Unusual Sports
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International Rules Football
category: Football, Ball Sports
International Rules Football is a hybrid sport invented so that Australian football players (Aussie Rules) can play games against Irish football players (Gaelic football). There are no regular club games or leagues, just one off games or tournaments. Games have been played since 1967, and since 1998 played annually except for the 2007 series which was cancelled lover concerns the Aussies were getting a bit too violent (they just did not grasp the no contact part of the rules).
The rules are a compromise between the two football codes. A round ball as used in Gaelic football is used compared to the oval AFL ball. The games are played on a rectangular (Gaelic football) field, rather than the oval of AFL. The Aussies get to tackle, but only between the shoulders and thighs, which is otherwise banned in Gaelic football. The goals are two large posts and two small posts, as in Australian rules, though a crossbar and goal net is incorporated as in Gaelic football. Passing the ball in the goal net received 6 points, over the cross bar 3 points, and between a large post and a small post 1 point.
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