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For years, Melbourne in Victoria, Australia has claimed to be the best sporting nation and many locals already knew that no other city in the world puts on major sporting events quite like Melbourne. Well now it’s confirmed as true. In a recent SportBusiness industry analysis of global sporting cities, the state capital of Victoria went on to win the title of “Ultimate Sports City” for the third time in a row. Melbourne won the prestigious award ahead of other competing cities including Berlin-who hosted the IAAF Athletics World Championships and Singapore who hosted the first night Formula One Grand Prix.

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If you are a major sports fan then Melbourne is definitely the place to visit. The city offers a year round calendar of major events, excellent facilities, great weather (normally!), strong event attendances and an amazing sporting atmosphere with crowds that have a genuine passion for sport.

Why do Australians love sport so much?

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Sport is sometimes jokingly called “Australia’s national religion” and the devotion to organised activities is probably down to the fabulous weather and the clean air which provides ideal conditions to participate in and watch sports. There is a culture of looking after your health in Australia and sports and activities are often ingrained in everyday life. The Australian government is also very supportive. Each state in Australia has agencies responsible for sport and recreation policy and every area operates their own institutes and academies of sport.

What sports can I expect to see in Melbourne and Australia?

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Throughout Australia there is a very wide variety of sports to chose from Taekwondo to Iron Man events and everything inbetween. The most popular sports in terms of attendance (according to 2006/7 government statistics) are Australian rules football, horse racing, rugby league, motorsport, cricket, rugby union and soccer. Other popular sports are of course surfing and kite surfing, but also swimming, roller skating, cycling, golf and softball.

What are the major international sporting events held in Melbourne?

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• The International Cycling Union (UCI) Road World Championships is due to take place in Melbourne running over 5 days from 29th September to 3rd October 2010. This event is second only to the legendary Tour de France in terms of importance and prestige in international cycling and brings the best riders in the world to Australia.

• The famous golfing event ‘The Presidents Cup’ is to be held at the Royal Melbourne in November 2011, making Melbourne the first city outside of the United States to host the Cup for a second time.

• The Australian Open Tennis Tournament hailed as ‘The Grand Slam of the Asia/Pacific’ will be in Melbourne Park on the 17-30 January 2011. All the big international tennis stars will be there.

• The Spring Racing Carnival is Melbourne’s thoroughbred horse racing festival and launches at the end of September 2010

• The Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix is part of the exciting annual FIA Formula One World Championship. The next one will be held in 2011.

• The Australian Football League is the highest level of professional and competitive football in Australia and the most popular sports competition. The final is traditionally held on the final Saturday in September every year.

• The famous Boxing Day Test Match Cricket is hosted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and involves the Australian cricket team and an opposing national team touring Australia that summer.

Any other reasons to visit Melbourne?

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Melbourne is lively and cosmopolitan city set around the shores of Port Phillip Bay with the city itself sitting on the northern banks of the Yarra River. Melbourne prides itself on it’s friendliness and welcomes its visitors with character, personality and enthusiasm.

There are some great neighbourhoods (Fitzroy, St Kilda and Carlton) which have strong art, music, cuisine and design scenes and several other areas such as the century-old Queen Victoria Market which are great for shopping. Melbourne also has some interesting museums, tranquil landscaped gardens, some great offbeat festivals and of course the incredible Great Ocean Road is not too far away. For accommodation and more visitor information the Visit Melbourne site is very useful.

Camille Brandon
Director of Results
Milestone Personal Training

Camille Brandon is GlobalGrasshopper’s Travel Health and Fitness Expert. Camille is a Master Trainer and Functional Movement Screen Specialist with in-depth expertise of weight management, strength and sports conditioning, and rehabilitation and exercise referral joins. She also is very well travelled!

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