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.
AFL Queensland (AFLQ) is the governing body of Australian rules football in Queensland. AFL Queensland has over 216,000 participants (including Northern Rivers which is governed by AFLQ) playing at all levels of football from the introductory NAB AFL Auskick program to the AFL Masters Competition. AFL Queensland covers 13 regions, 24 leagues and 159 clubs.
The Australian Football International Cup is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and 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. The most recent event 2020 was postponed and then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently postponed until 2024. 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 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 Geography of Australian rules football describes the sport of Australian rules football played in more than 60 countries around the world. By 2017 more than 26 nations had contested the Australian Football International Cup the highest level of worldwide competition. Australian rules football is played professionally by men and women in Australia and is the most popular form of football in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. It is also extremely popular in Nauru and moderately popular. The sport is moderately popular in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory and has a growing audience in New Zealand and China where recent AFL premiership matches have been played and also Papua New Guinea where it has historically been popular. In recent decades it has grown as a spectator sport in many countries.
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.
Women's Australian rules football, is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game.
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. "GAA" is the abbreviation for the Gaelic Athletic Association.
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 Asia.
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 at an organised amateur level in the United States and Canada since around 1990. There have also been clubs formed for occasional play in Bermuda, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia.
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 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.
Cecilia McIntosh is an Australian athlete who won a silver medal in the javelin throw at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, represented Australia in bobsled at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, was a runner-up at the 1997 Australian Weightlifting Championships and is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).
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.
