Lifeguarding Course in Airlie Beach

After traveling to Fraser Island I went to the Whitsundays where I observed an hour-long lifeguarding class. The class took place at a massive lagoon in Airlie Beach on a Saturday morning. After watching the instructors remind the children how to properly enter the water and analyzing each child as he or she got in, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the girl’s mothers. She explained to me that children can begin the course as early as seven years old, and they sometimes let children begin earlier as long as they are able to pass a swimming test that measures a variety of skills. Because the sport originally seemed very similar to the nippers to me, I asked the mother if it was in fact the same but she explained that the children in this class were strictly training to be lifeguards and were not competing against one another. I also noticed that the instructors were paid and certified lifeguards instead of parent volunteers, which revealed another difference between the two sports. While the twelve-week class did cost money, she explained to me that signing your children up for a lifeguarding class costs much less than enrolling your children in athletic courses in Australian’s equivalent to the American YMCA. I found this incredibly interesting because in America lifeguarding is not nearly as popular and is therefore quite an expensive sport to pursue. Because Australia is surrounded by beaches, the mother I spoke with explained to me that the majority of Australian children are involved in either the nippers or a lifeguarding course mainly because it is essential for children to learn how to swim safely in the water. In America, on the other hand, the people who become lifeguards are usually those who swam competitively beginning at a young age but the majority of children instead take swim lessons only if their parents want them to learn how to swim. From my own experience teaching and working at camps in the summer, I have noticed that a lot of young children in America are extremely afraid of the water and cry hysterically when I encourage them to go in deeper than their knees. Just like the nippers, however, the Australian kids seemed to really enjoy the lifeguarding class and were happy to jump right into the water at anytime, thereby further revealing the differences in Australian and American sports culture.

Sandboarding in Fraser Island

Over Easter Holidays I traveled to Fraser Island and to the Great Barrier Reef. In Fraser Island, our tour guide gave us the opportunity to sandboard at a location called Lake Wabby; where large sand dunes fall into a freshwater lake. Although we did not have access to a real sandboard, our group used a boogie board to have a try at the sport. Sandboarding at Lake Wabby was a lot of fun when we were able to get the board to slide, but had a lot of trouble making our way down the hill once the board was soaked in the lake water. We tried conquering the dunes sitting on the boogie board, laying down on it and even standing on it – which always resulted in us falling onto the sand and watching the board slide down the hill. While our tourist group attempted sandboarding we saw a family nearby with a real sandboard sliding down the hills. They all sat on the board, often having numerous people go down the dunes at once. Both the parents and children who varied in age from around five to the teenage years seemed to love the sport. From observing this family, it became clear to me that sandboarding is a sport of leisure and one that seems to be based much more around personal enjoyment than on competition like many of the other sports I have seen so far in Australia. I really enjoyed attempting to sandboard and watching the nearby Australian family successful ride the sand dunes because sandboarding is a sport that I have never before seen in America, mainly because of the difference in terrain. I hope that I will have the opportunity to try sandboarding with a real board before I leave Sydney so I can successfully pursue this uniquely Australian sport!

Netball Tournament - Age 10

This week I was able to watch the end of a netball tournament played by one of the girls I babysit for who is ten years of age. As I observed the last few minutes of the young girls playing, I noticed that netball had a much more relaxed atmosphere than many of the other sports I have seen so far in Australia. While at the nippers and rugby sporting events the parents I observed not only seemed incredibly involved but were also constantly pushing their children to play well, at the netball tournament the majority of adults seemed to be calmly enjoying themselves, removed from the tournament, as they watched the girls play. Most of the parents were casually talking on the sidelines, or positively encouraging their daughters as they played. When I talked with the parents of the family I babysit for, they told me that netball was an excellent sport to be involved in for young girls, one that is a lot of fun but also very challenging and competitive. Watching the girls play, I certainly noticed that they were having a good time and also noticed that they were all incredibly driven. Even though the girls had been playing for hours when I arrived, they still continued to play their hardest. After finishing the last game, the ten-year-old I babysit for told me that it was her first time ever playing netball and that even though she lost the majority of her games that day, she was very excited to continue playing for the rest of the season. She also told me how along with netball, she and her two siblings participate in a track and field-like sport once a week and play soccer as well. From observing the end of the netball tournament and talking with the family about their involvement in sport, I could clearly see that sport played an undeniably important role in both their individual and family lives – a powerful reflection of Australian culture in a young Australian-American family.

Cricket at Sydney Olympic Park & on Television

This past Saturday I went to the Sydney Olympic Park and observed countless families playing cricket on the open grassy areas. I watched one game in particular where parents or older children threw the ball to younger children who then made their best attempts at swinging to hit the ball as far as they could. While some played cricket, others cooked and talked as they either ate barbeque or picnic foods. Watching this, I was reminded of barbeques in America where many families gather to talk, eat and play a game of wiffleball – a game strikingly similar to baseball but the bat and ball used are both made of plastic. From my experience at Sydney Olympic Park, I realized that sport in Australia is not only practiced in a competitive and professional setting but also in a family and leisurely context, one that is very similar to American recreational sport. Over the past two months, I have also watched cricket numerous times in both restaurants and bars. Viewing cricket matches on television reminded me a lot of watching professional golf because both games are very slow-moving and highly based on skills. Tatz (2011) explains how cricket was once used as “a civilizing force in some colonies” (Tatz, 2011, p. 139) in Imperial Britian by encouraging positive behavior and is now a sport most often played by the elite. Similarly, golf is a game with a written code of etiquette which demands good behavior and golf is most often played by wealthy individuals who work in the business world. Although I do not yet understand all of the rules of cricket, from my experience seeing cricket recreationally at Sydney Olympic Park and professionally on television I can tell that it is comparable to both baseball and golf in America. I hope that while I am in Australia I will be able to see a professional cricket game live, and learn more about the Australian cricket culture!

Roosters vs. West Tigers Rugby Game

This Sunday afternoon I went to the Roosters vs. West Tigers game at the Sydney Football Stadium. After navigating through a sea of red, navy and white, I found seats near the Roosters’ goal post. I was surrounded by families and was shocked by how many young children I saw watching the rugby game. All of the children seemed to know exactly what was going on in the game, standing up to cheer for their team at the right times and expressing distress when the opposing team nearly scored. One child about four years of age sitting two seats away from me stood up on his seat and yelled, “Boo Tigers!” as he shook his thumb downwards at another fan walking by.

Not only was this quite hysterical to witness, but it also showed me how important sport is in Australian culture and how children are exposed to sport at a very young age. Being amidst the crowd of families reminded me of attending an afternoon Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston where many Bostonians like to bring their families to relax and enjoy some ballpark food while cheering the Sox on. Looking across to the other side of the stadium at the rugby game, however, the fans appeared to be incredibly rowdy, all of them dressed in their team’s colors waving flags in the air and chanting very loudly. Seeing this fan section reminded me more of watching the Patriots play at Gillette Stadium where young and old adults gather to drink beer and excitedly – and at times rudely – cheer on the Patriots. Although the stadium was not full, I could clearly see that the Rugby League has an incredibly loyal fan base beginning at a very young age and ending at a very old age. I was very happy to be able to attend a Rugby League game which was not only an extremely fun but also an incredibly cultural experience!