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Off the beaten path — Aussie Rules
Scott Fisher | Calgary Sun | June 21, 2011
It’s one of the toughest sports known to man.
And women.
Australian Rules football isn’t just for big, hairy, toothless, testosterone-driven men anymore.These ladies can get down and dirty, too.
Calgarian Caitlin Kidd got involved in the sport after watching her older siblings.
“I had three brothers who were already playing and they encouraged me,” Kidd said.
“A lot of girls who are playing rugby or soccer come out to give it a try and they get hooked.”
Kidd plays for the Calgary Kookaburras, the city’s lone competitive squad, which won the U.S. championship in 2008.
The Kookaburras have enjoyed great success against the U.S. — a natural rival in this game, as well.
“In 2008, we won their national tournament and we’ve never finished worse than second,” Kidd said.
“We beat them both times we played them at the 49th Parallel Cup (last August).”
Kidd also suits up for the national team — the Northern Lights — which features 11 players from Calgary.
The Northern Lights are heading to Australia shortly for a three-week stay that will include an international women’s tournament with teams from Italy, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and a club made up of non-locals living in Australia.
Kidd is confident the Canadians are prepared but said it’s difficult to get a read on the competition.
“This is the first time there’s been a women’s division,” Kidd said. “We’re pretty confident we’ll be fairly successful.
“We have a fairly big league for being outside of Australia.
“Some teams haven’t played in an international match.”
Irish import Ciara Lannigan, who now calls the Stampede City home, has played Aussie Rules football for the past five years.
“I played Gaelic football, which is Ireland’s national sport, and hurling” Lannigan said. “But I never played Aussie Rules until I came to Canada in 2007.”
She said the women’s side of the sport is growing in her homeland.
“They have a couple of teams,” she said. “They’ll be sending a team to Australia. So it’s getting to be big in Ireland.”
Lannigan, who said she’s one of the more punishing players on the field, said she was attracted to physical aspect of the sport.
“It’s good because you can tackle. That’s the fun part,” Lannigan said.
She had to fill out a ton of paperwork in order to play for Canada internationally.
“I had to prove that I’ve applied for my residency,” she said. “It was a long process, but it’s taken care of now.”
The selection process for the national team began in 2009. Thirty players will be making the trip to Australia.
Locally, the women split the Kookaburras into two teams — the Hillhurst Nighthawks and the Kensington Kingfishers.
They have two practices a week and a game every second week. The teams also suit up against a split squad from Edmonton.
Kidd said the league can always add more players.
“In our metro league, it’s open to any skill level,” Kidd said. “You can find a place on the field for anyone.
“I think I like it because it’s so fast-paced. And we have such a great group of girls and it’s fun to be out and about with them.
“We try recruiting activities, but we get most of the girls through word of mouth.”
Reprinted from http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/06/21/off-the-beaten-path--aussie-rules