Sport in New Ingrea
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New Ingreans are avid sports players. A culture of healthy living has emphasised the importance of exercise and outdoor activity, and so most people participate in some form of sport and recreation. There is no fully professional sporting competition in New Ingrea, with players paid as semi-professionals at best, with the majority being entirely amateur. Most of New Ingrea's national sports teams carry the name of the Rams, or other like terms.
While New Ingreans love sport, they are not as driven as their antipodean compatriots to win a sporting contest at any cost. New Ingreans on the whole do not see victory as the sole outcome of any sporting contest, but rather prefer the simple enjoyment of having participated and played to their very best. The vast majority of New Ingrea's sportsmen are semi-professionals, and the country has always shied away from professional competitions and the glitzy commercial circus that surrounds them. Furthermore, the government allocates very little in the way of funding to New Ingrea's elite athletes, which has led to a number of leaving this country to play for other nations. However, local sporting bodies do receive considerable support from both central and local government.
Administration and funding
Popularity
A 2008 opinion poll conducted by Lassiter-Kettering surveyed the number of people who participated in a number of sports in New Ingrea.
| Sport | Participation | By gender | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||
| Association football | 3,237 |  +0.5%
| ||
| Cricket | ||||
| Golf | ||||
| Hockey (field) | ||||
| Hockey (ice) | ||||
| Horse racing | ||||
| Huruball | 85,754 |  −1.5%
| ||
| Lawn bowls | ||||
| Lawn tennis | ||||
| Netball | ||||
| Rugby league | ||||
| Rugby union | ||||
Sports media
Popular sports
The vast majority of young able bodied New Ingreans participate in a sporting competition of some kind. Whilst sports of local or Ingerish origin are the most popular, almost any sport imaginable has at least a small presence in this country. The semi-professional sports have all established male, female and mixed competitions, and are played on well prepared and funded venues in all the villages, towns and cities.
Association football (soccer)
Unlike overseas, Soccer in New Ingrea has always been the poor cousin to Huruball and Rugby. The code also suffers from a talent drain, which young players showing any promise snapped up by clubs overseas by lucrative playing contracts. Despite this, a small amateur national competition flourishes in the form of the National Soccer Cup, which has been played by eight teams since 1998. The game is regulated by the New Ingrea Soccer Association, which is in turn a member of the Kartumian Football Confederation and the International Federation of Association Football.
Cricket
The game of gentlemen is the most played sport over the summer months, and is the second most popular overall. The sport is controlled by the New Ingrea Cricket Board. New Ingrea has been an Associate Member of the ICC since 1989, and has enjoyed some success against much stronger cricketing nations. The domestic competition is divided into limited over (Millennium Electric Cup) and first class (National County Championship) games, with each county represented by a team in both forms of the game. At the junior level, there are teams in most towns and villages, playing in competitions all through the summer.
Field hockey
Huruball
In terms of playing numbers and match attendance, the local game is easily the most popular sport in New Ingrea, and is especially popular amongst men. The New Ingrean Football Association is the controlling body for the code. Most large towns have at least one team and compete in one of the hierarchical league competitions every winter. The elite level of the code is the NIFA Superleague 1 played between twelve club sides between April and October.
Lawn bowls
The game of lawn bowls enjoys considerable popularity across all age groups in New Ingrea. Since the turn of the twenty-first century the game has grown in popularity, leaving behind its fusty image as a game played only by the elderly. The governing body for lawn bowls in this country is the Royal New Ingrean Lawn Bowls Association, which was established in 1872. Today, there are a large number of lawn bowls clubs in New Ingrea, which be easily identified in nearly every city and town by their distinctive well-watered greens and immaculate facilities.
Lawn tennis
The fifth most played sport, lawn tennis in New Ingrea is controlled by the Lawn Tennis Association of New Ingrea. There are six professional tennis players from New Ingrea who complete on the international professional circuit. New Ingrea also competes in the international competitions as a national team.
Netball
Netball is the most popular ladies sport in New Ingrea. Once played only by women, Netball is today a unisex sport in New Ingrea, having supplanted Basketball. The game is run by the Netball Association of New Ingrea. It is third most popular sport in New Ingrea. The female team compete on an international level with some success.
Rugby league
The second most popular men's sport in this country is rugby league football. With a history dating back to the 1910s, rugby league is particularly popular amongst Ngati Mōri and white catholic communities. The sport is controlled by the Rugby Football League of New Ingrea, who are responsible for the national team and the semi-professional Rugby League Championship, which is contested by ten teams each year from March to September.