History
The Calgary Kookaburras were formed on April 30, 2007, at a meeting of five girls at Hillhurst's Riley Park. Jake Anson was appointed as the club's inaugural coach, with Bri Johnstone as the club's first captain.
The first major tournament that club members participated in was the first women's international matches of Australian football, held at Vancouver's Thunderbird Stadium on August 4 & 5. Fourteen Calgary Kookaburras represented Canada in matches against the USA national team.
The club continued to gain momentum on- and off-field throughout 2007. The club developed an independent club structure in August, to focus on growing women's Australian football throughout southern Alberta. In October, the club was invited to compete in the US National Championships, held in Louisville, Kentucky. The Calgary squad combined with women from the Washington First Lady Eagles to compete in the championships. The combined team lost three official matches against Arizona, Milwaukee and Atlanta. In an unofficial match, Calgary 6.7 (43) defeated Washington 4.2 (26).
In 2008, a full pre-season and some innovative recruiting saw the club grow to become the largest women's footy team outside Australia. Two feeder clubs were formed to provide regular match practice for players and the club's profile in the Calgary community grew through exposure in the press and on television. In October the club again competed in the US National Championships, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The squad performed outstandingly and went through the tournament undefeated to become only the second women's football club to win the championship. Calgary 4.3 (27) defeated Atlanta 3.4 (22) in the final.
In 2011 the Calgary Kookaburras again traveled to the United States to compete in the 2011 Nationals held in Austin, Texas and hosted by the United States Australian Football League. Coach Holly Greatwich, formally of the Bridgetown Bulldogs and a previous, fierce player for the Kookaburras, will make history at the tournament when she becomes the first ever female coach of an international women's AFL team.
The Australian Football International Cup is a triennial international tournament in Australian rules football. It is the biggest international tournament in the sport that is open to all nations. More than 26 nations have participated and the competition has expanded into multiple pools and both men and women's divisions. At the time of the last tournament in 2017, the sport had a record 170,744 registered players outside Australia growing at a rate of 25 per cent per annum.
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
The Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Bulldogs. The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia. In AFL Europe, separate national teams represent England, Wales and Scotland.
The Irish national Australian rules football team represent Ireland in Australian rules football and is selected from the best Irish born and raised players primarily from the clubs of the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland but also playing abroad.
The United States national Australian rules football team, nicknamed the Revolution, represents the United States of America in the sport of Australian rules football. The Revolution are named after the American Revolution and wear the colors of the American flag.
Women's Australian rules football, is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game. It is played by more than half a million women worldwide and with 119,447 Australian adult and 66,998 youth female participants in 2023 is the second most played code among women and girls in Australia behind soccer.
The Women's Australian Football League is a women's Australian rules football competition in the United States of America. The league is the organising body for women's Australian rules football in the US It operates under the United States Australian Football League USAFL, the sport's governing body in the country.
The Calgary Kangaroos is an Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They welcome all new players, regardless of prior experience, practice at A E Cross High School in Glamorgan, play games at the Inland Athletic Park and are members of AFL Canada. The Roos also run introductory training sessions at various elementary and high schools across the city, in an effort to grow the sport locally. The current number one ticket holder of the club is former Calgary City Mayor, the Honourable Naheed Nenshi
Australian rules football in Canada is played in seven provinces – Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The Ontario league, centred on Toronto is a nine-team league, including sides from cities as far afield as Guelph, Hamilton and Ottawa. In western Canada, there are clubs in Edmonton, Calgary and a six-team league in the Vancouver area. There is also a number of junior and women's clubs across Canada.
The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.
Gaelic Games Canada (GGC), or the Canadian GAA (CGAA), is responsible for Gaelic games across Canada, overseeing approximately 20 clubs. It has the same status as one of the county boards of Ireland and is one of over thirty regional GAA executive boards throughout the world. The board is responsible for Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, rounders, gaelic handball, and ladies' Gaelic football teams in Canada.
Australian rules football in Asia dates back to 1910 but was only sporadically played until the 1980s after which it has boomed. Clubs have begun in most Asian countries and a governing body for the region, AFL Asia was formed in 2008 to coordinate the Asian Championship and promote its affiliated leagues. AFL Asia estimates that there are now more than 10,000 Australian Football players across the continent.
Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
Australian rules football in the Middle East describes the minority sport of Australian rules football as it is watched and played in the Middle East region.
Australian rules football has been played in the Americas since the turn of the 20th Century, beginning with North American countries Canada and the United States in 1905 and 1906 respectively. However it has only been played consistently at an organised regular amateur level since the establishment of the current Canadian competition in 1989 followed by a United States competition in 1996. More recently it has been played in South America in Colombia since 2015 and Chile since 2017. There have also been clubs formed for occasional play in other South American nations including Bermuda, Brazil and Argentina. As there are too few countries playing separated by great distances, there is currently no formal regional governing body and international competition between countries is currently overseen cooperatively by AFL Canada and the USAFL.
AFL Canada is the governing body for Women's Australian rules football competition in Canada. The primary competition is centred in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec and the national team is known as the "Northern Lights".
The United States women's Australian Rules football team, also nicknamed USA Freedom represents the United States in the sport of women's Australian rules football.
The Alberta Footy Women's League (AFWL) is the largest women's Australian football league playing regular matches in North America. It is currently composed of teams from Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, who play for the AFWL Premiership Cup.
The Denver Bulldogs are a United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club, based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1997, the club is currently composed of a Division 1 men's team, a Division 1 women's team, and a Reserves men's team. The Denver Bulldogs are the most successful club in the 22-year history of the USAFL, having won eight men's national championships and six consecutive women's national championships. The Denver Bulldogs are devoted to promoting the international sport of Australian Rules Football in Colorado, the United States, and abroad at all levels of competition.
Canada men's national goalball team is the men's national team of Canada. Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. The team takes part in international goalball competitions.
