IN ALL FAIRNESS - Camogie Players have the power to force change

I haven’t seen as much blow-back from a decision, or a non-decision as it proved to be, from Camogie Association Congress last weekend not amend the rule with regard to the wearing of skorts.

To many, particularly those of us males who don’t wear skorts, the reason many players want to move away from skorts isn’t image related, it is because they are uncomfortable to wear because what they are is a pair of shorts with a fabric overlapping panel that resembles a skirt, so essentially, they are wearing two garments from their waist down.

Now, as with anything Gaelic Games related, be it GAA, Ladies Football or Camogie, democracy can be its own worst enemy at times when decisions are made by the few that impact the many.

There were two motions on the Clar at Congress in Kildare in relation to the wearing of skorts. A motion, brought by Tipperary from their own county convention looked the complete removal of the garment, while another motion from Great Britain called for a compromise where both skorts and short could be worn.

The Tipperary motion only garnered 36% support but when you consider that all 39 clubs in the county unanimously supported the motion late last year, so that is 100% percent of clubs in favour yet only 36% of counties felt the same (many of whom would take their direction from the clubs), it makes you wonder who were making the final decisions at the meeting.

Camogie Congress comprises — among others — Central Council officials, one delegate from each provincial council and delegates from each county (the number of reps per county is determined by the number of clubs it has: three to 14 clubs - two delegates; 15-30 clubs - four delegates; 31 or more clubs - 6 delegates.)

Following the vote, the Camogie Association stated they were still “committed to the players” following the rejection of the proposals to allow shorts to be worn, as a poll last year stated at 82% of players wished to wear shorts, which they wear in training and in the majority of challenge matches, with skorts only tending to be worn in competitive games.

Rule 6(b) of Camogie’s Official Guide, Part 2, states: “Playing gear must be of Irish manufacture if possible. It must consist of [a] skirt/skort/divided skirt, sports jersey with long or short sleeves, socks, and boots. Uniform socks must be worn.”

Rescinding or amending any existing rule requires a two-thirds majority, so the two proposals ultimately fell well short of that threshold at Congress and cannot now be revisited under rule until 2027.

However, one wonders will players wait that long and will players take things into their own hands. We saw last year that camogie players aren’t slow in getting their point across in terms of challenging the establishment when they played much of the championship under protest, highlighting player welfare issues, where among other things they wore special t-shirts in the warm-ups and delayed starts to games to mark their protest.

Criticism was wide-ranging, from high-profile female television presenters Jacqui Hurley and Evanne Ni Chuilinn, to the likes of former Wexford great Ursula Jacob, and current long time Tipperary player Mary Ryan who commented on x (formerly known as twitter) that “our sport has come a long way but sadly players still feeling unheard.”

Next weekend, five National Camogie League finals take place, including the Division 1A final between Tipperary and Galway, which will be played at Croke Park, live on RTE2, and is also part of triple-header of games which also includes Dublin v Meath in the Leinster Football Championship.

Sunday’s final is a huge match for Tipperary in their first national final since 2009 as they chase a first league success since 2004, while Galway are going for a three-in-a-row of league titles so there is a lot on the line for both sides without having any other issues to remove their focus from.

But wouldn’t it be the ideal moment for both teams to make a statement and challenge an outdated regulation by wearing shorts in the match, in front of a national tv audience and many Gaelic Games reporters in situ in Croke Park.

The sanction for any player that refuses to wear the proper attire is a yellow card and should the player/players continue to refuse to comply then a second caution could follow, which would mean dismissal from the field of play. Now, is any referee going to send off thirty players or would the Camogie Association allow the second biggest game of the year not to proceed, on live tv, over such an issue.

Maybe this Sunday might be too soon and if it is, you could well see teams getting together in the championship to unite and try and force change they want, but which others are preventing.