Sport in Western Australia

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Sport is an important part of the culture of Western Australia.

Major sports

Association Football (Soccer)

Association football is one of the most participated in sports in Western Australia.

The

as the only representative from WA.

They were crowned A-League Premiers in the 2018-19 season. In the previous

.

Swimming

Western Australia’s most popular sport, with the largest number of registered participants is swimming, with competition and training carried out throughout the year.

See also: List of Western Australian Olympic and Paralympic medallists in swimming

The 20 km Rottnest Channel Swim is an individual and teams swimming race from Cottesloe to Rottnest and held annually.

The

were held in Perth in 1991 and 1998.

Australian Rules Football

Australian rules football is the third most played sport in Western Australia, with its popularity elevated due to excellent marketing and lobbying at state and national level. Western Australia has two teams in the national league: the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club (the "Fremantle Dockers"). Both teams use Optus Stadium as their home ground. The state's local league is the West Australian Football League (WAFL) with nine clubs representing metropolitan regions. Australian rules football is the most popular football codes in Western Australia with over 1,030,000 spectators attending WAFL and AFL matches in 2004.^[1]

Basketball

Western Australia's number one basketball team is the

, with teams located in Perth, Mandurah, Bunbury, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton.

Cricket

.

See also:

Western Australian Grade Cricket

Field hockey

Perth has a strong regional field hockey competition. There are many field hockey clubs for children, men, women and veterans (over 40 year of age). Western Australia contributes significantly to the national Australian men's and ladies' hockey teams which have both been winners of Olympic Gold Medals.

The Australian Institute of Sport hockey unit has been based in Perth since 1984, when it was the first sport to be decentralised.^[2]

The 6,000 seat Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University is the premier hockey venue in the state and is the home of state teams Perth Thundersticks and the WA Diamonds.

Golf

Normally at least one international

was held in WA throughout the 1990s and was at times the richest tournament held in Australia.

Horse racing

Ascot Racecourse

. The metropolitan tracks are Ascot for the spring and summer months and

Belmont Park

during the wetter autumn and winter months.

Harness racing is held all year round at Gloucester Park, with additional meeting in country areas. Greyhound racing is held at Cannington Raceway, Mandurah and Northam.

Many country towns have a racecourse and a major race day each year. These meetings are often the centrepiece of the communities activities, coinciding with other local events.

Netball

Netball is the highest female participation sport in females in Western Australia, with more than 150,000 participants. West Coast Fever plays in the National Netball League, and is the premier netball team in WA. Their home court is Perth Arena.

Rugby league

Western Australia's first rugby league team to play in a national competition were the

as inaugural members.

Despite showing some promise (particularly in the underage competitions) the Reds were not invited to join the

.

In 2006 the

Perth Oval

.

In 2012, the WA Reds were rebranded as the West Coast Pirates.

West Coast Pirates in the 2022 NRL expansion.

Rugby union

Western Australia is the home of the

competition as Australia's fifth franchise in the tournament.

Tennis

Western Australia, along with 2 other states, hosts the annual

Other sports

Athletics

The Western Australian Athletics Stadium opened in 2009. The main grandstand is named after Shirley Strickland.

Baseball

Baseball is becoming increasingly popular in Western Australia. Baseball WA is the governing body of baseball in Western Australia and oversees the organization of the sport in the area. The highest level of play in Australia is the Australian Baseball League (ABL) and has a team in Western Australia, the Perth Heat. The Heat won the inaugural championship during the 2010–2011 season and a further 3 championships in 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2014–2015 and 15 total Claxton Shield Championships. The team plays at the Perth Harley-Davidson Ballpark.

Gel ball

Lacrosse

In 2002, Perth hosted the World Lacrosse Games,^[9] which included the World Lacrosse Championships (won by the United States), the Australian Youth Lacrosse Championship, a Masters (35+ year old), Grandmasters (45+), and International Open Championships.

Motorsport

Motorsport is very popular in Western Australia with numerous national and international events being held.

. It was recognised as one of the best rallies internationally and attracted thousands of overseas tourists each year. There has been a large push to have the event returned to Western Australia, as of 2016 there has not been any of the required support from the state government. The final running of the event in WA occurred in October 2006.

The first round of the Australian Rally Championship is held yearly in the forests near Nannup.

The Western Australian Rally Championship is held throughout the south west between March and November. The championship is host to some of the longest running rallies in the world and has seen increasing numbers of both competitors and spectators each year.

Targa West is held near Perth and Toodyay yearly and attracts large crowds. A similar event Targa South West is held yearly in the southwest towns of Pemberton and Manjimup.

round first held in 1973.

Rowing/kayaking

The

dragon boat racing

.

Perth is also home to the annual Avon Descent whitewater event.

The PSA Head of the River rowing event is held each year.

Sailing

A Mediterranean climate with reliable fresh winds create ideal conditions for sailing, both off the coast in the Indian Ocean and in the Swan River.

Perth hosted the

in 2011.

There are numerous yacht clubs in Perth and regional centres.

Water polo

A number of decorated international players have come from Perth. The Tom Hoad Cup is held each December.

Fistball

In 2023 Former West Coast Eagles Will Schofield started the first ever WA Fistball side The ID Athletic Western Fisters, The first tournament they entered was on the 16th December 2023 in Geelong.

National Champions

A list of professional sports teams from Western Australia who have won national competitions. Current as of 28 October 2023.

	Team	Competition	Total Championships	Year of championship/s
	Perth Wildcats	NBL	10	1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
	Perth Scorchers	BBL	5	2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2021–22, 2022–23
	West Coast Eagles	AFL	4	1992, 1994, 2006, 2018
	Perth Glory	NSL	2	2002–03, 2003–04
	Fremantle Dockers	AFL	0	N/A
	Western Force	Super Rugby	0	N/A

Events

Perth has hosted a number of international and national sporing events, including:

• the
  Australian National Football Carnivals
• the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
• the 1967 Netball World Cup
• the 1979 Australian Grand Prix
• the 1991 and 1998 World Aquatics Championships
• the 2006 Gravity Games
• rounds in the
  2008 and 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship
• the 2019 WMF World Cup
• rounds in the
  V8 Supercars
• the Avon Descent (annually)
• the City to Surf (annually)
• the Hopman Cup (annually)
• the Rottnest Channel Swim (annually)
• the Tom Hoad Cup (annually)

Awards

Two sports awards are given each year:

• The Western Australian Sports Star of the Year is an individual award made to a current sportsperson selected by a committee of sports writers from The West Australian and members of the Western Australian Sports Federation, and chaired by Ron Alexander, director-general of the Department of Sport and Recreation. The award has been given since 1956.
• A second award, induction to the Western Australian Hall of Champions has been made since 1983 and honours a number of sportspeople who, as products of the Western Australian sporting system, have achieved the highest level of competition. Recipients must have been retired from open competition for at least five years. The selection committee includes several prominent sports identities and members of the Western Australian Institute of Sport.

References