Australian Rules Football is a ball sport as dynamic as any other. Professionally, the sport is played exclusively in Australia by the 18 teams in the Australian Football League (AFL). Although Australian Rules Football is not well known internationally, it is one of the most popular domestic sports competitions in the world, according to audience figures! This is hardly surprising when you look at the huge stadiums where these games are played. The Melbourne Cricket Ground for example, which holds many major matches can seat more than 100,000 spectators, making it one of the largest stadiums in the world. Incredible, especially when you consider that the sport was invented only to keep cricketers fit in winter.
But the uniqueness of the game and the commitment of fans and players outside of Australia have started to spread ‘Aussie Rules’ around the world.
The game is played with two teams of 18 players on a field more than twice the size of a conventional football/soccer field. Since we have no or few such pitches available in Europe, we play with teams of 9 players on a football or rugby field.
The goal of the game is quite simple: to get more points than the other team and win! You get points by kicking goals or behinds. At both ends of the pitch there are four vertical goalposts, when you kick the ball through the middle two posts you have scored a goal and get six points. If you kick the ball through the outer two posts, you call it a behind and get only one point.
What makes the game so dynamic are the different ways to move the oval ball across the field. The positions on the pitch are comparable to those in football, with defence, midfield and attack but that’s where the similarities end. Because you can’t throw the ball, instead you’re allowed to pass using handballs where you fist the ball out of your hand. Running with the ball is also allowed, but you have to bounce the ball every 15 meters, which is of course an art in itself. The last way to move the ball is through kicking and that’s the only way you can score goals. When you kick the ball to one of your teammates and they catch the ball, it’s called a ‘mark’ and you get a set kick where you can’t be tackled. Since Australian Rules Football is a contact sport in which an opponent may be brought down or impeded in a variety of ways, tackling is a big part of the game. But body contact is only allowed at the height between the shoulders and the knees.
The sport is very intense, but for us in AFL Switzerland, fun, fairness and team spirit come first, so if we have got your interest then don’t hesitate to contact us or come by one of our games where there is always a festive atmosphere!
