Some background...

For those students (and parents!) who want to understand a little more about the sport of Touch Rugby, try reading this article:

History of Touch

But before you do.... remember that 'football' is a name used for many different games, all over the world. In Australia, 'football' or 'footy' is the name for Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Touch (four different games!). In America and Canada, 'football' also refers to a rugby-like contact game where the ball is carried in the hands, and its non-contact version (which we are learning in PE class at school at the moment!). In new Zealand, a 'great footballer' means 'a very good rugby player'. Australia has a very popular TV show called 'The Footy Show' which, for some days of the week, is about Aussie Rules Football, and other days, is about Rugby league! And for most of the world, of course, 'football' means 'soccer'.

ALL these games come from the same root, far back in history: great, disorganised, violent and dangerous games played between villages in the English and Irish countryside. Slowly over the years the games evolved more rules and spread over the world, taking on different characters as they travelled.

It's a subject that can take up a lot of your time on Wikipedia! For now, perhaps is enough to know that Touch Rugby and Touch Football can be exactly the same game, depending on which country you are in!