Catch all the sporting action in Melbourne

An evening session at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Picture: David Caird
Source: Supplied

If fashioning headwear from hollowed out fruit is your go, you’ll fit right in at the Boxing Day Test. Picture: Jane Nowakowski
Source: Supplied

ASK anyone where is the best place for a sports-loving globetrotter to feast on some world-class action and it’s a no-brainer.

Say hello to Melbourne, Victoria’s sporting powerhouse capital city forever solidifying its claim as the undisputed sports hub of the world … perhaps not officially, but everyone knows it’s written in the wind.

The regular flagship big guns include the Australian Open, Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup carnival and AFL Grand Final at the MCG, which continue to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The Victorian Government also has attracted major sporting event jackpots such as this year’s British and Irish Lions rugby union tour of Australia, playing host to matches in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the ISAF Sailing World Cup, Olympic Farewell Series for Australia’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, WTC Asia-Pacific Ironman Championship, and the FIH Hockey Champions Trophy last year.

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This week, revheads unite as the city fuels their need for speed with the Australian Grand Prix – just when sports lovers have barely had enough time to catch their breath after the world’s tennis elite slammed their way around Melbourne Park at the Australian Open in late January.

Beyond its major sporting event status, Melbourne has carved a reputation for food, culture and entertainment and again scored gold last year as the world’s most liveable city, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit liveability survey, edging out hot spots including Vienna and Vancouver.

Even the stars have fallen in love with the sporting mecca. Everyone’s favourite tennis champ Roger Federer recently mentioned to a reporter that “Melbourne is the one city where you can easily lose your focus because of everything else it has to offer outside the tournament, it’s so beautiful”.

The minute you set foot on our great southern city’s soil you quickly realise the blend of cultural charms and an obsession with sport is infectious: groups of friends booting a soccer ball or footy around Melbourne’s ample parks, scores of people running along footpaths and around ovals, and early risers taking it to a whole other level of seriousness with punishing boot-camp regimens before work.

Victoria’s Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Louise Asher, is one person clearly aware of that love of the outdoors and says Victoria certainly has its finger on the pulse with matters of sport and it has plans to power on into the future thanks to solid grassroots support.

“Many of our iconic sporting events like the Australian Tennis Open and the AFL finals have associated community programs that encourage greater participation in sports and engagement,” Asher says. “Through VicHealth and Sport and Recreation Victoria, the Government has also provided $10.2 million over three years, from 2011-2014, to 30 state sporting associations to encourage greater sports participation, with a particular focus on accessibility and inclusivity.

“As just one example, last year’s ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open saw Victoria hosting the world’s best women golfers and included a range of broad community benefits to encourage participation in the sport as well as strengthening women’s business networks.”

So, what should sports lovers consider when planning a trip down south in the coming year?

Here are eight events to get your blood racing.

1. Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix

When: March 14-17 There’s no bigger adrenalin blast in the world than when the fastest F1 cars (and even faster celebrities) hit Albert Park for four days of action and entertainment. There’s been some negative publicity over the Victorian Events Industry Council’s recent claim that the Grand Prix delivers an annual economic impact of more than $1.4 billion. But Asher says it’s on the money: “The most recent government-commissioned study of the Grand Prix, undertaken by Ernst and Young in 2011, estimated that the 2011 Australian Formula One Grand Prix increased Victoria’s gross state product by between $32.04 million and $39.34 million and generated between 351 and 411 full-time equivalent jobs. A separate report by Comperio Research into the branding value of the 2009 Grand Prix estimated that it provided a media or advertising equivalent value of $35.6 million to Victoria.” Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

More: See grandprix.com.au

2. Asia-Pacific Ironman Championships

When: March 24 The inaugural ironman triathlon was a big success, with almost 1800 athletes representing 31 countries last year – about 15 per cent of competitors were from overseas. This year’s event is tipped to be even bigger, with the world’s best triathletes battling it out over a 226km course between Frankston and Melbourne, with the finish line in St Kilda.

More: See ironmanmelbourne.com

3. British and Irish Lions rugby union tour

When: June 1-July 6 Prepare for old Melbourne town to be painted red when the best of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland team up in a bid to trounce the Aussies on their home turf, a once-in-12-year event.

4. AFL Grand Final

When: September 28 There’s nothing quite like almost 100,000 fanatical footy fans supporting their favourite team at the MCG on that one day in September. Melbourne springs to life with a burst of finals fever this time of the year.

More: See afl.com.au

5. AirAsia Australian Motorcycle GP

When: October 18-20 The best in MotoGP is served up in nearby Phillip Island as the greatest riders seek to stand on the most sought-after podium on the world circuit. With Valentino Rossi back at Yamaha, Andrea Dovi ioso at Ducati and rising superstar Marc Marque joining Team Honda, this year’s event is shaping as one of the most exciting.

More: See motogp.com.au

6. Melbourne Cup Carnival

When: November 2-9 This carnival is a week-long celebration of food and wine, fashion and entertainment. Oh yeah, then there’s the gee-gees racing for glory – and millions of dollars in pri emoney – at fabulous Flemington.

More: See melbournecup.com

7. Vodafone Boxing Day Test

When: December 26-31 Another big occasion at the mighty MCG when hundreds of thousands of fans rock up for one of the biggest cricket fixtures of the year. The Poms are coming for the Ashes; it could be the biggest event of the decade.

More: See cricket.com.au

8. Australian Open

When: Mid to late January 2014 All eyes around the world focus on Melbourne Park as the best tennis players on the planet fight it out for one of the four Grand Slam titles the sport has to offer. It’s been dominated by non-Aussies for many years but there’ll be plenty of people cheering on home-grown players.

More: See australianopen.com
 

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Catch all the sporting action in Melbourne