Sport is an important part of the culture of Western Australia.
Major sports
Association Football (Soccer)
Australian football is the most popular sport in Perth Western Australia, and only second to Swimming as the most played and participated sports in both the state and nationally.
Perth Glory competes in the national A-League.
They were crowned A-League Premiers in the 2018-19 season. In the previous National Soccer League, Perth Glory was a relatively successful team by winning the last titles of the NSL (2002-03 & 2003-04). Perth Glory's home games are played at Perth Oval, although they have played finals at Perth Stadium.
Swimming
Western Australia’s most popular sport, with the largest number of registered participants is swimming, with competition and training carried out throughout the year.
See also: List of Western Australian Olympic and Paralympic medallists in swimming
The 20 km Rottnest Channel Swim is an individual and teams swimming race from Cottesloe to Rottnest and held annually.
The FINA World Championships were held in Perth in 1991 and 1998.
Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football is the third most played sport in Western Australia, with its popularity elevated due to excellent marketing and lobbying at state and national level. Western Australia has two teams in the national league: the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club (the "Fremantle Dockers"). Both teams use Optus Stadium as their home ground. The state's local league is the West Australian Football League (WAFL) with nine clubs representing metropolitan regions. Australian rules football is the most popular football codes in Western Australia with over 1,030,000 spectators attending WAFL and AFL matches in 2004.
Basketball
Western Australia's number one basketball team is the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League. The Wildcats' sister team is the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League. Western Australia also has a second-tier basketball league, the State Basketball League, with teams located in Perth, Mandurah, Bunbury, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton.
Cricket
Cricket is one of the main sports in Western Australia. Western Australia has a state cricket team, the Western Australian Club (Formerly the Western Warriors), based at the WACA Ground. They play in the Sheffield Shield and the One Day Cup Series. The Perth Scorchers also represent WA in the Twenty20 Big Bash domestic competition and have been the most successful franchise since the competition's inception. The WACA also hosts international Test and One Day International cricket matches. The Western Fury represent WA in the Women's National Cricket League.
Field hockey
Perth has a strong regional field hockey competition. There are many field hockey clubs for children, men, women and veterans (over 40 year of age). Western Australia contributes significantly to the national Australian men's and ladies' hockey teams which have both been winners of Olympic Gold Medals.
The Australian Institute of Sport hockey unit has been based in Perth since 1984, when it was the first sport to be decentralised.
The 6,000 seat Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University is the premier hockey venue in the state and is the home of state teams Perth Thundersticks and the WA Diamonds.
Golf
Normally at least one international golf tournament is held in WA each year, with the Johnnie Walker Classic at The Vines Resort & Country Club in Jan 2006 as part of both the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. In past years international tournaments have also been held at the Karrinyup Country Club. The Heineken Classic was held in WA throughout the 1990s and was at times the richest tournament held in Australia.
Horse racing
Horse racing is very popular with a metropolitan race meeting every Saturday, fortnightly mid week meetings and weekly meetings at one of the major country centres. The Perth Cup is the state's premier race held each New Year's Day at Ascot Racecourse. The metropolitan tracks are Ascot for the spring and summer months and Belmont Park during the wetter autumn and winter months.
Harness racing is held all year round at Gloucester Park, with additional meeting in country areas. Greyhound racing is held at Cannington Raceway, Mandurah and Northam.
Many country towns have a racecourse and a major race day each year. These meetings are often the centrepiece of the communities activities, coinciding with other local events.