Figure 1.--
|
Figure 1.-- |
New Zealand schoolds give considerable emphasis to sports. A wide range of individual sports are persued at New Zealand Schools. Rugby of course has pride of place among sports in New Zealand, but schools offer widely varried sport opportunities to the students. The level ans size of the school affects what can be offered..
Most secondary schools have athletics programs with the major track and field events. Many New Zealand schools have cross country events. We note the participants have quite a bit to say about these races.
Badminton is more of a an activity than a sport at many schools. It is also often used as a game in PE classes. But we note both intra- and even inter-school competitions.
Basketball appears to have become a major sport in New Zealand. We noticed considerable interest at the secondary school level. Thids surprised us because basketball is not very popular in Britain. Many secondary schools had quite a few basketball teams. And again unlike Britain we notice both boys and girls playing basketball in New Zealand.
Biking is not a major sport in New Zealand. Many New Zealand students, however, are interested in biking, in part because so many bike to school. While this has declined in recent years, there are still quite a number of New Zealand students that bike to school.
The English origins of many New Zealanders are displayed by the popularity of cricket. Although nothing approaches rugby in popularity, cricket is a very popular sport.
While Rugby is by far the most popular sport, there are also many avid football enthusiasts. Unlike most of the rest of the world, New Zealanders like Americans, call football soccer.
Golf is not a sport played extensively at New Zealand schools. Quite a number of secondary schools do field golf teams, especially the larger schools. Most students are more interested in team sports, but there are often a few interested students. Here of course the cost of golf clubs and fees for playing restrict interest in the sport. Some private prep schools may introduce the sport to interested students, but it is not very common at that level.
Hockey is one of many sports played in New Zealand that came primarily from the country's British heritage. Hockey appears to be a minor sport in New Zealand, at least among the boys. It is a major girls' sport. New Zealand schools primarily play field hockey. We do note a few secondary schools involved in ice hockey.
New Zealand girls do not play basketball like the boys. Rather they play netball--a basketball-like sport imported from Britain. The principle difference is there is no dribling.
Rowing is not pursued at all New Zealand secoindary schools. But many schools have small programs with enthusiastic rowers.
Rugby is clearly the most popular sport in New Zealand. Boys of all ages play it and in recent years even a few girls have all taken it up. Very few topics so dominate student conversation, especially before a big game.
Softball was introduced to New Zealand by American servicemen during World War II. It is not one of the major New Zealand sports. Nothing really can compete with Rugby, but it is one of the many sports New Zealand youngsters enjoy.
Tennis is one of the most popular non-team sports. It is taught in many PE classes and is played by both boys and girls. And is a popular sport for both intra-school competitions as well as inter-school competitions, especially at secondary schools. The great advantge of tennis, of course, is that tennis can be easily played after ones school years because it is a popular social sport that can be played throughout one's adult life.
I don't know much about volleyball in New Zealand, but we did not it being played, mostly at the secondary level.
Many New Zealand secondary schools have wrestling teams.
