In Australian Rules football, country zoning refers to a system whereby clubs in a competition are given parts of the rural area and the football clubs within that area as exclusive zones for the recruitment of players. High marking is a key skill and spectator attribute of Aussie Rules Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Aussie Rules Football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of football... Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China An artists rendering of an aerial view of the Maryland countryside: Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank, 1918-1986), Aerial Series: Ploughed Fields, Maryland, 1974, acrylic and mixed materials on apertured double canvas, 52...

In the VFL, country zoning is often referred to colloquially by historians as simply "zoning", even though it is closely linked with the metropolitan zoning of players from local urban leagues that had been used for over fifty years before country zoning was introduced. This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ... Look up urban in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Background

Country zoning was introduced by the VFL as an effort to prevent the monopoly by a small number of clubs of the best players from the major country football leagues. The ability of a small number of wealthy clubs to buy the best country-based players had led, in the late 1960s, to a situation whereby only six of the twelve teams then competing in the VFL were able to make the finals between 1965 and 1969. In earlier generations, the metropolitan-based clubs did not have the finance to pursue top country players, but with increasing urbanisation and the concentration of resources in metropolitan Melbourne, such clubs as Essendon, Geelong, Carlton and Collingwood were able to buy so many players from country leagues that their dominance of the competition was becoming entrenched. Urbanization is the degree of or increase in urban character or nature. ... Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League with a rich history. ... The Carlton Football Club is the sixth oldest Australian rules football club and the third oldest club in the Australian Football League. ... The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies after the black and white striped guernseys worn by the players, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the elite Australian Football League. ...

Country zoning aimed to alleviate this problem by giving each of the twelve VFL clubs a zone from which they, and they alone, could recruit players. The idea was that the best country-based players would be much more evenly divided amongst the twelve clubs than had been the case during the later part of the 1960s. Metropolitan zoning had in previous decades done quite a bit to prevent the best players being monopolised by any one club, but the value of metropolitan zoning was being lost as country-based players moved in increasing numbers to Melbourne.

Format

The rules of country zoning were strict, so that a player within a given country zone was legally tied to the club who held that country zone and was eligible to play only for that club - except in the event of a clearance when the club who ordinarily would hold him allowed the player to leave. Combined with metropolitan zoning, it meant every potential VFL player was tied to a particular club.

Country zoning, as drawn up by the VFL between 1967 and 1969, covered Victoria and the Riverina region of New South Wales, extending up to the Murrumbidgee River, north of which rugby league is the dominant code of football. Because of the sparseness of Australia's rural population, the country zones did not relate, as did metropolitan zones, to the player's address, but rather to the league in which he played. (As it turned out, this difference was a critical component of the failure of country zoning, because it made the zone boundaries impossible to adjust, whereas metropolitan zones were constantly adjusted to even up the strength of various clubs' zones). The Riverina is a prosperous agricultural region of south-western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Rugby league football is a full-contact team sport played by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ...

Because the VFL was aware that discrepancies existed in the strength of each zone, it was originally planned that the zones would be rotated so that each club would obtain a chance of receiving the best young country players. However - partly because those clubs with productive zones were naturally unwilling to give them up for less productive ones - the zones remained the same from the inception of country zoning until it was abolished. There was also no provision for demographic changes which occurred in the various country zones, which studies have shown to exacerbate the problems mentioned above. Map of countries by population Population growth showing projections for later this century Demography is the statistical study of human populations. ...

Effects of country zoning

Country zoning undoubtedly had profound effects on the history of the VFL during the period in which it was in place, not all of which have been generally regarded as beneficial.

Probably the most profound consequence of country zoning was the dominance of the VFL competition during the period it was in place by a small number of clubs. Between 1967 and 1983 only Carlton, Richmond, Hawthorn and North Melbourne won the VFL premiership. Australian Rules historians have constantly noted that these clubs were assigned the best country zones. Having strong country zones permitted these clubs to build up lists more powerful than any club could build before or after zoning. In contrast, Melbourne and South Melbourne, who had probably the worst country zones, only played two finals between them during country zoning. Some writers on VFL history have argued that the inequalities created by country zoning were much greater than those created by club wealth beforehand - let alone inequalities from metropolitan zoning - and that some clubs lost many players they would otherwise have gained. The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. ... The Hawthorn Hawks known formally as the Tassie Hawks from 07 onwards, are an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... The North Melbourne Football Club, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. ... Part of the pre-match entertainment at the 2006 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ... The Melbourne Football Club (MFC), nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... Sydney Swans logo The Sydney Swans are an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney. ...

Defenders of country zoning have argued that it provided greater incentive for VFL clubs to look for players in country leagues, and that its abolition has meant that this incentive has been lost.

End of VFL country zoning

By the beginning of the 1980s, many were realising country zoning was not having the effects the VFL originaly desired it to. In 1981, the system of player permits based on country and metropolitan zoning was threatened by two cases. In the better-known of these, a full-back from SANFL club West Torrens, Doug Cox, had his permit to play with St. Kilda challenged because he had played in the past for South Mildura, which was within Richmond's country zone. St. Kilda temporarily lost eight points for two wins against Footscray and Melbourne, and were fined $5,000 for playing Cox in the first eight rounds. In a similar case, South Melbourne centre-half forward Michael Smith admitted he gave wrong information on his application for a permit to play with South - his true address was in St. Kilda's zone. South were going to lose four point but the VFL, challenged y the Cox case to be more lenient about its seemingly-archaic zoning laws, was considering changing the rules and South were not punished. The South Australian National Football League (SANFL) is the premier league for Australian rules football in the state of South Australia. ... The Western Bulldogs, formerly known as the Footscray Football Club or The Bulldogs is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based at the Whitten Oval in western suburban Melbourne, Australia, drawing its supporter base from this traditionally poor, industrial, and less leafy part of Melbourne. ...

The end of zoning, though, came in the 1980s with the Foschini Case, whereby the Sydney Swans and St. Kilda had a protracted legal battle over a teenage rover/forward, Silvio Foschini. Foschini, who did not want to move to Sydney when South Melbourne did so in 1981/1982, was refused a clearance to play with St. Kilda. After a prolonged court case, Foschini was ruled a St. Kilda player, and in the process zoning was declared to be an illegal labour market restraint. The VFL retained zoning for two more years but radically altered the system of clearances and player contracts. The St. ...

In 1985, with the competition less competitive than ever (only six clubs had made the Grand Final since 1972), the VFL realised that reform of the system of player trading was needed. This led to the replacement of zoning with the player draft, which studies have shown to be much more effective at equalising club strength than country zoning ever was. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of young talent by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. ...

In competitions such as the SANFL and WAFL, however, country and metropolitan zoning are still used today, despite the declarations concenring their use in the VFL. The West Australian Football League (WAFL) (pronounced waffle) is the premier state based Australian rules football league in Western Australia. ...

Further references

• Competitive Balance in Australian and Japanese Sport
• CORRECTED TRANSCRIPT by Tom Hafey
• Unobserved Components in Competitive Balance and Match Attendances in the Australian Football League, 1945-2005: Where is all the Action Happening?