Spirit of Sport
Qantas is a proud sponsor of the following sports and events:
Australian Rugby Union
Qantas is a proud supporter of Australian Rugby Union and is the official airline of the Qantas Wallabies. 2010 saw improved results in the Tri-Nations series, with two wins against South Africa awarding the Qantas Wallabies the Mandela Challenge Plate and ensuring they retained second place both in the 2010 Tri-Nations competition and IRB World Rankings.
The Qantas Wallabies will play four matches in 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere's toughest competition, the Tri-Nations. They will kick off their international campaign against South Africa on 23 July in Sydney before taking on the traditional rival New Zealand in Auckland on 6 August. Next the Qantas Wallabies will play against the Springboks in South Africa on 13 August before the team return to Australia to play on home soil against the All Blacks in Brisbane on 27 August.
The Qantas Wallabies will then launch into their campaign on rugby's grandest stage at the World Cup in New Zealand on 11 September, competing throughout the month against Ireland, Italy, Russia and the USA in the group stages of the tournament.
We wish the Qantas Wallabies the best of luck in their quest for glory in New Zealand.
Cricket Australia
Qantas is proud to be the Official Airline of Cricket Australia. As of December 2011, Qantas will carry our teams across Australia and the world in preparation for their big matches.
Qantas supports all forms of the game including Test, One Day International, State and the newly created KFC T20 Big Bash League which sees cricket stars from around the world take each other on across the 2011/12 Summer.
The rest of 2012 will see the completion of India's Tour of Australia before Sri Lanka joins the two teams for the Commonwealth Bank ODI Series. The Australian men's team will then tour the West Indies in the middle of 2012.
We wish all the Australian, State and KFC T20 teams the best of luck for this season and beyond.
To find out more about cricket or to purchase tickets visit the Cricket Australia website.
Football Federation Australia
The Football Federation Australia is the governing body of the game of football in Australia. Football is the most popular sport in the world and is played by more than one million people in Australia.
Qantas is the Official Partner and Airline of the Qantas Socceroos, the FFA and the Hyundai A-League. Qantas is also proud to support the Australian Football men's teams; the Qantas Under 23s, the Qantas Young Socceroos, the Qantas Joeys and the Qantas Futsalroos.
Qantas Socceroos
Congratulations to the Qantas Socceroos who successfully qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Qantas carried the team in a special Boeing 747 from Sydney to Johannesburg and while Australia was eliminated from the competition in the group rounds, the whole nation and Qantas are proud of the team's performance.
Qantas continues to support the team as they prepare for another big year in 2011. The year kicks off with the Qantas Socceroos playing in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar in January followed by the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds where the team will continue to develop the next generation of Qantas Socceroos.
Hyundai A-League
The 2010/2011 season of football's premier domestic competition, the Hyundai A-League kicked off in August 2010. There is an exciting new team this season, Melbourne Heart plus the season will see more matches played than ever before, a total of 165 including the first ever double-header.
You can view the full season schedule at the official A-League website.
Qantas is a proud supporter of football in Australia and wish all the teams the best of luck.
Formula 1TM Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Qantas will continue its proud partnership with Formula 1TM in Australia as Premier Partner of the 2011 Formula 1TM Qantas Australian Grand Prix.
Qantas has been a supporter of Formula 1TM racing since the first Australian event in Adelaide in 1985, and is thrilled to be a major force behind the staging of this prestigious event on the sporting calendar.
The 2011 Formula 1TM Qantas Australian Grand Prix revs up at Melbourne's Albert Park track from 24 - 27 March 2011. Australian Formula 1TM driver Mark Webber will not only be looking to claim his first ever drivers championship, he'll be making his presence felt after a tremendous year in 2010 where he finished third in a tightly contested season.
Qantas wishes Mark Webber the very best of luck at the 2011 Formula 1TM Qantas Australian Grand Prix.
Australian Olympic Committee
The Australian Olympic Committee is committed to Australia's athletes and encourages the development of high performance sport through athlete support and funding initiatives. The role of the AOC also extends to spreading the Olympic spirit and ideals throughout the wider community, even in the years between Olympic Games.
It is the AOC's responsibility to select, send and fund Australian Teams to the Olympic Summer and Winter Games.
The AOC is also committed to the education of Australia's youth through programs including the a.s.p.i.r.e. school network, the annual Pierre de Coubertin Awards and State & National Australian Olympic Academies.
The Australian Youth Olympic Festival is an initiative of the AOC held bi-annually as a legacy of the Sydney 2000 Games. The fifth Australian Youth Olympic Festival was held in Sydney from 14 to 18 January 2009, featuring 1550 athletes from around the world competing in 17 Olympic sports. The next edition of the festival will be held in January 2013 again in Sydney.
Qantas has been a proud partner of the AOC for over forty years and was the official airline of the 2008 and 2010 Australian Olympic Team. Qantas announced the extension of their support of the Australian Olympic Team for another 4 years and will carry the team to and from London in 2012.
Ambassadors
Mark Webber
Qantas Ambassador Mark Webber grew up in Queanbeyan where he had a passion for motorsport from a young age. He began racing Go-Karts with his father before making his way up the Australian ranks and on to the UK in 1995. He raced in a number of motorsport's top tier divisions before making his F1 debut for Minardi in 2005. More recently he has driven for Red Bull Racing where he raced to his maiden F1 victory in 2009. He has since won a total of six races up to the start of the 2011 season and is expected to make his presence felt throughout the 2011 Formula 1TM Championships after a tremendous year in 2010 where he finished third in a tightly contested season. We wish Mark the best of luck in the the 2011 Formula 1TM Championships.
Mark Schwarzer
Qantas Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has been a Qantas Ambassador since 2005. He is a leading figure in the Qantas Socceroos side and was Australia's goalkeeper at both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups. He currently plays his club football at London club Fulham in the English Premier League after forging his career at the northern English side Middlesbrough.
In 2007, Mark teamed up with Neil Montagnama-Wallace for the first installment of a planned 5 book series called 'Megs'. In conjunction with the launch of the first book 'Megs & the Vootball Kids' Qantas ran football clinics which comprised of a number of activities where the children, aged between eight and eleven years, learned a variety of football skills. Mark says the book is a reflection of Australia's diverse society, and was thrilled that through the Qantas Sharing the Spirit program, he was able to meet with young football fans and share in his great love of the game and reading, and highlighting the importance of Australia's diversity.
John Eales
John has been a Qantas Ambassador since 2004 and is proud to be the host of the Qantas Wallabies Rugby Experience and Captain's Run events. The two events allow Frequent Flyers and Qantas staff to share in what it is like to play for Australia on match day. They include a tour of the locker room, stadium facilities and an insight into some of the memorable moments in Qantas Wallabies folklore. The experiences culminate with an autograph and photo session on the pitch, where Australian rugby history has been created.
John Eales played 86 test matches for Australia, 55 as Captain. He participated in two successful World Cup campaigns, led Australia to three Bledisloe Cup wins and two Tri-Nations trophies. He also led the Qantas Wallabies to the first ever defeat of the British and Irish Lions. In 2010, John was appointed to the board of the Australian Rugby Union.
John Eales continues to be a great ambassador for Qantas and Rugby.
Catherine Freeman
Qantas has been a proud supporter of Catherine for over a decade. The relationship began when she was a young, aspiring athlete and has continued throughout her running career, which culminated in Sydney Olympics 2000 with one of the most memorable Australian victories in sporting history. Qantas and Catherine have continued their relationship into her retirement from sport and the relationship has been cemented by the common interest in promoting participation and educating children through sport in remote and regional communities throughout Australia.
Catherine has recently established the Catherine Freeman Foundation, as a result of the experiences in some of these remote communities. Her participation with the Qantas Ambassador program has shown Catherine that she has the ability to effect positive change in lots of children around Australia. Catherine is very proud to be a Qantas Ambassador.
Greg Norman
Greg Norman has been a Qantas Ambassador since 1976. Throughout his career Greg has won 86 professional events around the world, including 20 US PGA Tour titles, spent 331 weeks as the world's number one ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
He now serves as Chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises and is global ambassador for both golf and Australia.
