For the last few weeks, players have been campaigning for the right to choose between wearing shorts or the compulsory skorts when playing matches. The microphone now passes to delegates attending today’s Special Congress in Croke Park to make that decision for them.
A two-thirds majority is required to give players that choice going forward. There is a sense of cautious optimism within the sport that change will be delivered today, but memories of last year’s Congress still carry a sting — and will leave people feeling doubtful until that crucial moment, when the result of the motions are announced.
It’s understood that the votes will be cast this evening at around 7.30pm.
Will it be a historic moment that ushers in a new era for camogie? Or will it be another crushing disappointment for those who want players to feel comfortable in what they wear while playing sport?
Surveys. Protests. Statements.
Matches abandoned. Matches played under protest.
An invitation to the Camogie Association to come before the Oireachtas. And then ‘no need’ for the association to appear before the committee until after Special Congress. A plea to Minister for Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, to intervene.
Voices for.
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Voices against.
At the heart of it all is the advocacy for change, but the human tendency to lean one way or the other in a debate has obscured that.
And this is the backdrop for today’s major vote in the skorts row.
The delegates will gather for Special Congress in Croke Park. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
To some, this issue has exploded into life over the last two weeks when those video clips of Kilkenny and Dublin players retreating to their dressing rooms to change into skorts for their Leinster semi-final first went into circulation.
But this is a matter that has been bubbling for many years. Players have often been asked for their views on skorts and the responses have always been varied. Some like the skort and feel an affinity with a garment that is distinctive from the uniform worn in the other GAA codes.
For others, the skort is uncomfortable and causes them to feel self-conscious.
Those contrasting views still exist but the key difference is that players who can no longer tolerate wearing the skort have mobilised to take action, and bring this issue to the wider public.
That movement started in the aftermath of last year’s Congress where two motions concerning skorts were defeated. One suggested including shorts in the playing gear, 55% of delegates voting against it. The other proposed replacing the ‘skirt/skort/divided skirt’ entirely with ‘shorts’ with 64% voting against it.
The next opportunity for voting on playing gear was supposed to be 2027. But the weight of player power, political input, and public pressure forced the Camogie Association to announce a Special Congress.
Disappointment drove that desire.
The Leinster senior semi-final between Dublin and Kilkenny was the first milestone moment on 3 May, as players emerged on the pitch in shorts instead of their mandated skorts. They changed into skorts after being informed that the match could not go ahead otherwise.
The scenes provoked a huge reaction and was even a discussion point on The Sunday Game, as former players Neil McManus and Jackie Tyrrell both condemned the Camogie Association for how they have handled the issue.
But before all that happened, the GPA published a study which found that 83% of the 650 inter-county camogie players surveyed would prefer to wear shorts or believe that players should have the option to choose.
70% reported discomfort while wearing shorts, 65% expressed concerns about exposure in media content, affecting their mental health. And 49% admitted to experiencing period anxiety around leaks while wearing skorts.
Expanding on those findings, GPA chief Tom Parsons declared this a “player welfare issue” and revealed that many players have contacted photographers over worries about match photos.
And it’s not just inter-county players who feel this way. This writer spoke to a club player with the Corofin club in Clare who said that her team felt compelled to join the ongoing protest, and wore shorts in a league final recently. They were permitted to do so, as the Clare county board instructed the referee to simply make a note of it and play the game as normal. Some of her teammates actually prefer wearing skorts, but they all agree that choice should be facilitated for every player in the sport.
But some high profile games have been cancelled as a result of the protest. The Munster senior final between Cork and Waterford was postponed on the eve of the match after players from both camps said they would line out in shorts.
It was encouraging to see both teams stand united in that stance.
“We just want choice for players and for players to be listened to,” Waterford’s Lorraine Bray said at the time.
But it was then disheartening to see the team release a joint statement about that eleventh hour cancellation.
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“We feel completely let down,” they said, summing up their dismay.
With the All-Ireland championship commencing this weekend, it’s difficult to see a time when that game can be refixed.
Other provincial finals have also been postponed while the Leinster senior and intermediate camogie finals were played under protest. Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Laois lined out in skorts after warming up in shorts but said that they “do not consent to any photography or video to be taken of the matches themselves, should we be forced to wear skorts.”
And so, here we are, waiting to hear if delegates have actually listened to their players. Camogie Association President Brian Molloy has said that he has instructed the delegates to do so ahead of Special Congress.
If they don’t, and the motions are defeated, then this mess will fester. Further protests are imminent. An opportunity to show the players that their views matter will go ignored.
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Decision day as camogie set for major vote on skorts controversy
THIS COULD BE a historic day for camogie.
For the last few weeks, players have been campaigning for the right to choose between wearing shorts or the compulsory skorts when playing matches. The microphone now passes to delegates attending today’s Special Congress in Croke Park to make that decision for them.
A two-thirds majority is required to give players that choice going forward. There is a sense of cautious optimism within the sport that change will be delivered today, but memories of last year’s Congress still carry a sting — and will leave people feeling doubtful until that crucial moment, when the result of the motions are announced.
It’s understood that the votes will be cast this evening at around 7.30pm.
Will it be a historic moment that ushers in a new era for camogie? Or will it be another crushing disappointment for those who want players to feel comfortable in what they wear while playing sport?
Surveys. Protests. Statements.
Matches abandoned. Matches played under protest.
An invitation to the Camogie Association to come before the Oireachtas. And then ‘no need’ for the association to appear before the committee until after Special Congress. A plea to Minister for Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, to intervene.
Voices for.
Voices against.
At the heart of it all is the advocacy for change, but the human tendency to lean one way or the other in a debate has obscured that.
And this is the backdrop for today’s major vote in the skorts row.
To some, this issue has exploded into life over the last two weeks when those video clips of Kilkenny and Dublin players retreating to their dressing rooms to change into skorts for their Leinster semi-final first went into circulation.
But this is a matter that has been bubbling for many years. Players have often been asked for their views on skorts and the responses have always been varied. Some like the skort and feel an affinity with a garment that is distinctive from the uniform worn in the other GAA codes.
For others, the skort is uncomfortable and causes them to feel self-conscious.
Those contrasting views still exist but the key difference is that players who can no longer tolerate wearing the skort have mobilised to take action, and bring this issue to the wider public.
That movement started in the aftermath of last year’s Congress where two motions concerning skorts were defeated. One suggested including shorts in the playing gear, 55% of delegates voting against it. The other proposed replacing the ‘skirt/skort/divided skirt’ entirely with ‘shorts’ with 64% voting against it.
The next opportunity for voting on playing gear was supposed to be 2027. But the weight of player power, political input, and public pressure forced the Camogie Association to announce a Special Congress.
Disappointment drove that desire.
The Leinster senior semi-final between Dublin and Kilkenny was the first milestone moment on 3 May, as players emerged on the pitch in shorts instead of their mandated skorts. They changed into skorts after being informed that the match could not go ahead otherwise.
The scenes provoked a huge reaction and was even a discussion point on The Sunday Game, as former players Neil McManus and Jackie Tyrrell both condemned the Camogie Association for how they have handled the issue.
But before all that happened, the GPA published a study which found that 83% of the 650 inter-county camogie players surveyed would prefer to wear shorts or believe that players should have the option to choose.
70% reported discomfort while wearing shorts, 65% expressed concerns about exposure in media content, affecting their mental health. And 49% admitted to experiencing period anxiety around leaks while wearing skorts.
Expanding on those findings, GPA chief Tom Parsons declared this a “player welfare issue” and revealed that many players have contacted photographers over worries about match photos.
And it’s not just inter-county players who feel this way. This writer spoke to a club player with the Corofin club in Clare who said that her team felt compelled to join the ongoing protest, and wore shorts in a league final recently. They were permitted to do so, as the Clare county board instructed the referee to simply make a note of it and play the game as normal. Some of her teammates actually prefer wearing skorts, but they all agree that choice should be facilitated for every player in the sport.
But some high profile games have been cancelled as a result of the protest. The Munster senior final between Cork and Waterford was postponed on the eve of the match after players from both camps said they would line out in shorts.
It was encouraging to see both teams stand united in that stance.
“We just want choice for players and for players to be listened to,” Waterford’s Lorraine Bray said at the time.
But it was then disheartening to see the team release a joint statement about that eleventh hour cancellation.
“We feel completely let down,” they said, summing up their dismay.
With the All-Ireland championship commencing this weekend, it’s difficult to see a time when that game can be refixed.
Other provincial finals have also been postponed while the Leinster senior and intermediate camogie finals were played under protest. Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Laois lined out in skorts after warming up in shorts but said that they “do not consent to any photography or video to be taken of the matches themselves, should we be forced to wear skorts.”
And so, here we are, waiting to hear if delegates have actually listened to their players. Camogie Association President Brian Molloy has said that he has instructed the delegates to do so ahead of Special Congress.
If they don’t, and the motions are defeated, then this mess will fester. Further protests are imminent. An opportunity to show the players that their views matter will go ignored.
We await their answer.
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Camogie GAA Shorts v Skorts special congress