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.
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