Aussie Rules UK

Aussie Rules UK is a United Kingdom organisation set up in April 2005 to introduce children in the UK to Australian rules football via an adaptation of the sport for use in schools. Since 2007, Aussie Rules UK has also run a senior competition, entitled the Aussie Rules UK National League.

It is part of Aussie Rules International.

chools Program and Junior Development

Two of the stated "major aims" in introducing Aussie Rules Football to the UK are to:
# Combat the growing rise of obesity amongst children in the UK (under the slogan "Get a Kick out of life!")
# Reduce the number of underprivileged children who get into trouble with the law ("Kids in Sport are not in Court")

Aussie Rules UK is recognised by the UK Sports Minister, Richard Caborn, and is based in the offices of Sport England, the Government agency responsible for providing the strategic lead for sport in England.

Aussie Rules UK has created the Aussie Rules Schools program as an introduction to the sport in UK schools.

Trained Aussie Rules UK coaches visit schools for a day or part of a day to deliver PE lessons using a form of Australian football that can be played by boys and girls of all ages, and offer an alternative to traditional team sports. Alternatively, an inset programme can be delivered to teachers so that they may add Aussie Rules to their curriculum.

Aussie Rules UK also offers Carnival Days, which usually involve a minimum of 4 schools and are the culmination of a program of 4 weeks duration to introduce the sport. It is intended that the skills and interest that might be inculcated are encouraged to continue beyond the initial 4 weeks of the program.

Aussie Rules was included as a demonstration sport in the London Youth Games at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Sunday, 3 July 2005. Four teams competed for the right to hold aloft the inaugural 'Aussie Rules Cup.' Aussie Rules was also included in the London Youth Games in July 2006.

enior Development

The Aussie Rules UK national league was launched in 2007 featuring 3 divisions of teams playing 9-a-side. The Northern division features teams from Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Durham and Newcastle. The Southern division features teams in Chippenham, Brighton, Crawley, Southampton and Bournemouth. A team based in Thanet folded after 2007 season.

Australian rules football in Wales is run independently by the unofficial governing body for the sport in the principality called the Welsh Australian Rules Football League (WARFL). Although in 2007 games were played between the teams in the area, 2008 saw the first full season of Aussie Rules in Wales. The league consists of two teams in Cardiff named Cardiff Double Blues and South Cardiff Panthers and a team in Swansea called Swansea magpies. A team based in Risca named Gwent Tigers is also planning to join the league in time for 2009 season.

External links

* [http://www.aussierulesinternational.com Aussie Rules International website]
* [http://www.aussierulesuk.com/ Aussie Rules UK]
* [http://www.sportengland.org/ Sport England]