The Skipton Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Emus'', are an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

club based in the town of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, currently playing in the

Central Highlands Football League The Central Highlands Football League is an Australian Rules Football League in the Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, B ...

History

The Skipton Football Club's earliest recorded match dates back to 1873-1874 against Streatham on a field east of the Emus' current Skipton Recreation Reserve and played against teams from the towns of Carngham,

Haddon Haddon may refer to: Places *Haddon, Victoria, Australia, a township *Haddon, Cambridgeshire, England, a village and civil parish * Haddon Hill, Somerset, England, a ridge * Haddon, Gauteng, South Africa, a suburb of Johannesburg *Haddon Townshi ...

and

Linton Linton may refer to: Places Australia * Linton, Victoria Canada * Linton, Ontario * Linton, Quebec United Kingdom England * Linton, Cambridgeshire * Linton, Derbyshire * Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire * Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...

. A few years later, the recreation reserve was fenced with grass planted and games were played against more districts such as Camperdown and Lismore, with Ballarat official umpires officiating the matches. Skipton had a very strong team during this era and is believed that they had the best record of any Australian rules football club in Australia, playing for fifteen years without losing a game and for eighteen years without losing a home game. In Skipton's early years still, football games were often played in the form of scratch matches, with some of the earliest competition matches dating back to 1890 when Skipton played against clubs from Ararat,

Lake Bolac Lake Bolac is a town in the Western District region of Victoria, Australia. The town is on the shores of Lake Bolac, and the Glenelg Highway passes through the town. At the 2021 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 3 ...

and

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and competed for a trophy of twenty sovereigns. That year, in the final, Skipton and Ararat competed against each other at Streatham and Ararat won the game by a goal but Skipton were successful the following year. On several occasions, Skipton played fully representative teams from

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and their undefeated home run was ended when a Ballarat team reportedly beat them after two drawn matches. Football from 1895 to 1900 saw Skipton continuing to play scratch matches against Carngham, Happy Valley and Linton and the club played mainly against the surrounding towns for the next couple of years. In 1908, Skipton defeated

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

in the decider in a triangular competition that had a team from Stockyard Hill. A football association was formed between the clubs of Skipton, Carngham, Linton and Scarsdale in 1909 that lasted until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the war there was no competition but the Skipton football team was still around to support a Queen Carnival in assistance of patriotic funding. In 1919, the Linton & District Football Association was founded and Skipton, Carngham and Linton played in the league and the Scarsdale club rejoined later. Over the years of competition in the LDFL, football fever was developing hatred and bitter rivalry between the local towns. Skipton won LDFL premierships in 1921, 1923 and 1924, beating Linton, Carngham and Linton. The competition was renamed the Linton-Scarsdale Association in 1925, with the addition of teams from the towns of Lismore and Bradvale. The name was changed again in 1927, to the Linton-Skipton Association after Carngham and Scarsdale transferred to the Rokewood-Cape Clear Association. Skipton ended the 1927 and 1929 seasons runner up to Lismore. The Emus joined the Rokewood-Cape Clear Association in 1930 and finished runner up to Illabarook in 1931 and 1932, which became the Cape Clear-Carngham Association from 1934, then the Linton-Carngham Association from 1936, with Skipton again ending the season runner up to Illabarook. In 1937, Skipton won a closely contested grand final against Carngham but the tables were turned in 1938 when Carngham beat Skipton. After 1940, the association went into recess due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After football resumed in the area in 1946, the Skipton Emus finished the season runner up to Carngham but went through 1949 undefeated and made it to the Grand Final, only to lose to Carngham by one point. In the last two years of the Linton-Carngham Football League, Skipton finished runner up two seasons in a row; in 1951 to Illabarook and 1952 to Carngham. Skipton Football Club joined the Western Plains Football League in 1953 but did not reach a grand final until 1996, in a close loss by six points to Derrinallum. The 1999 season saw the Emus transfer to the

Lexton Plains Football League The Lexton Plains Football League was an Australian rules football competition in western Victoria, Australia. The league ran an annual competition from 1999 to 2010. History The Western Plains FL was formed in 1930 and the Lexton FL was formed ...

and won senior premierships in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010. The

's final season of existence was the 2010 season which was capped with the Skipton Football Club fielding teams in grand finals and coming away with the win for A-Grade, B-Grade ad U17 premierships. A-Grade beat Lexton 16.15.111 to 3.8.26. In 2011, the Skipton Emus moved to the

that they are currently affiliated with. In order to avoid a jumper clash with

Bungaree FC The Bungaree Football & Netball Club is an Australian rules football and netball club from Bungaree, Victoria which competes in the Central Highlands Football League. The Demons are one of the founding members of the CHFL and most widely recognis ...

, a new guernsey, red with a navy blue yoke and white vee was created. This jumper incorporated designs from two previous jumpers worn. These being red with a white vee as worn in the Western Plains Football League and navy blue with a red yoke in the

Club song

''We are the red, white and blue,'' ''We are the good old red, white and blue,'' ''We're the team that comes from miles around,'' ''We'll play them on our home or any ground,'' ''Some come to cheer us,'' ''While others fear us,'' ''When they are near us,'' ''We are the good old red, white and blue,'' ''We are the Skipton football team.''

A-Grade Premierships

* 1891 - ''local competition'' * 1908 - ''local competition'' * 1921 - Linton & District Football League * 1923 - Linton & District Football League * 1924 - Linton & District Football League * 1937 - Linton-Carngham Football Association * 2001 - Lexton Plains Football League * 2003 - Lexton Plains Football League * 2005 - Lexton Plains Football League * 2009 - Lexton Plains Football League * 2010 - Lexton Plains Football League

VFL/AFL

Dean Chiron Dean Chiron (born 27 March 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda, Footscray and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. Chiron spent his early career up forward or in the centre and ...

- , , *

Graeme Wise Graham Wise (born 13 October 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s. Wise was a ruckman and joined Melbourne for the 1963 season. He played in their 1964 ...

Bibliography

* ''History of Football in the Ballarat District'' by John Stoward -

References

External links

*
Skipton Emus FNC
on AFL National {{CHFNL 1870s establishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs in Victoria (state)