AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL

Australian version of football, developed in Melbourne, Victoria, about 1858 by H.C.A. Harrison. It has been described as a mixture of soccer and rugby and also bears some resemblance to Gaelic football. Australian rules football is played with an oval ball that weighs between 450 and 480 g (16 and 17 ounces) and has a short circumference of 57 cm (22.4 inches) and a wide one of 74 cm (29.1 inches). Australian football is one of the few field sports that does not use a uniform-sized ground; it is played on an oval field that can vary in width between 110 and 155 m (120 and 170 yards) and in length between 135 and 185 m (145 and 200 yards). Two goal posts not less than 6 m in height are placed 6.4 m apart at each end of the ground. Two shorter posts, called behind posts, rise to a minimum height of 3 m, with each one placed at the side of a goal post at a distance of 6.4 m. The line between the goal posts is called the goal line, and this line's extension from each goal post to its behind post is called the behind line. A goal is scored when the ball is kicked clearly through the goalposts by a member of the attacking team; a goal registers 6 points. A behind is scored when the ball crosses a behind line in any event or when the ball crosses the goal line without all the conditions for a goal to be scored (e.g., when the ball touches or passes over a goalpost). A behind is worth one point. The four posts are distinctive of Australian rules football. A team consists of 18 players on the field; 3 of these players move freely, while the others guard certain zones and opponents. Players may run with the ball but must bounce or touch it on the ground at least once every 15 m. A player may hold the ball and run with it until he is held by an opponent, upon which he must dispose of the ball immediately. Players pass the ball off to teammates either by punt-kicking it or by handballing, in which a player holds the ball in one hand and hits it with the clenched fist of the other hand. Throwing the ball is illegal, and there is no offside rule. A major difference from other types of football is the awarding of a set kick, or mark, when a player manages to catch the ball directly from the kick of another player who is not less than 10 m away. The player who made the mark is allowed an unhindered kick at the goal from anywhere behind where he marked. The game's finest spectacle is the high mark, in which three or four competing players leap, sometimes riding on the back or shoulder of an opponent, in order to catch the ball and receive the resultant mark. Each match is controlled by one field umpire, a goal umpire at each end, and a boundary umpire on each side. The game begins with the field umpire bouncing the football in the centre of the arena and players leaping in order to knock it down to a teammate. After a goal, the ball is bounced again in the arena's centre. After a behind is scored, an opponent kicks the ball into play. A match consists of four 25-minute quarters. Australian rules football entails more body contact than soccer but less than rugby or American football. A player may be fairly met, or checked, by an opponent by the use of a hip, shoulder, chest, arms, or open hand provided the ball is not more than 5 m away. Penalties known as free kicks are paid against players who tackle opponents above the shoulders, below the knee, or in the back. Free kicks are also awarded against a player who is deemed by the umpire to have held the ball too long or who ran with it without bouncing or touching it on the ground. Australian rules football is Australia's foremost sport. Professional competition centres on the Australian Football League, which is governed by the Australian National Football Council and attracts large attendances and television audiences. The sport is especially popular in Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.