The game of Australian rules football has started games with a centre bounce for more than 130 years, but from next season it will be ditched - because umpires are finding it too hard to master the skill.
The country's most popular spectator sport traces its roots back to 1858 when spherical or oval balls were first used.
Since 1887, field umpires have been required to bounce the ball at the start of each quarter, rather than throw it in the air. A centre bounce after each goal was introduced four years later.
But mastering the skill has become a barrier for prospective umpires, according to new AFL executive manager Greg Swann on Wednesday.
"The centre bounce has long been a part of Australian Football tradition, but as the game has evolved, there are several areas which will benefit from allowing umpires to simply throw the ball up at the restart," he said in a statement outlining the change.
"Currently, umpire pathways are being narrowed by the requirement of the bounce.
"It is a difficult skill to execute, and we believe is preventing some of our best umpiring prospects from progressing any further in the AFL pathway despite having elite decision-making skills."
The new rule will bring the men's game in line with the women's - the AFLW - where the ball has been thrown up rather than bounced since its inception in 2017.
The other major rule change on Wednesday saw the scrapping of the substitute player, which will instead be replaced with a five-man interchange bench and no alterations to the existing cap on rotations.