Force Back, Force 'em back, Force Them Back, Forcing Back, Forcey Backs or Forcings Back is a game played by students, particularly in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, at lunch or recess. It is played with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(typically oblique spheroid shaped or sometimes round). Some skills that are improved in this are kicking, aim, distance control, running and catching. The rules are usually modified by students themselves, depending on what environment they are playing on. While there are no standard rules, the game is increasingly codified and endorsed as a recreational school age game by various sports bodies including rugby junior development, particularly the NSW School Sport and

AFL New Zealand AFL New Zealand is the governing body of Australian rules football in New Zealand. AFL New Zealand currently has 30,000 Registered Players. National team Australian rules football is a sport played in New Zealand rapidly gaining popularity. A ...

but also both rugby and Australian Football.AFL Community Force Back Game for Grade 7s
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Origins

The origin of the pastime is not known, however it believed to have originated with informal

kick-to-kick Kick-to-kick is a pastime and well-known tradition of Australian rules football fans, and a recognised Australian term for kick and catch type games. It is a casual version of Australian rules (similar to the relationship between backyard/bea ...

, rewarding players with longer kicks which are more common in varieties of football common in Australia and New Zealand including Australian rules football and rugby.

Rules

Generally accepted rules: * The goal of Force Back is to kick the ball down the field towards the opposition's goal line. * A point is scored when the ball bounces over the back line, not if it goes over on the full. * If a player catches a kick on the full, their team can advance three or five paces, depending on local rules. * In some locations, first team with 10 points on the board wins. Often, though, the game is played until the lunch or recess bell signals the end of the break, or until the players agree the game is over.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Force Back World Series is back!Force Back champs compete for MovemberRules of Force Back
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) Sport in Australia Sport in New Zealand Ball games High school sports