Anonymous
Years ago

NZ/AUS being good at a variety of sports

Are there any other countries out there that perform as well in every sport as Australia and New Zealand do? For example Cricket, Soccer, Rugby, Basketball ect. Most countries only seem to be good at one or two sports with the exception of the US

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Holland and Spain stand out.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

only sport kiwis are good at is rugby?...

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Mystro  
Years ago

rowing & sailing also anon.

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HO  
Years ago

Its a weird question, the answer is not clear.

The Scandinavian countries are good at multiple codes of snow sports - downhill, luge, ski jumping etc. And then some excel in hockey and curling.

We are good for example at multiple codes of rugby.

But we generally play Commonwealth oriented sports - Rugbies, cricket, netball, hockey which very few countries have high participation in.

Of the world sports, we do well at basketball, very well at cycling, so so at volleyball, relatively poorly at football, poorly at athletics, average at gymnastics but quite well in golf and tennis (perhaps not as well as we once did). Swimming is actually quite a contained sport - lots of countries participate but not that many have highly structured programs.

The Brazilians are world class at Volleyball, Basketball and Football - three true world sports and arguably the three most popular team codes. The Yanks are strong in basketball, swimming, gymnastics, golf, cycling, volleyball etc if you consider world sports.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I think right up there would be Serbia. Any thoughts

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"But we generally play Commonwealth oriented sports - Rugbies, cricket, netball, hockey which very few countries have high participation in. "

Beg to differ here with hockey. India, Netherlands, Germany to name a few countries who have a very high level of participation. WE do very well against all countries.

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HO  
Years ago

Try reading it again. We "generally" play Commonwealth "oriented" sports. It did not attempt to be a definitive statement.


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Anonymous  
Years ago

I read it again.
Yep, still says "very few countries have high participation"
Hence my reply relating to the participation rate.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Handball, tennis, volleyball, table tennis, baseball, American football, etc. A few of these are amongst the most popular in the world.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Spain.
Basketball, soccer, tennis, cycling, motor sport

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Bear  
Years ago

Nice breakdown HO, how do we then rate along side NZ in the per head of capita stakes? Perhaps it is a perception that we are so good which people have become accustomed to when populations are also compared...

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Mick  
Years ago

Aus punches above our weight in most sports we try our hand at -- great weather & great economy helps -- but NZ punches WAY above its weight I would think.

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HO  
Years ago

here is an interesting list, not sure if it is accurate..


http://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/federations.htm

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"But we generally play Commonwealth oriented sports - Rugbies, cricket, netball, hockey which very few countries have high participation in.

Of the world sports, we do well at basketball, very well at cycling, so so at volleyball, relatively poorly at football, poorly at athletics, average at gymnastics but quite well in golf and tennis (perhaps not as well as we once did). Swimming is actually quite a contained sport - lots of countries participate but not that many have highly structured programs."

Cricket is technically the second most popular sport in the world after Soccer and i'm pretty sure Rugby is in the top 10. I'd classify both as 'world sports'.

And while both are primarily played in the Commonwealth, both sports have developed outside of the former British Empire. France and Argentina both have pretty decent Rugby teams and Cricket is growing rapidly in Asia and The Middle East in particular. Most people believe the next team to be given 'test status' is Afghanistan.

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HO  
Years ago

495154

Spin the data how you want.

Being popular does not make it both widely and deeply played as a sport like football is.

Cricket is an excellent example of that. There are only 8 nations with test playing status and there is a large player base really because of one nation.

I think you are completely kidding yourself if you think that cricket or rugby are world sports of the nature of volleyball, football, basketball or athletics. Two exceptions (France and Argentina) don't make a rule. Rugby is probably more widely played in an organised and competitive way than cricket is.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Take out the Commonwealth special sports and we suck especially in the most popular team sports. If all that time and devotion wasn't concentrated on the mickey mouse sports only a handful of nations play we would be doing really well in the big sports.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"Spin the data how you want.

Being popular does not make it both widely and deeply played as a sport like football is.

Cricket is an excellent example of that. There are only 8 nations with test playing status and there is a large player base really because of one nation.

I think you are completely kidding yourself if you think that cricket or rugby are world sports of the nature of volleyball, football, basketball or athletics. Two exceptions (France and Argentina) don't make a rule. Rugby is probably more widely played in an organised and competitive way than cricket is."

Football (Soccer) is easily the most popular and played sport in the world. In terms of participation and fans, nothing comes close. I was never comparing Cricket/Rugby to Soccer. I'm just saying they're definitely 'world' sports despite being played by Commonwealth countries.

Italy and Japan also have decent Rugby teams. I'm no expert on the sport (i'm from S.A where no one cares about Rugby) but i know that is played in amy places over the world.

In terms of pure numbers, Cricket IS the second most popular sport in the world. In terms of sport statistics it's commonly known. This is mainly due to the Indian Subcontinent but it's played in many other areas. There are 8 test playing nations but many other associate/affiliate nations.

Rugby Sevens is going to be played at the 2016 Olympics and T20 cricket has been thrown around as a possible new inclusion in the last few years so i think we can safely call them 'world games'.

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HO  
Years ago

Can you show me the authoritative reference for your commonly known sports statistics?

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Isaac  
Years ago

I'm just saying they're definitely 'world' sports despite being played by Commonwealth countries.
I think of cricket as more of a Commonwealth sport than a world sport. The distinction is worth making if you're talking about Australia's success on the world stage and looking to explain it.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"I think of cricket as more of a Commonwealth sport than a world sport. The distinction is worth making if you're talking about Australia's success on the world stage and looking to explain it."

If you put it that way then soccer is really the only 'world sport' as it's really the only sport that's played absolutely everywhere.

Cricket is played in nearly every continent in atleast one country and is spreading outside of the Commonwealth due to T20.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Basketball has very broad coverage as well. There are decent teams in Africa, NBA representation from the Middle East (Iran), it's strong in Asia (insanely popular in China, also in the Philippines, etc), many good teams out of South and Central America, quality league in Europe full of competitive countries, etc.

The Basketball World Cup had 24 teams, with some decent countries missing out (Germany, Russia, Italy, China, Great Britain, Canada).

The Rugby World Cup has 19 teams, of which four are from the British Isles.

Cricket's World Cup has 14 teams including three from the British Isles.

Obviously it's all very subjective, but you can surely see how someone would term something like cricket a Commonwealth sport and note that this would limit competition.

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Libertine  
Years ago

Interestingly, the team sport that has the most national federations aligned to it is the FIVB (volleyball). More than FIFA, FIBA, and the UN!

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Bear  
Years ago

Good point re visited @Libertine, especially in Europe volleyball is huge but I have always seen soccer and basketball as the two absolute world games.

This can be a subjective argument, even athletics as huge as it is, mostly consists of different disciplines that some could argue are sports in themselves.

Statistically we can see one picture and of course spin the figures if we want to make a point for our own argument, but popularity and exposure will always give us another perspective.

Depending on what land mass you live in, whether you could male and female participants and which sporting culture you are from will determine your own point of view.

Ten-Pin bowlers will have their own argument, as will dart throwers and people who love to swim, but I think there is no argument that Australians and New Zealanders in their chosen sports are in fact quite good at them!

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HO  
Years ago

#495233

Another weird statement....

"If you put it that way then soccer is really the only 'world sport' as it's really the only sport that's played absolutely everywhere."

Pretty ignorant.

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The Dream  
Years ago

we just love the outdoors

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"Interestingly, the team sport that has the most national federations aligned to it is the FIVB (volleyball). More than FIFA, FIBA, and the UN!"

Source? I find it hard to believe that it'd have more then FIFA

"Pretty ignorant."

I should rephrase. The only sport that is prominent or has a presence everywhere.

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HO  
Years ago

I didn't post the Volleyball comment but here is a source:

http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/table-tennis/1020098-ittf-equals-fivb-for-most-national-association-members-of-any-sport


And Football is clearly not the only sport that meets your criteria. Volleyball claims many more participants than football, as does Basketball and both in as many if not more countries.

BTW, i think you still owe me a source.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

"I didn't post the Volleyball comment but here is a source:

http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/table-tennis/1020098-ittf-equals-fivb-for-most-national-association-members-of-any-sport


And Football is clearly not the only sport that meets your criteria. Volleyball claims many more participants than football, as does Basketball and both in as many if not more countries.

BTW, i think you still owe me a source"

As i rephrased - is prominent or has a big presence.
How many of those countries actually have volleyball as a major sport? I mean technically countries like the U.S and Germany are apart of the ICC and cricket is hardly played there.

Search any listings of the most popular sports in the world and cricket is nearly always number 2. It's not an 'official' statistic but it is an opinion held by many.

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