Australian Rules football:

Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply "football" or "footy" is a code of football played with a prolate spheroid ball, on large oval shaped fields (cricket fields), with four posts at each end. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time and the primary aim of the game is to score by kicking the ball between the posts. The winner is the team who has the highest total score by the end of the match.
There are several different ways to advance the ball, including kicking and hand passing. When hand passing one hand must be used to hold the ball and the other fist to hit it - throwing the ball is not allowed. Players running with the ball must bounce or touch it on the ground every 15 metres. There is no offside rule and players can roam the field freely. Australian rules is a contact sport. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick is paid. Players who hold on to the ball too long are penalised if they are tackled by an opposition player who is then rewarded, whilst players who catch a ball (known as a mark) from a kick exceeding 15 metres are awarded uncontested possession. The duration of play varies, but is longer than in any other code of football.
Frequent contests for possession including aerial marking or "speckies" and vigorous tackling with the hands, bumps and the fast movement of both players and the ball are the game's main attributes as a spectator sport.
The code originated in Melbourne, Australia in 1858, and was devised to keep cricketers fit during the winter months. The first laws of Australian football were published in 1859 by the Melbourne Football Club. The dominant governing body and most prestigious professional competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual AFL Grand Final, the highest attended club championship event in the world.
In recent times, the sport has been rocked by allegations that many of its players have been linked to illegal recreational drugs. The administration maintains a regular drug testing regime for AFL players but has come under fire for not releasing positive drug tests until the player has tested positive three times. It is thought by many that this policy lags behind other professional sporting organisations in Australia. In the context of Australian sport, this will need to be overcome if the sport is to reclaim the respect it once had.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Australian Rules Football".

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