NEW GAME: Kaitlyn Ashmore and Brian Edwards.
AUSSIE Rules with half the number of players, and none of the big hits.
The Ballarat Football League has launched a non-contact "touch" version of Australian Rules.
The AFL 9s competition begins November 16 and will run each Friday night for at least five rounds plus finals. It will be open to anyone who can field a team of nine players, plus an interchange.
"Six teams have expressed interest already, including Sebastopol Football Club and the Ballarat Football Umpires Association," Red Onion BFL operations officer Aaron Nunn said.
"We're hoping to get one team from each of the six Ballarat-based BFL clubs, and we'd be happy to see entries from other interested groups as well. They don't have to be from formal football clubs."
AFL 9s is played on a field that is a maximum 100m long and uses the basics of Australian football with a few changes.
If a player with the ball is touched by an opposition player, for example, he or she has three seconds to get rid of it or be penalised ball.
Likewise, if the ball hits the ground it is a turnover against the player who last touched the ball. Other skills, such as kicking, marking and handballing are included.
The league at launch will be a mixed competition, each team required to field at least two female players. Matches will be played at Victoria Park, with the BFL providing umpires for each match.