When it comes to sport, we are often hearing about sports like football, cricket and rugby. However, thousands of people in the UK play sports that get absolutely no coverage, such as Aussie Rules football. I am sure many of you will be unaware that around 3,600 people in the UK take part in the sport that is, Aussie Rules. These people are spread around 35 clubs currently operating in the UK, along with both Oxford and Cambridge Universities who contest the Varsity Match annually.
Yet the journey to reach this level of interest in the UK has not been an easy one for Aussie Rules. It started in 1989 when the sport’s first competitive league, the British Aussie Rules Football League (BARFL) formed. From there, the sport has grown to the level it is at today; with the 3,600 participants surely exceeding any expectations the founders of the league had 23 years ago.
Now, the BARFL has been disbanded and two separate organisations formed , AFL Britain and AFL London which are both formally affiliated to the AFL, the governing body of the sport in Australia. Now, AFL London has its own league of 8 teams, whilst AFL Britain governs 5 regional leagues in Central, Southern and Northern England as well as in Scotland and Wales. Following the split in 2008, a number of new clubs were formed to try and fulfil the aim of having an Aussie Rules side in every city with a Walkabout Australian-themed bar.
One of these clubs was the Wolverhampton Wolverines. Ian Mitchell previously of the Birmingham Bears took on the role of bringing this exciting project to life and to bring the sport of Aussie Rules to Wolverhampton. Initially, the club struggled to attract players, but following a new promotional campaign led Ian Mitchell and with the help of committee members Ben Yeates and Christian James, the Wolverines got their feet off the ground and eventually started playing competitively in the AFL Britain Central Division from their Willenhall Rugby Club base.Despite finishing bottom of Central division, the club endured a season which showed great improvement with a young and hungry squad in their first competitive campaign, and are now preparing for the start of pre-season training for 2012. After starting with nothing only 3 years ago, the club now boasts around 30 members ranging from the ages of 14 and 42, a testament to their hard work and dedication.
However, from researching Aussie Rules football in the UK and the Wolverhampton Wolverines for this article, it has become clear to me that this is more than just a great sport; it offers a great social life as well. Each club seems to be like its own big family, with everyone seemingly playing a big part in the clubs day to day activities. This is one of the advantages to these “smaller” and less known sports. Every member is more valued and the clubs seem to enjoy many more social events and get together more often than many clubs in the common sports such as football and rugby. The community feel of this sport makes it seem to me to be one that will continue with its meteoric rise and growth. Although it will certainly struggle to reach the heights of more popular sports like cricket and rugby, Aussie Rules has the potential to become a very big sport here in the UK and bring its community feel to thousands more people.
If you are interesting in joining the Wolverhampton Wolverines, contact details can be found on their website, http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/wolverhamptonwolverines/
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