Auskick

Auskick
Presence
Country or region	Australia (country of origin); Also played in Denmark, Fiji, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vanuatu
Olympic	No
Paralympic	No

Auskick is a program designed to teach the basic skills of Australian football to children aged between 5 and 12. Auskick is a non-contact variant of the sport. It began in Australia and is now a nationwide non-selective program. It has increased participation and diversity in the sport amongst children,^{[citation needed]} and is now being run in many countries across the world.

At its peak in the mid-1990s in Australia there were around 200,000 Auskick participants annually^[1] and this figure has since stabilised at this number. Numerous professional, semi-professional and representative players are graduates.

The program is now run throughout the world, including several locally branded variations such as: "Kiwi Kick" (AFL New Zealand), "Niukick" (Papua New Guinea), "Footywild" (South Africa), "Bula Kick" (Fiji), "Viking Kick" (Denmark), "Ausball" (United States) and "Pikinini Kick" (Vanuatu) among others often sponsored by local organisations.

History

Auskick has its roots in the Little League which began to be played at half time during VFL (now AFL) matches in the 1960s^[2] and was revised in 1980 to make it more accessible. Little League was expanded by Ray Allsop into a state development program called "Vickick"^[3] begun in Victoria in 1985. Participation increased from 7,000 to 35,000 in 4 years.^[4]

The ACT was one of the first other states or territories to introduce the program in 1991 as "Auskick". Between 1993 and 1995 former AFL player and coach David Parkin who had been coaching the territory's Teal Cup side successfully lobbied the AFL for the national adoption of Auskick.^[4]^[5]

In 1998, the AFL Commission, the national governing body for the sport, began to roll it out nationally. At its peak there were around 200,000 Auskick participants annually.^[1] As the world governing body, the Commission later franchised the program to affiliated organisations around the world under various local brands and sponsors.

Auskick sessions

Auskick is a national football coaching network, with clinics held weekly (usually on Saturday mornings) run by volunteers. The program attracts over 100,000 primary school aged participants annually and, as such, is the largest grassroots sporting association of its kind in Australia.

Each Auskick session consists of a training session and a game, with the emphasis on developing skills rather than the game result. Some of the major rule differences from Australian rules football are a ban on tackling and the restriction of players to their zone of the field, similar to netball.

The AFL is a major supporter of Auskick and star players occasionally assist in training events. The AFL also invites various branches of the Auskick network to play short games during the half-time breaks of premiership season games at all grounds, with numerous matches played on modified fields simultaneously.

In 2007 the program's slogan was "Where Champions Begin", with Jo Silvagni (wife of former AFL player Stephen Silvagni) and Robert DiPierdomenico, the 1986 co-Brownlow Medallist as the main ambassadors.^[6] They also used the kick-to-kick tradition as part of their promotional television campaign, which shows kids from around the country kicking the football to each other to the tune of "Gimme Dat Ding".

Parents' role in Auskick

Parents are involved across the board in activities such as at skills sessions, as coaches and supervisors, administrators, helpers, coordinators and first aid officers. Throughout the year, there are parent orientation courses as well as coaching courses.

Auskick in non-traditional Australian rules football regions

The AFL has used the Auskick program the introduce Australian rules football into schools and communities around the country to increase the AFL's profile in areas that traditionally support other football codes such as New South Wales and Queensland.^[7] However there have been accusations of exaggerated participation figures^[8] in an attempts to gain access to Sydney playing fields. Vast increases in AFL participation figures in Sydney were questioned by David Lawson, a Melbourne University academic, in a study commission by the AFL. Lawson's study found that AFL club participation rates in Sydney had stalled, and that the AFL was masking low figures by using short term, non-club affiliated Auskick participants and comparing them to competitive junior club participation numbers in other sports.^[9]

Ambassadors

Early on in the national program, national ambassadors were nominated. All of these ambassadors played for Victorian clubs and as the AFL and the program continued to expand nationally, these players were not always well recognised figures by children in all regions. In 2010s each state nominating its own ambassador, usually a home grown talent, without a national ambassador.

National

Shane Crawford (2012)
Robert Dipierdomenico (2009-2010; 2011)
Joel Selwood (2008)
Robert Dipierdomenico & Jo Silvagni (2007)

Australian Marketing Campaigns

"NAB AFL Mini Legends" (2016-)
"More Give, Less Take" (2012)
"Let It Shine" (2009)
"Follow Every Rainbow" (2008)
"Gimme That Thing" (2007)
"Where Champions Begin" (2007)

Outside Australia

Outside Australia, Auskick programs exist in the following countries:

Auskick exists under a different name in the following countries:

Denmark (Viking Kick)
Fiji (Bulakick)^[a]^[14]
New Zealand (Kiwi Kick)^[15]
Papua New Guinea (Niukick)^[b]^[16]^[17]
Solomon Islands (Solkick)^[c]^[18]
South Africa (Footy Wild)^[19]
United States (Ausball)^[20]
Vanuatu (Pikinini Kick)^[d]^[21]

References

^ ^a ^b 'Father figure' of Auskick and Richmond Tiger, Ray Allsopp, dies aged 87 By Michael Doyle 28th October 2021]
^ "Little League plea". The Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12, 105. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 September 1968. p. 20. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Auskick pioneer and Tigers player Ray Allsopp dies by Peter Ryan for The Age. October 28, 2021
^ ^a ^b "Parkin backs joint program to boost AFL". The Canberra Times. Vol. 70, no. 21, 769. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 November 1994. p. 35. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Hard work done by juniors is now becoming obvious". The Canberra Times. Vol. 67, no. 21,252. 22 June 1993. p. 21. Retrieved 20 May 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Celebrities to get their NAB AFL Auskicks". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012.
^ "7.30". abc.net.au. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
^ "AFL accused of exploiting figures". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
^ "Auskick putting Sydney kids off". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
^ "News article on simpson.com.au". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Aussie Rules Global: Where Footy is Played Overseas".
^ "AFL Nauru | AFL Queensland".
^ AFL England announces first junior club collaborations aflengland.org ^{[dead link]}
^ "AFL Fiji | AFL Queensland".
^ "AFL Kiwikick".
^ "Niukick comp kicks off – the National".
^ "Niukick Program".
^ "AFL Solomon Islands | AFL Queensland".
^ "Youth focus continues in South Africa - World Footy News".
^ "Ausball".
^ "Rec Footy and Auskick arrive in Vanuatu - World Footy News".

Notes

^ "Bula" (Fijian pronunciation: [mbula]) is Fijian for "hello"
^ Blend of "Niugini" (Tok Pisin for "New Guinea", same as Air Niugini) and "kick".
^ Blend of "Solomon" and "kick".
^ "Pikinini" is Bislama for "child".