Sports Down Under Quiz | Sports for Kids

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first sport you see when you arrive in Australia is played on a huge oval pitch with a square in the middle. The ball is a funny egg shape and the game is started with a centre bounce. Which sport are you watching?

Answer: Australian rules football

Australian rules football is one of the most popular sports in the country, with higher total attendance than any other sport. Points can either be scored with goals (worth 6 points) or behinds (worth 1 point). Whichever team has the most points and the end of the match wins the game.

2. The next sport you go and see has a similar egg-shaped ball, but when you look closer it's a bit pointier than the previous ball. There are 13 people on each team and the people next to you are discussing 'scrums', 'tries' and 'conversions'. Which sport is this?

Answer: Rugby league

Rugby league is one of the two main versions of the sport of rugby. The other main type is known as rugby union. There are many slight differences between the two, but the defining features of rugby league are that each team 13 players and that you must give possession to your opponents after being tackled six times. In rugby union, each team has 15 players and there are no rules about giving up the ball after a certain number of tackles.

Australia are enthusiastic players of both varieties of rugby and have won the World Cup for each of them on multiple occasions.

3. After all those egg-shaped balls, you're glad to see a small round red ball fly over your head as you watch the next sport. A figure in white has just used his wooden bat to hit the ball 'for six'. What are you watching now?

Answer: Cricket

Cricket is a game for two teams of 11 players in which the aim is to score more runs than the other team. One team bowls the ball to the other team, trying to get all of their batsmen 'out' (similar to baseball). Once they have done this the other team gets their turn to bat.

It is extremely important to wear the correct protective equipment, including a helmet and pads, when you play cricket as the ball is very hard and is often coming towards you very fast!

4. Your friend tells you that they also play the world's most popular sport Down Under, and in fact he has tickets to see the Australian national team play! A combination of the sport you're going to see and a famous Australian animal, what is the team nickname?

Answer: Socceroos

'Socceroos' is a combination of 'soccer' and 'kangaroos', one of the most famous animals in Australia. Soccer is known by several different names, including 'association football' and just 'football'. It all depends what the most popular type of football is in the country that you're in. In Australia, this is Australian rules football, so 'soccer' is usually used.

5. You continue your tour in Sydney and find out that the Olympic Games were held here in 2000. Which of these is an Olympic sport where competitors take a single leap into a sandy pit?

Answer: Long jump

Sydney hosting the Olympic Games in 2000 was the second time it had been held in Australia, the first having been in Melbourne in 1956. Australia has been one of the most successful countries at the Olympics in recent times, coming fourth in the medal table in 2000.

The long jump is one of four jumping events in the athletics competition in the Olympic Games along with the triple jump, high jump and pole vault. Australian Jai Taurima won a surprise silver medal in the men's long jump in Sydney with a jump of 8.49 m.

6. Sticking with the Olympic theme, you learn that the most successful athlete at the Sydney Olympics was the Australian Ian Thorpe. Mostly winning medals in the freestyle variety, but also known to do backstroke, in which sport did he compete?

Answer: Swimming

Swimming at the Olympics takes place in a 50 metre pool, twice the length of the normal 25 metre pool you're likely to find at your local leisure centre. Four types of swimming are allowed: freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.

Ian Thorpe earned the nickname 'Thorpedo' for his resemblance to a torpedo with the speed and style of his swimming. He won three gold and two silver medals at the Sydney Olympics, for a mixture of individual and team relay swims.

7. The next sport you go and see involves animals as well as human competitors. In fact, the humans are sitting on top of the animals and racing towards the finish to try and win the Melbourne Cup! Which sport is this?

Answer: Horse racing

Horse racing is a very popular spectator sport in Australia, with only Australian rules football and rugby league getting more spectators each year. The Melbourne Cup is the most popular race of the year, held at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

Competitors in the sport normally use thoroughbred racehorses, and the people who ride the horses are known as jockeys.

8. Whilst in Melbourne you decide to go and watch a match at Rod Laver Arena. The players are holding racquets and trying to hit a small yellow ball over a net in the middle of the court. What sport are you witnessing here?

Answer: Tennis

Tennis is a game that can either be played as 'singles' (one player on each team) or 'doubles' (two players on each team). The aim of the game is to hit the ball onto the other side of the court such that your opponents can't hit it back to you.

Rod Laver is one of the most famous Australian tennis players of all time. His namesake arena is used as part of the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four most important tournaments of the year (known as Grand Slams) along with Wimbledon, the US Open and the French Open.

9. You've had a lot of fun watching some fantastic sports, but now it's time to play some yourself. You put on a white keikogi and tie a thick belt known as an obi around your waist in preparation. Which Japanese sport are you about to take part in?

Answer: Judo

Judo is a martial art in which you attempt to throw your opponent onto their back. You can either win the contest straight away with a big throw known as an 'ippon', or score points with various other types of thrown. The colour of your obi (the belt) indicates your skill level.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art with an emphasis on kicking as opposed to throwing your opponent.

10. You decide to finish your tour of sports Down Under by playing as a goal shooter and scoring the winning point for your team by throwing the ball into a net at the top of a tall pole. What was the final sport you played?

Answer: Netball

Netball is played with seven players on each team, though only two of those players (goal shooter and goal attack) are allowed to score points by throwing the ball into the net. Players throw the ball to one another to move up the court and are not allowed to travel with the ball in their hands.

Netball is one of the most popular sports in Australia in terms of the number of people who take part in the game, and is the most popular team sport for women.

Source: Author pagea

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor NatalieW before going online.
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Sports Down Under Trivia Quiz

Australia are one of the great sporting nations of the world. Can you identify these sports played Down Under from a description of how to play them?

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