Sport in the Northern Territory
Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia. Australian rules football. The Tiwi Islands Football League is played in the Tiwi Islands. The Northern Territory Football League operates from Darwin. The Aboriginal All-Stars is also based in Darwin. The governing body for football in the territory is the AFL Northern Territory. Venues include the TIO Stadium in Darwin, and Traeger Park in Alice Springs. 2017 saw the launch of an eight-week inaugural national women's league, AFL Women's. NT women will play a prominent role in the Crows team, with  the teams playing under a combined Northern Territory/South Australia banner. There are eight clubs in the competition. As of the start of 2017, these NT teams have contributed the following players: In 2018 The Northern Territory government explored whether they could have a team in the Australian Football League. Baseball. Baseball NT is the governing body of baseball within the Northern Territory. Baseball NT is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. Organised baseball is played in Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine. Darwin has four clubs; Nightcliff Tigers, Palmerston Reds, Pints and Tracy Village Rebels. The East Darwin Beasts disbanded  in 1986 and the South Darwin Rabbitohs disbanded in 2004. For a brief history of baseball in Darwin, see Darwin baseball league and Northern Territory Buffalos. In Darwin, baseball is a dry-season sport, played between April and September each year. Alice Springs has five teams; Bulls, Cubs, Demons, Panther and Redbacks Basketball. Basketball Northern Territory (BNT) is the governing body of basketball in the Northern Territory. The major association in the territory is Darwin Basketball Association (DBA). In 2022, the Darwin Salties will debut in the Queensland-based NBL1 North competition, making the NBL1 the first Australian sport league  to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia. Combat sports. Boxing NT is the governing body for amateur boxing in the Northern Territory and is affiliated with Boxing Australia. There are four clubs for affiliated with Judo NT they are Darwin Judo Club, Marrara Judo Club, The Judo Studio and Top End Judo Academy. Only two clubs for affiliated with Australian Karate Federation they are Okinawan Chinese Martial Arts Association and Darwin Shotokan Karate. Australian Armwrestling Federation holds Northern Territory Championships Cricket. Cricket is administered by Northern Territory Cricket. Cycling. Cycling is administered  by Cycling Northern Territory. The Darwin Cycling Club was established in 1955. Field hockey. Field hockey is administered by Northern Territory Hockey Association and was formed in Darwin in 1948 Hockey was first played in the Northern Territory in Darwin in 1940 NT Stingers and NT Pearls compete in the Australian Hockey League. Fishing. Million Dollar Fish was first held in 2015 and is the richest competition in Australia. Golf. Golf is administered by Golf Northern Territory. four clubs with full 18-hole designs are Darwin Golf Club, Palmerston Golf & Country Club, Alice Springs Golf Course and Tennant Creek Golf  Club. Ice sports. Winter sports are played at Darwin Ice Skating Centre. Motorsport. Darwin hosts a round of the Supercars Championship every year, the Darwin Triple Crown, bringing thousands of motorsports fans to the Hidden Valley Raceway. The Hidden Valley Raceway facility also contains a drag strip as part of Hidden Valley Raceway's main straight, and a nearby Speedway, Northline Speedway, for short circuit dirt surface racing. In the south of the Territory, Australia's biggest Off-Road Race, the Finke Desert Race is held over a long circuit which takes in the settlement of Aputula on the Finke  River. The event is based out of Alice Springs Inland Dragway. Australia's only twin circuit mud racing track is at Top End Mud Racing. Red CentreNATS is an automotive lifestyle festival with Burnout competitions and drag racing event's. The Outback Air Race starts in Darwin and finishes in Coffs Harbour. Ross Macpherson Smith and Keith Macpherson Smith won the 1919 England to Australia flight air race. Netball. Netball is administered by Netball Northern Territory. Territory Storm represents Netball Northern Territory in the Australian Netball League. Rugby league. Rugby league is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby League. The  territory has the highest participation rate per capita for Rugby League than any other state governing body in Australia. The National Rugby League has conducted numerous clinics and hosted regular pre-season matches in the territory since 1998. Local domestic competitions are based in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Gove. A combined Northern Territory team also participates in the Affiliated States Championship. Rugby union. Rugby union is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby Union. Local senior club competitions are based in Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine. Clubs in Darwin have women's teams and junior competitions, and Nhulunbuy on the  Gove Peninsula has a junior rugby competition. The Darwin Hottest Sevens tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, with Rugby sevens club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s, with a prize pool of $65,000 in 2013, is the richest Rugby sevens tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. Racing. The Darwin Cup Carnival culminating on the first Monday of August is a very popular horse race event for Darwin Turf Club and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. The first Darwin Cup winner at Fannie Bay  was Satan's Son in 1956. Alice Springs Turf Club has the Pioneer Park Racecourse in Connellan, Northern Territory. The Camel Cup is an annual camel racing festival held in Alice Springs. There is one greyhound racing track in Darwin at Winnellie Park on Hook Road. It is the only track in the Northern Territory. Sailing. Darwin Sailing Club has hosting regattas and sailing events, from NT Championships and frequent Australian Championship regattas to World Sailing Grade 3 Match Racing regattas and World Championship regattas. Gove Boat Club established in 1971 and is one of the oldest. Shooting sports. Sporting  Shooters Association of Australia has shooting ranges and facilities in Micket Creek (at Berrimah), Alice Springs (at Ilparpa) and Tennant Creek. Soccer. Football Northern Territory is the governing body for football (soccer) in the Northern Territory. The Territory is also separated into three (Northern, Central and Southern) zones which have their own zone councils which administer leagues locally running their own league and cup competitions. The Darwin Football Stadium was officially opened on 28 July 2007 when it played host to an A-League Pre-Season Cup game between Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory. On 2 July 2009, A-League  teams, Adelaide United FC and North Queensland Fury played a pre-season friendly at the stadium. Reigning Football Federation Association Champions Adelaide United defeated Darwin Olympic 6–1 in a cup match at Marrara Oval in August 2015. Michael Tsounias scored the lone goal for the home side. Alice Springs's most successful soccer club is Alice Springs Celtic FC The Refugee World Cup was held in Darwin. Swimming. Swimming is administered by Swimming Northern Territory. Darwin hosted the 1992 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships at Casuarina Pool. Tennis. Tennis is administered by Tennis Northern Territory. Events. The Northern Territory also  hosts state and international sporting events. These have included: