Australian Rules Football

Australian rules football (also known as "footy" or "Aussie Rules" in areas where it is the predominant winter sport) is a game played between two teams of 18 players, usually played on cricket ovals during the winter months. At either end of the oval four posts are erected. The aim for each team is to kick the ball between either the two inner posts of one set (for a goal, worth six points) or between an outer and inner post (for a behind, worth just one point).

The game is played with a bouncy oval ball which may be caught, kicked, or passed to another player by punching, but not thrown. A player may also run with the ball provided they either bounce or touch the ball to the ground every 15 metres. A player who cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it (called a mark) is entitled to an unimpeded kick of the ball, to advance his team towards the goals.

The game is controlled by a number of field umpires (at elite level, three), two boundary umpires whose main job is to conduct throw-ins when the ball leaves the field of play, and two goal umpires who judge whether the ball is kicked between the goal posts without being touched by another(thus scoring a goal), between a goal and point post (thus a point) or outside the goals entirely (thus becoming the boundary umpire's responsibility). The goal umpires wear distinctive white coats and are equipped with two flags. After a goal is scored and indicated to the players, the goal umpire waves the two flags such that the other goal umpire sees and records the goal. One flag is waved for a point.

The game is a fast-paced combination of speed, athleticism, skill, and physical toughness. Players are allowed to tackle the player with the ball, and impede opposition players from tackling their teammates, but not to deliberately strike an opponent (though playing around at the margins of those rules is often a substantial part of the game). Like most team sports, tactics are based around trying to get the ball, then—through a combination of running with the ball, handpassing (punching the ball) and kicking— deliver it to a player who is within range of goal. Because taking a mark entitles the player to a free kick, a common tactic is to attempt to kick the ball on the full (i.e., without bouncing) to a teammate who is within kicking range of goal. In this situation packs often form, and spectacular high marks (where players launch themselves off opponents' backs high in the air to mark the ball) are common.

Initially brought into being officially as a method of keeping cricketers fit in winter, the first rules were drawn up in a Melbourne pub by Tom Wills and H.A. Harrison in 1858, making Australian Rules the oldest officially codified football game of any played today. It was believed that Australian football was inspired by the ball games of the local Aboriginal people in western Victoria. However, whilst the Aboriginies did in fact play a type of sport using a ball made out of Kangaroo hide known as Marn Grook[?] which included features resembling the high marking game of Australian rules, there is extensive debate over the doubtful connection between the two. H.A. Harrison had grown up in an area of Victoria near present day Moyston where he may have played Marn Grook[?] with local Aborigines. It is however more likely that he drew inspiration from his days at the Rugby school in England, and from local variants of football brought to Victoria by immigrants from the British Isles.

Australian Rules Football was first played in 1858 between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College. The modern day AFL[?] has many teams dating back to this era—the Melbourne Football Club is the oldest professional sporting club in the world, having beeen formed in 1860. Other clubs include Geelong (1860), North Melbourne (1869) Port Adelaide (1870) and Essendon (1873). A schism in the 1890s led to the formation of the Victorian Football League[?] which commenced play in 1897 as an eight team breakaway of the stronger clubs from the original VFA competition; eventually increasing by 1925 to 12 Melbourne suburban clubs. All of the original VFL clubs are still in existence, with the exception of South Melbourne Football Club who in 1982 relocated to Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans and the Fitzroy which merged with the Brisbane[?] in 1996 due to financial difficulties.

The VFL changed its name in the late 1980s as a strong interstate interest in the game was leading to a more national competition. In 1989, the Australian Football League (AFL) was born. The AFL is the 16 club elite-level competition in the game. There are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas.

The sport is the preeminent winter sport only in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia. Queensland and New South Wales main winter sports are rugby league and rugby union, though with the establishment of AFL teams in Sydney and Brisbane and the growth of amateur footy in those states it appears to be changing somewhat.

Games, at the elite level, still retain some touches from its inter-suburban roots. Players run on to the field through a crepe paper[?] banner depicting some message (for instance, congratulating players on a milestone number of games) constructed by volunteer supporter groups at the mostly member-owned clubs. After the game finishes and the players have left the field, spectators are allowed onto the field to kick footballs around amongst themsevles. All clubs have a team song, most composed in the 1940's or aping the style.

While Australian Rules Football is a spectator sport only in Australia (except for occasional exhibition games staged in London for the large Australian expatriate community there), there is since the late 1980s a growing international amateur competition in countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, the USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, China and South Africa, initially established by Australian expatriates but collecting growing numbers of native players.

A series of hybrid matches between Australia's best and a representative Gaelic football team from Ireland have been staged on an irregular basis. The rules are a compromise between the two codes, using a round ball and a rectangular field but allowing the fierce tackling of the Australian code. The series have remained evenly matched with the Irish using speed and athleticism, and the Australians strength and power - both inherent skills in their respective codes. This contrast of skills has created exciting contests that have been a hit with spectators.

Several Irish gaelic footballers have been recruited to play in Australia, most notably brownlow medallist Jim Stynes[?], Sean Wight[?] and more recently Tadhg Kennelly[?].

The inaugural Australian Rules International Cup was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002. 11 teams made up exclusively of foreign nationals played a series of matches, with, in a surprise result, Ireland defeating Papua New Guinea in the final.