Recreational GAA is restarting on the Astro in Pairc ui Chaoimh on Thursday 19th September from 8-9pm.

What is Recreational GAA: Recreational GAA is a modified Hurling and Football game designed to offer players who may not longer be playing competitively or retired from playing with their clubs, a chance to continue playing GAA in a social setting with like minded players. It is essentially a GAA version of “5 a side soccer” or “Tag Rugby”.

Who is it for?: It is for any males who are over the age of 30 (we are lenient with this) who wish to continue playing Hurling/Football but may not have the physical capacity to play competitively with their club or may no longer have a club to play with. Last year, we had a wide demographic of participants ranging from 31 to 54 years of age, ranging from very fit to very unfit, ranging from former senior hurlers to players who hadn’t played since primary school.

Where did it come from?: GAA is the highest participated sport competitively in Ireland with more members of clubs that any other sport. However, Soccer and Rugby offer an excellent avenue for recreational games such as 5 a-side soccer on Astros and Tag Rugby. If a GAA player stops playing for their club (due to age, other commitments, etc) there is no avenue for players to stay active within the GAA as a participant (other than Coaching/Administration). This idea has been bandied about for years and some clubs in Dublin have had a Social games ongoing for years which probably came from LGFA excellent Gaelic for Mothers & Others program. Last year, we experimented in Cork and had a huge take up with between 60-80 turning up for the pilot program. Local clubs in Cork such as Carrigaline have a Social GAA program running nearly year round and Blarney have held one off blitzes around Christmas. From the number of participants in Cork, we are rolling out the program again for the 2019 Winter.

What are the Rules?: It is basically normal GAA rules except modifications such as only “one hop, one solo” in football. We use Size 4 footballs and tennis balls for Hurling (due to the small pitch, these don’t travel as far). We use small sized pitch usually 65m long. Games usually last about 15 minutes long with each team playing 3 matches each night, so plenty of time for breaks to catch your breath. Lastly, it is a non contact game (there will be incidental contact which is allowed but no aggressive tackling is permitted) as everyone has a job to get up to in the morning and those who enjoy the cut and thrust of full contact can still be catered for a local club level.

Why should someone take part? For Fun, enjoyment and to be healthy. For all the participants who took part in 2018/19, feedback was that it was very enjoyable. Players got to play a game that they loved and in a fun setting. In the pilot program, we also held Health talks and gave the participants some healthy tips on topics such as Strength & Conditioning for the older man, Healthy Eating and Mindfulness.

How do i take part?: Simply Register your interest on the form here and you will be on the correspondence list for the coming months and you will be updated on all upcoming events https://forms.gle/HvyGYBRWdxUXaGV1A

Any queries please contact Colm Crowley 086 3687799