Sport
New Zealand
New Zealand is a country known as being very active in sport. You will always find New Zealanders playing or doing one sport or other in parks, at the beach or anywhere with a bit of space.
Something worth noting is that despite New Zealand being a relatively small country of only 4 million people, New Zealanders do very well on the international scene at the highest levels. In the last Olympic Games in London (2012), New Zealand obtained 6 Gold medals, 2 Silver medals and 5 Bronze medals.
The main sports in New Zealand
The national sport of New Zealand is Rugby.
Their powerful national rugby team called the All Blacks have won the Rugby World Cup THREE TIMES (1987, 2011, 2015) which is more than any other world team. The All Blacks are normally ranked number one in the word according the International Rugby Board (IRB).
The main sports in New Zealand are:
- Rugby
- Netball
- Cricket
But the following sports are also common …
- Tennis
- Golf
- Cycling
- Softball
- Triathlon
- Rowing
- Yachting
- Touch Rugby
- Rugby League
- Surf
- Polo
- Ski
Extreme Sports
New Zealand is the birthplace of extreme sports and adventure.
In fact Bungy Jumping was "born" in New Zealand in 1986 thanks to a New Zealander called A.J. Hackett.
Some extreme/adventure sports that you can do in New Zealand:
- Bungee Jumping
- Rock climbing
- Kayaking
- Rafting
- Jet Boating
- Mountaineering
- Trekking / Hiking
- Diving
- Zorbing (rolling down a hill inside a great big plastic ball - again, invented in New Zealand)
Sport and Children
It is very common for children to play some sport after school and often the coaches are the same parents of those kids. It is a way of avoiding additional unnecessary costs and making sport more accessible.
Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) invests $70 million (NZ dollars) every year promoting sport in the young people (from 0-18 años).
National Colours of New Zealand
The uniform of the New Zealand sports teans is normalmente completely black or white.
The silver ferm is the national symbol which is worn on the uniform of every sportsperson representing the national identity of New Zealand in any sport or activity.
Names of New Zealand Sport Teams
| Sport | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Tall Blacks | Tall Ferns |
| Cricket | Black Caps | White Ferns |
| Hockey | Black Sticks Men | Black Sticks Women |
| Netball | x No Team | Silver Ferns |
| Rugby (Union) | All Blacks | Black Ferns |
| Rugby League | Kiwis | Kiwi Ferns |
| Wheelchair Rugby | Wheel Blacks | Wheel Blacks |
| Football / Soccer | All Whites | Football Ferns |
| Softball | Black Sox | White Sox |
| American Football | IronBlacks | x No Team |
| Ice Hockey | Ice Blacks | Ice Fernz |
The All Blacks - The National Rugby Team of New Zealand
Copa Mundial de Rugby 2015 en Inglaterra (in Spanish)
Copa Mundial de Rugby 2007 en Francia (in Spanish)
Copa Mundial de Rugby 2011 en Nueva Zelandia - CAMPEÓN (in Spanish)
El Haka de los All Blacks - In English, Maori and Spanish
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