the opposite. Each play last much longer than a play in football, and there is very little stopping. Each player is continuously running for almost the entire game. University of Sydney ended up winning the match, which everyone around me seemed to be expecting. I am excited to attend the professional rugby game next weekend to compare university players to professional players.

Junior Sports at Nagle Park

Over the weekend, I went to the class field trip to Nagle Park to watch junior sports. I watched both junior rugby and junior netball. The first thing I noticed was how much the park reminded me of going to soccer practices every Saturday morning when I was younger. There were tons of kids, both girls and boys, and of all different ages. It was a social event for not only me, but for my parents and coaches as well. Similarly to my experiences as a child, all of those experiences seemed to hold true for the parents, coaches, and kids participating in the junior sports at Nagle Park over the weekend.

In addition, it was exciting to watch competitive sport that had started at such a young age. It makes it very clear why sport is so important to Australia's culture. Kids grow up watching and playing sport that is naturally becomes one of the most important things in their lives. All of the kids, although seeming to be having a lot of fun, seemed to take the game and its rules incredibly seriously. I am really glad I was able to see the junior sporting events.