The Heartbeat of Melbourne: Australian Rules Football
Every winter weekend in Melbourne, Australia, the city comes alive with color. Thousands of families wrap themselves in scarves of blue and white, red and black, or yellow and gold. They are heading to the stadium to watch their favorite sport: Australian Rules Football. Known locally as "footy" or the AFL, this fast-paced game is much more than just a sport. For millions of Australians, it is a way of life that connects families and friends across generations.
To understand footy, you first have to look at the field. Unlike American football or soccer, which are played on rectangular fields, Australian Rules Football is played on a giant oval. In fact, these fields are often cricket grounds! Two teams of eighteen players compete to move an oval-shaped ball down the field. However, players cannot simply run with the ball. Every few steps, they must bounce the ball on the grass or touch it to the ground. To pass the ball, players cannot throw it. Instead, they must either kick it or "handball" it, which means punching the ball out of their own hand.
- footy:
- The popular local Australian nickname for Australian Rules Football.
- handball:
- A style of passing where a player punches the ball out of their own hand rather than throwing it.
- mark:
- A clean catch of a kicked ball from at least fifteen meters away, which rewards the player with a free kick.
- behind:
- A one-point score in AFL earned by kicking the ball between a middle post and an outer post, or by hitting a post.
- Marngrook:
- A traditional Indigenous Australian game involving kicking a possum skin ball and leaping high to catch it.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What shape is the field used for playing Australian Rules Football?
- 2How must a player handle the ball if they want to run down the field with it?
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About this informational passage for Upper Elementary
âThe Heartbeat of Melbourne: Australian Rules Footballâ is a informational reading passage about Australian Rules Football (AFL), written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 4 minutes to read (526 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.