Sport in Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
Along with cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
is one of the main sports. Western Australia has two teams in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL): the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
and the Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
(the "Fremantle Dockers"). The "home" of Australian rules football in Perth is Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...
. There is also a local West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
(WAFL) with nine clubs representing metropolitan regions. Australian rules football is the most popular football code in Western Australia with over 1,030,000 spectators attending WAFL and AFL matches in 2004.
Basketball
Western Australia has a team in the National Basketball LeagueNational Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
, the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
, who are one of the most successful teams in the league's history. However, the popularity of basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
as a spectator sport in Australia has sharply declined since the early 1990s.
Cricket
CricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is one of the main sports in Western Australia. Western Australia has a state cricket team, the Western Warriors
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
, based at the WACA Ground
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
. They play in the Sheffield Shield, the Ford Ranger One Day Cup and the Twenty20 Big Bash
KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The competition was organised by Cricket Australia, and sponsored by fast food chicken outlet KFC. The competition was replaced by the Big Bash League as Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition after the 2010–11...
domestic competitions. The WACA also hosts international Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and One Day International cricket matches. The Western Fury
Western Fury
The Western Fury is the representative women's cricket team of Western Australia and is based in Perth, Western Australia. Their home ground is the WACA Ground, although from 2011/2012 they will also play games at Murdoch University....
represent WA in the Women's National Cricket League
Women's National Cricket League
The Women's National Cricket League is the national competition for women's cricket in Australia.The league competition involves the six member teams playing each other in two 50-over limited-over matches, with the side finishing at the top of the table after the preliminary rounds earning the...
.
Field hockey
Perth has a strong regional field hockeyField hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
competition. There are many field hockey clubs for children, men, women and veterans (over 40 year of age). Western Australia contributes significantly to the national Australian men's and ladies' hockey teams which have both been winners of Olympic Gold Medals.
The Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
hockey unit has been based in Perth since 1984, when it was the first sport to be decentralised.
The 6,000 seat Perth Hockey Stadium
Perth Hockey Stadium
Perth Hockey Stadium is a field hockey stadium in Perth, Australia. It hosted matches for the 1985 Champions Trophy and also the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup. The stadium is located at Curtin University and holds 6,000 people. Starting in Late 2009 Perth Hockey Stadium replaced the turf with...
at Curtin University is the premier hockey venue in the state and is the home of state teams Perth Thundersticks and the WA Diamonds.
Golf
Normally at least one international golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament is held in WA each year, with the Johnnie Walker Classic
Johnnie Walker Classic
The Johnnie Walker Classic was a European Tour golf tournament which is played in the Asia Pacific region. Johnnie Walker is a brand name and the owners have a long history of tournament sponsorship. They also sponsor the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles which is a European Tour event...
at The Vines Resort & Country Club in Jan 2006 as part of both the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia
PGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia is a professional golf tour for men. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points. The tour was formed in 1973 as the PGA Tour of Australia and adopted its current name in 1991....
. In past years international tournaments have also been held at the Karrinyup Country Club. The Heineken Classic
Heineken Classic
The Heineken Classic was a men's professional golf tournament played in Australia from 1993 to 2005 as part of the PGA Tour of Australasia. It was held at the Vines Resort in Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and moved to the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from 2002 to 2005. From 1996 onwards it was...
was held in WA throughout the 1990s and was at times the richest tournament held in Australia.
Horse racing
Horse racingHorse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
is very popular with a metropolitan race meeting every Saturday, fortnightly mid week meetings and weekly meetings at one of the major country centres. The Perth Cup
Perth Cup
The Perth Cup is Western Australia's premier Thoroughbred horse race and is held at Ascot Racecourse on New Year's Day each year. It has been run since 1887....
is the state's premier race held each New Years Day at Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse, Western Australia
Ascot Racecourse is the major racecourse in Perth, Western Australia, situated approximately 8 kilometres east of the Perth central business district, with the headquarters of the Western Australian Turf Club positioned directly opposite....
. The metropolitan tracks are Ascot for the Spring and Summer months and
Belmont Park
Belmont Park, Western Australia
Belmont Park Racecourse is one of the two major horse racing venues within the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area, the other being Ascot Racecourse. The track has a circumference of 1,699 metres with a 333 metre straight...
during the wetter Autumn and Winter months.
Harness racing
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
is held all year round at Gloucester Park
Gloucester Park
Gloucester Park is a harness racing course in Perth, Western Australia. In the suburb of East Perth, the oval course is adjacent to the WACA Ground...
, with additional meeting in country areas. Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
is held at Cannington
Cannington, Western Australia
Cannington is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Canning.-History:Cannington's name derives from the Canning River, which forms part of the southwestern boundary of the suburb...
Raceway,Mandurah and Northam
Many country towns have a racecourse and a major race day each year. These meetings are often the centrepiece of the communities activities, coinciding with other local events.
Rugby league
Western Australia's first rugby league team to play in a national competition were the Western Reds, who played in the 1995Australian Rugby League season 1995
The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League. For the first time since 1988, the League expanded again, with the addition of four new clubs from North Queensland, Western Australia, South...
and 1996
Australian Rugby League season 1996
The 1996 ARL premiership was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the Australian Rugby League...
seasons of the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
. In 1997
Super League (Australia) season 1997
The 1997 Super League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the first and only to be run by the News Limited-controlled Super League organisation...
they changed their name to the Perth Reds and joined the Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
as inaugural members.
Despite showing some promise (particularly in the underage competitions) the Reds were not invited to join the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
in 1998
National Rugby League season 1998
The 1998 NRL season was the 91st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League. After the Australian Rugby League and Super League organisations ran separate competitions parallel to each other in 1997, they joined to...
as part of the agreement to end the Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
.
In 2006 the Western Australia Rugby League
Western Australia Rugby League
The Western Australia Rugby League is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in Western Australia. Western Australia is an Affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body the Australian Rugby League....
resurrected the team as the WA Reds to compete in the Jim Beam Cup from 2008, with a view to entering the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
competition in 2012. Their home ground is Members Equity Stadium
Members Equity Stadium
Perth Oval, known by its sponsored name nib Stadium since July 2010, is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It has been the home of A-League club Perth Glory since 1996 and has housed the administrative facilities of the Western Australia Rugby League since 2003...
.
Soccer
Perth Glory competes in the national A-LeagueA-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
. In the previous National Soccer League
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
, Perth Glory was a relatively successful team by winning the last titles of the NSL (2002-03 & 2003-04). Perth Glory's home games are played at Members Equity Stadium
Members Equity Stadium
Perth Oval, known by its sponsored name nib Stadium since July 2010, is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It has been the home of A-League club Perth Glory since 1996 and has housed the administrative facilities of the Western Australia Rugby League since 2003...
, although they have played finals at Subiaco Oval.
Swimming
The 20 km Rottnest Channel SwimRottnest Channel Swim
The Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia, near Perth. It is open to solo swimmers and teams of two or four. It is one of the largest open water swimming events in the world. The distance is...
is an individual and teams swimming race from Cottesloe to Rottnest and held annually.
The FINA World Championships
FINA World Championships - Long Course
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatic sports: diving, swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo. They are run by FINA, and in the pool swimming events are contested in a 50 m, or "long course", pool.The...
were held in Perth in 1991 and 1998.
Tennis
Western Australia also hosts the annual Hopman CupHopman Cup
The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
mixed tennis tournament at the Burswood Dome. Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
and Federation Cup ties have also been held at the Royal King's Park Tennis Club.
Baseball
Baseball is becoming increasingly popular in Western Australia. Baseball WABaseball WA
Baseball WA is the governing body of baseball within Western Australia. Baseball WA is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation...
is the governing body of baseball in Western Australia and oversees the organization of the sport in the area. The highest level of play in Australia is the Australian Baseball League
Australian Baseball League
The Australian Baseball League was a baseball league, established in 1987 and disbanded in 1999.-Formation:Before the formation of the Australian Baseball League, the Claxton Shield, established in , was Australia's premier baseball tournament...
(ABL) and has a team in Western Australia, the Perth Heat
Perth Heat
The baseball team Perth Heat is a team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the now-defunct Australian Baseball League...
. The Heat won the inaugural championship during the 2010-2011 season. The team plays at the Barbagallo Ballpark.
Lacrosse
In 2002, Perth hosted the World LacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
Games, which included the World Lacrosse Championships (won by the United States), the Australian Youth Lacrosse Championship, a Masters (35+ year old), Grandmasters (45+), and International Open Championships.
Rally racing
Telstra Rally Australia, which is a part of the World Rally ChampionshipWorld Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
(WRC) was held each year on the gravel roads in the south-west jarrah forests as well as special stages held in central Perth at either Gloucester Park
Gloucester Park
Gloucester Park is a harness racing course in Perth, Western Australia. In the suburb of East Perth, the oval course is adjacent to the WACA Ground...
or on Langley Park
Langley Park, Western Australia
Langley Park is an open space in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Running alongside Riverside Drive, it is grassed, rectangular in shape and has dimensions 900 x 100 m...
. The final running of the event in WA occurred in October 2006.
Rowing/kayaking
The Champion Lakes Regatta CentreChampion Lakes Regatta Centre
Champion Lakes Regatta Centre is a man-made aquatic sporting facility south of Perth, Western Australia in the suburb of Champion Lakes...
south of Perth includes a 2,000 metre buoyed racing course used for rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
and dragon boat racing.
Perth is also home to the annual Avon Descent
Avon Descent
The Avon Descent is an annual, two-day, white water event involving both paddle craft and small motor boats. It runs from Northam to Perth, Western Australia along the Avon and Swan Rivers, and is held in August of every year....
whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
event.
The PSA
Public Schools Association
Established in 1905 the Public Schools Association, or the PSA, is an association of seven independent boys schools in Perth, Western Australia. The schools compete against each other in athletic competition throughout the year...
Head of the River
Head of the River (Western Australia)
The Head of the River rowing regatta is an annual rowing event held on the Champion Lakes in Western Australia. There are two separate events; a boys regatta , and a girls regatta ....
rowing event is held each year.
Rugby union
Western Australia is the home of the Western ForceWestern Force
Western Force is a rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia playing in the international Super Rugby competition. They first competed in the 2006 season and finished with the wooden spoon in that year, however their performances greatly improved in 2007. In 2008 they finished in 8th...
, a franchise in the Super Rugby rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competition (formerly the Super 14 before the addition of the Melbourne Rebels for the 2011/12 season). Their home ground is NIB Stadium.
Sailing
A Mediterranean climate with reliable fresh winds create ideal conditions for sailingSailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, both off the coast in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and in the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
.
Perth will host the ISAF Sailing World Championships
ISAF Sailing World Championships
The ISAF Sailing World Championships are held every four years since 2003 and are used as the primary event to qualify countries for the Sailing at the Summer Olympics...
at Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
in 2011.
There are numerous yacht clubs in Perth and regional centres.
Water polo
A number of decorated international players have come from Perth. The Tom Hoad CupTom Hoad Cup
The Tom Hoad Cup is an annual four-day international water polo event, staged in Perth, Western Australia since 2003. The event is named for Tom Hoad, a former coach and long-time player for the Australia national water polo team and senior administrator in the international governing body .The...
is held each December.
Events
- the 19211921 Perth CarnivalThe 1921 Perth Carnival was the fourth edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition...
, 19371937 Perth CarnivalThe 1937 Perth Carnival was the ninth edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition.-Overview:...
, 19561956 Perth CarnivalThe 1956 Perth Carnival was the 13th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It took place from 11 June to 23 June at Subiaco Oval, Perth....
, 19721972 Perth CarnivalThe 1972 Perth Carnival was the 18th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition....
and 1979 Australian National Football CarnivalInterstate matches in Australian rules footballAustralian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
s - the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games1962 British Empire and Commonwealth GamesThe 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia from 22 November-1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth....
- the 1979 Australian Grand Prix1979 Australian Grand PrixThe 1979 Australian Grand Prix was an open wheel racing car race held at Wanneroo Park on 11 March 1979.It was the forty fourth Australian Grand Prix and was open to Australian Formula 1 cars...
- the 19911991 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 1991 World Aquatics Championships took place in Perth, Australia between 3 January and 13 January 1991 with 1142 participating athletes.- Medals table :-Diving:MenWomen-Open water swimming:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen...
and 19981998 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....
World Aquatics Championships - the 2006 Gravity GamesGravity GamesThe Gravity Games were a multi-sport competition originating from Providence, Rhode Island that is broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations...
- rounds in the 20062006 Red Bull Air Race World Series seasonThe 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fourth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It began on March 18, 2006 and ended on November 19....
, 20072007 Red Bull Air Race World Series seasonThe 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fifth Red Bull Air Race World Series season.-New pilots:Sergei Rakhmanin of Russia and Austrian Hannes Arch were chosen to join the 2007 series after completing a qualification course in October 2006, held in Arizona, USA...
, 20082008 Red Bull Air Race World Series seasonThe 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the sixth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. The 2008 champion was Hannes Arch, who won the series for the first time.-Aircraft and pilots:-New pilots:...
and 20102010 Red Bull Air Race World ChampionshipThe 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the eighth official Red Bull Air Race World Championship series. Paul Bonhomme became champion for the second successive year, finishing each of the six rounds of the championship in the top three placings, two of which were victories...
Red Bull Air Race World Championship - rounds in the V8 Supercars
- the Avon DescentAvon DescentThe Avon Descent is an annual, two-day, white water event involving both paddle craft and small motor boats. It runs from Northam to Perth, Western Australia along the Avon and Swan Rivers, and is held in August of every year....
(annually) - the City to SurfCity to Surf (Perth)The City to Surf is a popular road running event held annually in Perth, Western Australia in which participants race from the city area to City Beach, a distance of approximately . A shorter course is also run in conjunction, and a marathon was held for the first time in the 2009 event...
(annually) - the Hopman CupHopman CupThe Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
(annually) - the Rottnest Channel SwimRottnest Channel SwimThe Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia, near Perth. It is open to solo swimmers and teams of two or four. It is one of the largest open water swimming events in the world. The distance is...
(annually) - the Tom Hoad CupTom Hoad CupThe Tom Hoad Cup is an annual four-day international water polo event, staged in Perth, Western Australia since 2003. The event is named for Tom Hoad, a former coach and long-time player for the Australia national water polo team and senior administrator in the international governing body .The...
(annually)
Awards
Two sports awards are given each year:- The Western Australian Sports Star of the YearWestern Australian Sports Star of the YearThe Western Australian Sports Star of the Year, currently known as The West Australian ANZ Sports Star of the Year, is an annual award for Western Australian sportspeople. It has been running since 1956.-List of winners by year:...
is an individual award made to a current sportsperson selected by a committee of sports writers from The West AustralianThe West AustralianThe West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
and members of the Western Australian Sports Federation, and chaired by Ron AlexanderRon AlexanderRon Alexander is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League and West Australian Football League as well as being the inaugural coach of the West Coast Eagles.-Playing career:...
, director-general of the Department of Sport and Recreation. The award has been given since 1956.
- A second award, induction to the Western Australian Hall of ChampionsWestern Australian Hall of ChampionsIn 1983, the Sportswriters' Association of Western Australia proposed a Western Australian Hall of Champions to honour past athletes from the state who had made a significant impact in their sport...
has been made since 1983 and honours a number of sportspeople who, as products of the Western Australian sporting system, have achieved the highest level of competition. Recipients must have been retired from open competition for at least five years. The selection committee includes several prominent sports identities and members of the Western Australian Institute of SportWestern Australian Institute of SportThe Western Australian Institute of Sport is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia...
.