Australian national sports team nicknames

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In Australia, the national representative team of many sports has a nickname, used informally when referring to the team in the media or in conversation. These nicknames are typically derived from well-known symbols of Australia. Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor, such as the "Qantas Wallabies" or the "Telstra Dolphins". Some names are a portmanteau word with second element -roo, from kangaroo; such as "Olyroos" for the Olympic association football team.

The oldest nicknames are Kangaroos and Wallabies for the rugby league and rugby union teams; these were first applied by British newspapers to Australian touring sides in Britain.[1] Similar animal nicknames exist for other national rugby teams (e.g. the South African Springboks, the British and Irish Lions). The other names are more recent, mostly invented to help publicise sports not traditionally popular in Australia. Among the longer-established sports, the cricket, Davis Cup tennis, and netball teams have no common nickname. Cricket Australia surveyed supporters in 1998 about a possible nickname: the consensus was opposed to adopting any, partly because the best names were already taken by other teams.[2]

In 2005, Football Federation Australia, the national governing body for football (soccer) in Australia, announced that the nickname The Socceroos would be phased out with the team simply referred to as the Australian National Football team. However, there is no certainty that the general public and common usage will follow the wishes of FFA and a sponsorship deal with Qantas means that the nickname will still be used in the short term.

Harry Beitzel's Australian rules football selection, which toured Ireland in 1967, was unofficially nicknamed the Galahs from their flashy uniform. Though this side was a precursor of subsequent Australian international rules football teams, the nickname has not been retained.

[edit] Table

sport team (link to team / event) nickname (link for origin) name sponsor
Rugby union Men's test Wallabies[1] Qantas[1]
Women's Wallaroos[3]
Under-21 side Junior Wallabies
Rugby league Men's test Kangaroos[4]
Women's Jillaroos[5]
Under-21 side Junior Kangaroos
Wheelchair rugby Paralympic Steelers[6] (previously Wheelabies[7])
Football (soccer)[8] Men's Socceroos Qantas
Women's (incl. Olympic) Matildas (from Waltzing Matilda)
Olympic men's Olyroos
Under-20 (men) Young Socceroos Qantas
Under-20 (women) Young Matildas
Under-17 (men) Joeys Qantas
Gridiron (American football) National team Australian Outback — formerly Australian Cyclones (1999)[9], Australian Bushrangers (1997)[10]
Swimming[11] Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championships Dolphins Telstra
Water polo Men's Sharks[12]
Basketball[13] Men's Boomers (from the nickname for large fully-grown male kangaroos) Australia Post
Women's Opals defencejobs (Australian Defence Force's recruitment website)
Under-21 (men) Crocs[14] (short for Crocodile)
Under-21 (women) Sapphires
Under-19 (men) Emus
Under-19 (women) Gems
Intellectual disability (men) Boomerangs
Intellectual disability (women) Pearls
Wheelchair basketball[13] Men's Rollers
Women's Gliders
Field hockey Men's[15][16] Kookaburras
Women's[15][16] Hockeyroos None for 2007 (ANZ for 2004 Olympics)[17]
Under-21 (men)[16] Burras
Under-21 (women)[16] Jillaroos
Ice hockey Men's Mighty Roos[18] (after The Mighty Ducks)
Lacrosse Men's Sharks
Men's U19s Crocodiles
Women's U19s Stars (after the Southern Cross)
Women's U17s Team Koala
Box lacrosse Men's Boxaroos[citation needed]
Bowls Men's Jackaroos — a pun on jack, the target ball[19]
Women's Sapphires[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Who are the Qantas Wallabies?. Australian Rugby Union. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  2. ^ "There's one in every crowd...", AAFLA Sportsletter, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, October 2003. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. 
  3. ^ Wallaroos: History. Australian Rugby Union. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  4. ^ Fagan, Sean. The Australian Rugby League Kangaroos. RL1908.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  5. ^ Australian Women's Rugby League - the online home of the Jillaroos. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  6. ^ (October - November 2007). "Australian Athletes with a Disability Newsletter". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. “The Steelers, Australia’s National Wheelchair Rugby team, recently competed in the cross Tasman Chris Handy Cup challenge”
  7. ^ AAP Sports News. "Wheelabies challenged by disability rating change", 2004-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. "The Australian wheelchair rugby team's bid for gold in Athens has suffered a major blow [...]" 
  8. ^ National Teams. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  9. ^ Astros & the Outback. Astros Gridiron Football Club. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
  10. ^ Gridiron History in Aus. Astros Gridiron Football Club (1999). Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
  11. ^ TELSTRA AUSTRALIAN DOLPHINS SQUADS (PDF). Swimming Australia (2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  12. ^ Aussie Sharks win historic bronze medal at World League Super Finals. Australian Water Polo (2007-08-12). Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  13. ^ a b Basketball Australia Annual Report (PDF). Basketball Australia (2006). Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  14. ^ BA media (2005-04-13). Young men vying for Crocs spots. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  15. ^ a b National Teams. Hockey Australia. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  16. ^ a b c d All that you ever wanted to know about hockey in and around Australia.. playinghockey.com.au (2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-15. “There are four national hockey teams in Australia, Kookaburras Australian Men's Hockey Team, Hockeyroos is the Australian Women's Hockey Team, Jillaroos is the Australian Under 21 Women's Team and Burras is the Australian Under 21 Men's Team.”
  17. ^ 2004 ANZ HOCKEYROOS SQUAD. Hockey Australia. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  18. ^ Ice Hockey Australia (January 2004). "From the President: Newsletter". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. “Adoption of the “Mighty Roos” name, logo and jersey for the Australian Senior Men’s National Team.”
  19. ^ Jackaroos is a winner. Bowls Australia (August 2004). “As a result, the Australian men's bowls team has a new nickname - the Jackaroos. [...] The jackaroo is symbolic of the Australian outback. And the first part of the word - jack - is the most common name for the small white ball that is the prime focus and target in a game of bowls.”
  20. ^ The shining Sapphires. Bowls Australia (2004). Retrieved on 2007-11-23. “After much deliberation the new nickname for the Australian women’s bowls team is the Sapphires.”

[edit] See also