School Stuff (3)

This blog entry is about sports, but not because kids here play sports that I know very little about. I confessed to that a few days ago... It's because there is a serious culture of sports in Australia. Kids play sports in school and outside, at clubs found in all suburbs, in dedicated areas around nature reserves, and in sports cents. We have an Aquatic center just 5 km away, which has a heated 50m pool outside, a 25m pool inside, a kiddie pool, jacuzzi, and huge wave pool inside. The gym is upstairs. It is both respectable and admirable that schools take sports extremely serious in this country. Most schools I know have at least an oval for cricket and footy (Australian rules football), and also a gym, basketball courts and sometimes swimming pools and tennis courts. Kids participate frequently in competitions and are taught to swim from a young age. Australia being populated mostly on the coastal areas, it is crucial that children know how to swim. Adults play sports, too, such as tennis and cricket. There are lots of leagues and clubs with members from the youngest school children to adults of advanced age.