Sport in the Falkland Islands
Encyclopedia
Sport in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

is restricted by the islands' low population, and generally scattered population. Nonetheless, it has been able to send teams to the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

, and the Island Games
International Island Games Association
The International Island Games Association is an organisation the sole purpose of which is to organise the Island Games, a friendly biennial athletic competition between teams from several European islands and other small territories. The IGA liaises with the member island associations and with...

.

The islands have produced one sportsman of note, Louis Baillon
Louis Baillon
Louis Charles Baillon is a former field hockey player, who won a gold medal with the Great Britain team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He is the only Falkland Islander to become an Olympic champion....

, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

 in the field hockey team.

Race meetings are held from time to time, especially as many islanders still own horses.

A wide variety of sports are played in the Falkland Islands including: 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...

 http://www.falklandsconservation.com/news/news0101.htmlhttp://www.mysterra.org/webmag/falkland-islands/population.html, Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, Clay pigeon
Clay pigeon
Clay pigeon may refer to* the target of the sport of clay pigeon shooting* Clay pigeon floor procedure, a strategy used in the U.S. Senate* The Clay Pigeon, a 1949 film noir* Clay Pigeons, a 1998 film...

, darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...

, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

, marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

, golf
Golf
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....

, field hockey
Field 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...

, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...

, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, 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 target shooting.

Because of the large British military presence, many games involve their teams.

The Falklands Islands Rifle Association
Falklands Islands Rifle Association
The Falklands Islands Rifle Association has been in existence since 1885.Records of the club's history from 1955 to 1973 were lost during the Falklands War in 1982. After the war, shooting was suspended until a new range was provided at Rookery Bay in 1990....

 dates back to the 1880s.

See also

  • Falkland Islands national football team
    Falkland Islands national football team
    The Falkland Islands official football team is a representative football team of the Falkland Islands, organised by the Falkland Islands Football League. The Falkland Islands Football League is not a member of FIFA and therefore the team is not eligible to play in official competitions such as the...

  • Rugby union in the Falkland Islands
    Rugby union in the Falkland Islands
    -Governing body:Rugby union is played in the Falkland Islands under the auspices of the Rugby Football Union.-History:Rugby was first introduced to the Falkland Islands in the 19th Century, and is always of the union variety. Due to the low population of the islands , the islands do not have a...

  • Falkland Islands cricket team
    Falkland Islands cricket team
    The Falkland Islands cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands in international cricket matches. They played their first international against Chile in February 2004, and gained affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council on 29...

  • Falkland Islands at the Commonwealth Games
    Falkland Islands at the Commonwealth Games
    The Falkland Islands has competed in seven editions of the Commonwealth Games. Their first appearance was in 1982, just months after the Falklands War...


External links and references

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