Sport
Catering for a wide range of sports
There are over 200 sports clubs in the district. Facilities include five golf courses in the district, a synthetic hockey turf, equine race centre, a nationally rated tennis complex and a covered heated swimming complex. Sports fields form a large part of the 365 hectares set aside for recreational reserves.
| The following sports are well represented within the Ashburton district: | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket | Football | Swimming | Touch Rugby | Netball | Tennis | Hockey |
| Squash | Rugby | Badminton | Softball | Athletics | Skiing | Basketball |
The world famous Mount Hutt Ski area attracts thousands of skiers and snowboarders each year (pictured above).
Lake Hood, a 72 hectare man-made aquatic park (pictured below), is a prominent feature of the district. In addition to the water-skiing and boating facilities, national rowing events are held in this purpose built watercourse.
Ashburton boasts several walking and cycling tracks. The Ashburton Hakatere River Trail (pictured below) is a shared track for walking, cycling and horse riding and runs from the Ashburton River Bridge on State Highway 1, along the northern banks of the river, to Hakatere at the coast. A more challenging mountain bike track has been developed to the west of the bridge through to Melrose Rd. A track also extends from the State Highway on the south banks of the Ashburton River, through to Lake Hood.
Ashburton Domain boasts an international standard artificial hockey turf and a modern 14 court tennis complex. It also has a nationally recognised cricket oval and grass athletic track.
Many club and national fixtures are played throughout the year on the domain sports-fields including hockey, soccer, cricket and athletics. Several schools also take advantage of the large area when having tournaments for a large number of teams, and multiple fields are needed.
Most rural communities have a domain that is a hub for recreational sports and sporting events.
