Denmark

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FF0000" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="3fa285a1dvlddx.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Aussie Rules Global Invasion</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aussie Rules Global Invasion"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canada"><U>Canada</U></A>   |   <B>Denmark</B>   |   <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Germany"><U>Germany</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great Britain"><U>Great Britain</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ireland"><U>Ireland</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Japan"><U>Japan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nauru"><U>Nauru</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Zealand"><U>New Zealand</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PNG"><U>PNG</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Samoa"><U>Samoa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="South Africa"><U>South Africa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spain"><U>Spain</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sweden"><U>Sweden</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="USA"><U>USA</U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=9.375% BGCOLOR="#FF0000" TEXT="#080000" background="3f9d4fe0dvlddx.png"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Denmark</I></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="268" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 117 ><NOBR><div> <I><B><U><IMG SRC="48c646f0.png" border=0 width="100" height="111" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denmark"><U><B>Home Page</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denmark"><U><B>International Results</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denmark"><U><B>Photo Gallery</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="707" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FF0000 HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="701"><div> <B>Determined Danes</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF HEIGHT= 554 WIDTH="701"><div> <I><B>Despite language and travel barriers, Australian Football in Denmark is flourishing.</B></I></div> <div> Australian Football had its genesis in Denmark in May 1989. Mick Sitch, an expat Aussie resident in Copenhagen, placed an advertisement in a newspaper asking if anybody would like to meet him under a tree in a public park and have a kick of a footy. As well as Sitch, a Dane and a New Zealander turned up, and from there, things just snowballed.</div> <div> Regular training sessions were held over the next 18 months and towards the end of 1990, three founding clubs were formed with a view to starting a competition in the summer of 1991. Those three teams - the Amager Tigers, the Copenhagen Crocodiles and the North Copenhagen Barracudas were the founding clubs of the Danish Australian Football League and they still exist today.</div> <div> As the sport developed through the mid 1990's, clubs from around Denmark and beyond were formed and joined the league. The Aalborg Kangaroos (1993), Helsingborg Saints (1994), Farum Lions (1997), along with the three founding clubs, make up the 2002 version of the DAFL.</div> <div> By Australian standards, Denmark is a small country. It has a population of just under six million, and is one-fifth the size of Victoria. Despite that, its myriad of islands, waterways, ferries and long bridges make the distance quite long. Unlike most foreign Australian Football Leagues, DAFL games involve significant travel. Copenhagen to Aalborg (two hours north of Copenhagen, and in Sweden) spend seven hours getting to games in Aalborg.</div> <div> As one of the few Australian Football nations with neither close cultural ties to Australia nor English as its language, Denmark has a much smaller proportion of Australians playing than other leagues. Participation rates over the years are about 25 per cent Australian, 60 per cent Danish and Swedish, and 15 per cent others. This low Australian content has its advantages and didadvantages. The obvious disadvantage is, as leader in the sport, there are fewer Australians around to coach, umpire and administer the league. The advantage is that the skill level of the local players has accelerated faster than in other leagues and the result of the national team reflect that.</div> <div> DAFL has a scholarship program with VAFA club Power House. Every year, one or more Danish player spends the year in Melbourne playing with the Power House, enhancing their playing ability and their understanding of the passion Australians hold for the sport. Invariably, they come back to be key players and, in some cases, coaches in their Danish Clubs.</div> <div> Since 1998, junior development has been a significant part of football in Denmark. Predominantly in Copenhagen suburb of Farum, junior matches are held every week, and more than 100 boys and girls in the age group eight to fifteen play every year. It is without a doubt the most developed junior football program outside Australia.</div> <bR> <div> * Above Information is from the Official Souvenir Program of the 2002 International Cup</div> <bR> <div> Denmark competed at the 2002 International Cup and defeated Nauru, Great Britain and Japan but lost to PNG. Has a result they took on New Zealand for 3rd spot but were defeated.</div> <div> In 2003 the DAFL was split into 3 divisions with a league in the North, a league near Copenhagen and the other league in Sweden. This was designed to save money and to create more interest as teams would not have to travel so far to play.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>