Sport in the Dominican Republic and the championship game that year brought in over $7,000 and commercial pressures led to the sport becoming a semi-profession in the Dominican Republic. Rafael Trujillo became president of the Dominican Republic in 1930 and he helped baseball soar in popularity as the sport gained a political connection. By the end of the 1930s, many of the finest Negro League players from the United States and Cuban players played baseball in the summer in the Dominican Republic as they were paid a fortune in order to come play. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947
Sport in New Zealand has remained at the forefront of world netball for several decades. In 2008, netball in New Zealand became a semi-professional sport with the introduction of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The sport is administered by Netball New Zealand, which registered 125,500 players in 2006. Unlike Australia, where rugby league is the dominant rugby code, rugby union is the more popular code in New Zealand. The New Zealand domestic league is semi-professional and does not enjoy a high profile. However, the Australian National Rugby League (NRL), in which New Zealand Warriors play, is becoming more popular . The New Zealand national side