''SportsCafe'' was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

sports TV show. The show's original run was hosted by

Lana Coc-Kroft Lana Coc-Kroft (born 1967) is a New Zealand television and radio personality, and was Miss Universe New Zealand in 1988. Coc-Kroft began her television career appearing in ''Sale of the Century'', and in 1991 on the New Zealand version of '' Whee ...

, Marc Ellis,

Leigh Hart Leigh Hart (born 20 July 1970) is a New Zealand comedian, radio announcer and performance artist who is also known as "That Guy". He has made various appearances on New Zealand television, including '' SportsCafe'' and his own show, '' Moon TV' ...

Graeme Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

Ric Salizzo Riccardo Michele Salizzo (born 22 July 1962) is a New Zealand journalist, television presenter and producer. He is best known for producing and presenting long-running sports chat show ''SportsCafe'', as well as executive producing and occasion ...

and reporter

Eva Evguenieva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

. In 2001

was added to the cast under his persona of 'That Guy'. The show first screened on New Zealand television in 1996 on Sky Sport; however, those without a

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

subscription could view ''SportsCafe'' without a UHF Sky decoder by tuning their TV to the Sky Sport UHF channel, as the signal was not scrambled during this show. In 2002, ''SportsCafe'' moved to Sky 1 and in 2003 to TV2 (

TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up cons ...

). It featured interviews with current sports stars and comical skits about sports. Each episode lasted 60 minutes, including commercials. The show was pulled at the end of 2005 after the 'Celebrity Drug Scandal' but it is understood that this was not the reason for the show going off the air. The grand final screened November 23, 2005 and at the end of the show the presenters actually destroyed the set on the air, as

The Exponents The Exponents, formerly The Dance Exponents, was a New Zealand rock group led by vocalist and songwriter Jordan Luck. Their major hits were " Victoria" " Why Does Love Do This To Me" and "Who Loves Who The Most". History 1980s: Dance Expo ...

played their hit song "Why Does Love Do This To Me?". On Sunday June 22, 2008, it was announced in the ''Herald on Sunday'' newspaper that ''SportsCafe'' would return for a final season, to begin on July 9, 2008. The show featured most of the original cast, and aired on Wednesday nights at 9.30 pm on TV2. In 2011, ''SportsCafe'' returned for three exclusive online episodes, in order to celebrate New Zealand's hosting of the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

later in the year. Three shows were confirmed, and broadcast on July 8, 15 and 22. Recordings of these episodes can be found on YouTube.

National Nude Day

"National Nude Day" was a mock public holiday created when Marc Ellis challenged ''SportsCafe'' viewers to streak in front of then Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

. The show ran an event each year inviting viewers to submit photos and video of themselves performing daily activities in the nude, which was continued on the internet (rebranded as "World Nude Day" or "International Nude Day") until around 2009. A number of student

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in Ellis' home town of Dunedin offered special deals for nude patrons on the day. Internet collections of world holidays mark the day as 14 July; in fact it was held at the organizers' whim, having variously fallen on 19 September and 6 February.

References

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External links

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TVNZ 2 original programming 1990s New Zealand television series 2000s New Zealand television series 2010s New Zealand television series 1996 New Zealand television series debuts 2005 New Zealand television series endings 2008 New Zealand television series debuts 2008 New Zealand television series endings 2011 New Zealand television series debuts 2011 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand sports television series Naturism in New Zealand