Sport in Recherche

History

Main article: History of sport in Recherche

Professional Domestic Leagues

Cricket

Main articles: Cricket in Recherche and Recherche Super League

Australian Rules Football

Main articles: Australian Rules Football in Recherche and Recherche Football League

Association Football

Main articles: Association Football in Recherche and Recherche Premier League

Ice Hockey

Main articles: Ice Hockey in Recherche and Recherche Hockey League

Basketball

Main articles: Basketball in Recherche and Recherche National Basketball League

Gridiron

Main articles: Gridiron in Recherche and Recherche National Football League

Rugby

Main articles: Rugby Union in Recherche and Recherche Super Rugby

Baseball

Main articles: Baseball in Recherche and R-League

Semi-Professional Domestic Leagues

Quidditch

Main articles: Quidditch in Recherche and Recherche National Quidditch League

Quidditch in Recherche began, like in most other countries, in the nation’s universities. Large groups of young people who grew up reading about and falling in love with the Harry Potter universe began to form their own Quidditch teams. Gradually a nationwide inter-university completion began and, in time, began to increase both in size and athleticism. The National Quidditch League has its roots in this university competition, as multiple Quidditch Cup winner Glenn Barker decided to undertake the immense task of setting up a national franchise based league. The league was initially amateur and modest in size, with relatively small numbers attending the games compared to the already established national leagues, but with a highly dedicated fan-base. This all changed when billionaire Frank Timms attended a game with his son and saw its potential and, with his financial assets and experience, helped build the league. One of the key aspects that lifted the league into the public sphere was the signing of a number of stars from other sports as flagship players. This more than anything else gave the NQL traction in the public consciousness and resulted in a significant rise in spectator numbers at each game. Although only a few years old, the NQL is growing with surprising rapidity and is quickly becoming a major sport in Recherche.

Netball

Main articles: Netball in Recherche and Recherche Netball League

Field Hockey

Main article: Field Hockey in Recherche

Field hockey has always been a highly popular recreational sport in Recherche, and it is the seventh most popular team sport in terms of participation. Despite this however, it has never been successful at promoting itself as a spectator sport and so has remained on the sidelines of Recherche sport. Its failure to attract a consistent TV deal has often been blamed for its poor spectator performance and inability to draw in large crowds. Past attempts at creating a fully professional league have failed due to a lack of financial backers, despite the enthusiastic support thrown behind such a league. Nonetheless the domestic field hockey league has a strong presence in the country largely due to its large player base and small but fanatical fan base, and international matches in particular are able to attract significant crowds and media attention. On the international stage the Recherche national team has participated in all but one of the Men’s Hockey World Cups, failing to qualify in 1975, but has won two world titles since then, the last one coming in 2006.

Rugby League

Main article: Rugby League in Recherche

Sports media

See also: Recherche Sports Network

International competitions

Olympics

Main article: Recherche at the Olympics

Paralympics

Main article: Recherche at the Paralympics

Commonwealth Games

Main article: Recherche at the Commonwealth Games