Aussie Rules
Growing popularity & world wide recognition of Aussie rules
Football is one of the most common sports of Australia; however, the version of the game that is played in the continent is quite different to the actual worldwide football scene. The Australian football practice can be considered as a stylized version of the sport which has some elements of rugby league along with the original Gaelic style of football playing. This newer version of football game is commonly known as Aussie rules football or footy. This innovative style of football is slowly gaining international popularity and acceptance.
The real origin of football is still uncertain and there have been several disputes regarding this matter. There have been various clues that suggest the existence of some form of kicking game in Australia even before the arrival of the British imperialism in Australia. In fact, many people consider that their own version and the English version of the game combined together have led to the emergence of the latest adaptation in the style of Australian football. There have been many such disputes about Australian football; however, the fact that remains certain about this foot game are the rules of the game, the avoidance of which might lead the players to miss quite a few matches.
The important rules of Aussie football that occupy pivotal significance and are the backbone of this adaptation of the game were codified formally in the year 1858 by Henry Harrison and Tom Wills. The rules for the Aussie style of football were made not to start a newer version of the game but to keep the cricketers fit in winter seasons and offer them a relief from their routine practice of playing the same game of cricket throughout. Still, it led to the emergence of a whole new tradition with regards to the game of football in Australia.
The rules that are followed in Australian footy are unique as they are played with an oval shaped ball in an oval shaped field. The other rules of the game are also unique and different.
- The maximum numbers of players from a team that are allowed to be in the field at a time are 18. Four players can be kept as reserve.
- There are no rules for positioning particular players in specific regions of the field and unlike the originals version there are no rules regarding offside.
- Normally this innovative style of gaming comprises of four quarters. The average length of each quarter is around 20 minutes.
- These games have umpires for officiating of the matches.
- The Australian football or footy begins in a similar way to that of basketball. In this version the umpires bounce the ball on the ground and the players jump up to catch the ball in the air.
- The ball can be held by clenched fists and open-hand taps are also allowed. However, in no circumstances the ball can be thrown.
- The players can run with the ball in hand, however it should be touched on the ground in every fifteen meters covered by the player. The player carrying the ball can be tackled only between the knees and the shoulders. In such circumstances the player has to dispose off the football or he might run the risk of being penalized for forcefully holding the ball.