Sunday, February 1, 2015

Australian Rules Football

Because it wasn't confusing enough to have two sports use the name 'football', Aussie's had to come up with their own version. Australian rules football, also known as just 'footy' or 'aussie rules', is like a mix of soccer, basketball and rugby. The Australian Football League is the most prestigious professional league of the sport - interestingly enough, it actually has the highest spectator attendance of sports in Australia. 
Some rules:

  • The team with the most points wins - duh. Points are earned by kicking the ball within goal posts at each end of the field.
  • The field is oval shaped (often cricket fields are used) and so is the ball.
  • A player can kick the ball (the only way to score), carrying the ball (but must dribble it every 15m), or pass the ball  using a volleyball-like serve (no just passing it). 
  • It is a contact sport - tackling is a big part of the game! However, if a player catches a ball that has been kicked further than 15m, he cannot be tackled and has some free time to play the ball.
  • You can't: throw the ball, tackle above the shoulder, push/trip/punch someone.
  • Players look like skinny rugby players or jacked soccer players - clearly it requires a specific body type. 
Basically, there are a lot of bizarre rules and I would love to watch this game - to my unfamiliar mind it sounds hilarious.
Here is a little preview: 


-Isa 

2 comments:

  1. Dude this is super awesome. Kinda reminds me a bit of handball, a german sport that is kind of like soccer and basketball combined. Also dribbling every 15 m sounds kind of crazy; 15 m is far...
    PS props for the super bowl appropriate post, hope that was done on purpose.

    Brittany Hallawell

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  2. Maybe we can go and see one of these games in Tasmania! Australians are a very sports loving nation and i'd love to and observe a sport like this.

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