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Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union (considered the national sport), rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
Other popular sports include squash, golf, hockey, tennis, cycling, and tramping, baseball and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing, rowing, and surf sports.[1] Winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular, as are indoor and outdoor bowls.
Administration
Sport New Zealand is the main government agency responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. It was established in 2003 by the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002, consolidating three agencies into one, and was known as Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) until February 2012. Sport New Zealand is accountable to the government through the Minister of Sport and Recreation. A subsidiary of Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), is responsible for managing the country's high performance programme.[citation needed]
Participation
The New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council (NZSSSC) runs an annual census of sport participation amongst secondary school students (age 13 to 18). The data only includes students that had a "meaningful engagement" in the sport, e.g. representing their school in a team.[2]
| Sport | Total | By gender | Change (2018–22) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Girls | Boys | |||
| Netball | 26,950 | 25,865 | 1,085 |  −0.5%
|
| Basketball | 26,572 | 6,902 | 19,670 |  +6%
|
| Volleyball | 24,970 | 15,088 | 9,882 | +41.6%
|
| Rugby union | 24,930 | 4,386 | 20,544 | +0.8%
|
| Football | 22,335 | 6,917 | 15,418 | −4%
|
| Hockey | 13,304 | 7,212 | 6,092 | −6.5%
|
| Touch | 11,317 | 5,568 | 5,749 | −5.8%
|
| Badminton | 11,195 | 6,162 | 5,033 | +0.6%
|
| Athletics | 8,924 | 3,957 | 4,967 | −21.4%
|
| Cricket | 8,880 | 1,959 | 6,921 | −2.4%
|
| Futsal | 7,650 | 2,490 | 5,160 | +5.2%
|
| Tennis | 4,481 | 2,268 | 2,213 | −9.8%
|
| Rugby sevens | 4,434 | 1,693 | 2,741 | −15.8%
|
| Rowing | 4,414 | 2,311 | 2,103 | +4%
|
| Cross country | 4,187 | 2,042 | 2,145 | −12.7%
|