Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Denmark newcomer Emma Dellar is playing a game which is not for the faint-hearted, American football, or gridiron, against the world’s best in Finland.

Emma, 37, is one of the 45-strong squad making up the Australian women’s team competing in the 2022 International Federation of American Football World Championships held over July and August in Finland.

Emma, who is also the principal geophysicist with Fortescue Metals Group, moved to Denmark last year with her wife and young son.

Distance has not hindered her intensive training for the World Cup as she travels weekly to Perth for group training, while doing strength and sprint training several times a week in her home gym at Kentdale.

Emma said she has always been mad about sport and has been playing gridiron for several years with the Perth Broncos as part of the Gridiron West women’s league.

Growing up in Tom Price, there wasn’t much to do so sport was a way of filling the idle hours.

Emma formerly raced BMX bikes and represented Australia seven times.

She was originally a player of Gaelic football, which is a winter sport, but wanted to branch out to a summer sport so when a fellow team-mate suggested gridiron Emma decided to try out.

She was then quickly selected to join the Perth Broncos women’s team and made it onto the team to play in the 2020/21 WA Superbowl event West Bowl.

The Broncos didn’t win that year but Emma said the experience of playing at this top level event was invaluable.

“Women’s gridiron is played the same way as the men’s except for less money,” she said.

In the technical and highly physical game, Emma plays linebacker.

“You are literally putting your body on the line and strategy and strength are key to being successful at this game,” she said.

“I see it as a combination of mixed martial arts and chess.”

Emma and the Australian team’s fïrst game will be against the 2017 World Championship silver medalists, Canada, with final tournament results known on August 8.

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 4 August 2022.