Bendigo Sport: NBL Team, Cycling Hub & Local Clubs

Bendigo's sporting culture is anchored by the Bendigo Spirit WNBL basketball club (one of Australian women's basketball's most celebrated regional clubs), the city's strong AFL and cricket community sport programs, and the heritage of Bendigo's cycling tradition (the Tour de Bendigo criterium series uses the heritage CBD streets as a race circuit in a tradition stretching back to the nineteenth century). The Bendigo Stadium and the Bendigo Bank Stadium provide the city's primary indoor and outdoor sporting venues.

Bendigo Spirit (WNBL Basketball) — the Bendigo Spirit compete in the WNBL (Women's National Basketball League) as one of the competition's most beloved regional clubs, with three WNBL Championships (2013, 2014, 2015) making the Spirit one of the most successful WNBL clubs over the period of the competition. The Bendigo Stadium home games draw passionate support from the Bendigo community and the Spirit's success has inspired girls' basketball participation across the Goldfields region.

Bendigo Bank Stadium and AFL community sport — the Bendigo Bank Stadium (the primary outdoor sport venue in Bendigo) hosts the Bendigo Football Netball League competition, the region's primary AFL community competition, with the Eaglehawk and Sandhurst clubs among the most historically significant clubs in Victorian country football. The tradition of Bendigo football stretches back to the 1870s and the goldfields era when football clubs were central to the social life of the mining communities.

Tour de Bendigo (criterium cycling) — the Tour de Bendigo criterium cycling series uses the heritage Pall Mall and surrounding Bendigo CBD streets as a race circuit, continuing a Bendigo cycling tradition that extends back to the bicycle boom of the 1890s when Bendigo was one of the most active cycling centres in regional Victoria. The criterium racing on the heritage boulevards provides a spectacular and accessible cycling spectator event for the Bendigo community.

Aquatics and the Bendigo Aquatic Centre — the Bendigo Aquatic Centre provides the Goldfields region with excellent aquatics facilities and a strong community swimming program that has produced regional and state-level swimmers from the Bendigo and Central Victorian catchment.

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