Development The Origins of touch football

[Aucklander]

After reading some rubbish about touch I wanted to post some actual facts about what it certainly a very big sport across Australia and New Zealand.

As a kid growing up we played "touch" it was often used as a training drill and was a great way to enhance fitness. Later as a referee we would play "touch" too often using it as a warm up drill and later as a way of getting into the best position as a referee.

A pretty accurate history of it is here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_(sport) although I didn't realise it was played in the NOE as early as 1956.

About the only thing we could say now is that, touch is now a big sport in its own right, but to ignore its history and links to Rugby league is, just plain stupid. It rightly sits under the umbrella of the NRL with its historic links back to Rugby league.

 

[RedV3x]

As a youngster we played various games of keep-it-off which is the underlying principle of "touch".
Even Australia Football has been called a sophisticated game of keepings-it-off.
The formalised game became known as touch rugby and the mixed version as touch football. (where I journeyed, don't complain).

To me, I'm completely indifferent to the naming - it is what is, but the game itself is not touch rugby, touch rugby league or touch football.
To me, flag football is a variant of many codes whereby the game is the same but without tackling.
The game of "touch" is a game of keep-it-off. There is no football element except the heel.
The game of "touch" is an excellent game for fitness and fun but being formalised by rl should be the end of it.
If everybody was playing flag rl then that would be a different matter.