Sherrin

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An Australian football. The Sherrin brand is used for all official AFL matches, whilst Burley brand is also used for Australian football.

Sherrin is a popular brand of football used in Australian rules football and is the official ball of the Australian Football League, designed to its official specifications. It was the first ball designed specifically for the sport.

Sherrin footballs are manufactured by Spalding, owned by Russell Corp Aus P/L, in Melbourne, Australia from cow hide lined and machine-stitched, but other sized models are often made in India using synthetic rubber.

1 Specifications
2 History
3 Sizes, models and colours
4 See also

[edit] Specifications

720-735mm circumference.
545-555mm from end to end.

[edit] History

The first Australian rules football was invented by T.W. Sherrin in 1880, when he was given a misshapen rugby ball to fix. He designed the Sherrin with indented rather than pointy ends to give the ball a better bounce. Sherrin began production in 1897 in a workshop in Collingwood, which had produced sporting goods since the 1880s. The sport known as football, or "footy", was rapildly incresing in popularity, and Sherrin footballs soon became the iconic legend of the first ball made for Australian rules football.

Despite Sherrins compition with the also-popular football brand Burley, Sherrin footy's still remain the most popular among playes of all ages.

[edit] Sizes, models and colours

Models of the Sherrin football include:

- KB: The full and correct playing size, made to AFL and most other league specifications.
- Size 5: Smaller than the KB model, popular among players aged 10-13. Usually made from rubber synthetic
- Size 3: Smaller again, and popular among players aged 6-10. Usually made from rubber synthetic
- Lyerbird: Made by Sherrin but slightly different in comparison with classic Sherrin models and sizes, with a slightly pointer angle for easier kicking and marking
- Colours, rubber or leather, different sizes: These are factors for the player/consumer to decide. Sizes 3 and 5 are popular among children aged 6-13, while genuine leather, full-sized KB models (the red coloured KB used for day AFL matches, and the yellow coloured KB used for night-time AFL matches)are popular among players 14+, beginers, intermediate, or advanced players.

High profile leagues that endorse Sherrin as the official ball include:

Australia

The VFL/AFL has used the Sherrin ball since the 1880's. The other major brand of Australian rules football is Burley-Sekem which is used in several state and minor leagues including the SANFL and WAFL.