PARTICIPATION IN SPORT
Sport is a major part of every Australians' life. Most Australians contribute through attending, coaching, watching or participating in sport every week or weekend.
Sport is continuing to become increasingly popular as Australians' become more and more successful on the international field. Australia now has a strong representation in cricket, rugby union, swimming, tennis, rugby league, soccer, netball, and not to mention our success at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games which continues to surpass itself every year.
Australia finished 4th in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in the overall medal tally with 49 medals in total (17 Gold, 16 Silver and 16 bronze). However based on medal per capita, Australia came 2nd behind the Bahamas, achieving 1 medal per 412,000 people.
In 2002, over 62% of Australians ages 18 years and over participated in sports or physical activities. This equates to over 9 million Australians, where 25-34 year olds are the largest group of people who participate in sport. Walking is the most popular form of physical exercise with almost 3.7 million participants. For women, the next most popular form of physical exercise is Aerobics and Swimming. Men's most popular sports after walking were Golf and Swimming.
Australians are also large spectators when it comes to sport. Nothing is more Australian than watching a game of football. AFL has the highest attendance with almost 2.5 million spectators every year. Horseracing comes second, followed closely by Motor sports and Rugby League.
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