Covid update for counties and clubs

Information for Clubs

Adult and Underage Training: From Monday, May 10th, both adult and underage training are permitted on a full contact basis in pods of 15 for all Gaelic Games teams in the 26 Counties. Games (including challenge games) will not be permitted until June 7th.

In the 6 Counties, full contact training for panels is permitted without any reference to pods; games are also currently permitted.

GAA Injury Benefit Fund cover remains in place until May 31st, 2021 based on 2020 team registrations as previously communicated. Details on the 2021 GAA Injury Benefit Fund cover/registration will issue in due course.

Indoor use of facilities: We wish to remind all clubs that the use of indoor facilities for GAA activity is not permitted.

Gym facilities must remain closed (exception: A player on an inter-county panel may use their relevant Club Gym for individual training as long as they are following the advice in the Inter-County Return to Training and Play document)

The only instances where indoor facilities for non-GAA activities can be used are where:

  1. agreement was in place prior to March 2020.

  2. relevant insurance is in place and

  3. The activity is one permitted at a given point in time under the Government’s “Resilience and Recovery – the Path Ahead” or in line with Executive protocols in the North.

Use by State bodies (e.g., HSE/Dept of Health/Dept of Education) is also permitted.

In the 6 Counties, Social Clubs/Bars serving both alcohol and food are permitted to open (serving outdoors only) in line with Executive protocols and subject to compliance with the relevant licensing laws.

Membership: Please note that May 31 is the date by which members must be registered and paid by in order to have voting rights at the next club AGM. All playing members must be registered in advance of returning to play/train on Foireann in order for Injury Fund cover to be in place.

Officer Training: All Officer Training should continue to be delivered online. Outdoor coaching education courses may be held but are subject to a 15-person maximum.

Information for Counties:

Use of Buses for travel: The capacity limits for bus travel have increased from 25% of capacity to 50% of capacity from  Monday, May 10.

Training Camps: A reminder to all Counties that Training Camps involving overnight stays are not permitted in 2021.

Minor/U20 Challenge Games: Challenge matches at Minor and U20 inter-county levels cannot take place until June 7 under Government regulations.

Training for Talent Academy Squads: Training for Talent Academy squads can take place from June 5th – a full policy in this regard, including relevant dates for games, will be circulated in the coming days.

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It’s great to be back!

Players from clubs across Cork enjoying themselves back training on Monday night.

Hope they all enjoyed being back on pitches.

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Appeal for referees to do in-service course

Can you please pass this onto referees in your club and or region, It is vitally important that all referees complete this course.
Please find attached details and instructions for registering and finding the referee in-service training course for 2021.
This course must be completed by all referees who wish to referee games in 2021.
If anyone experiences issues in doing this then please reach out to Niall Barrett, Diarmuid Kirwan, Colm Lyons, or any of the senior referees in your division who will assist you.
You must register at learning.gaa.ie before you can access the course using the links below, instructions are in the attached PDF. Once registered you will need an enrolment key for both courses.
The enrolment key is RefereeInService21
Football Course follow this link
Hurling course Follow this link
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Club groupings as we prepare for return

Below is a link to the groups for the teams playing championship.

League information will follow when Rebel Óg is given the go-ahead by Croke Park, Cork County Board, and the government. U12 and U13 are league only and are proposed to be in two phases, with information to follow on the second phase later in season.

Draws for first rounds of the championship are due to be made by the Regional CCCs next week.

At present only pod training in groups of 15, including coach and/or coaches, is allowed and we would ask all to strictly adhere to this. A reminder that all indoor facilities must remain closed at this stage.

A decision was also made regarding the size of footballs and sliotar for U15 and they will play with a size 4 – as per a recommendation from Croke Park.

It is also our intention to forward a full list of rules and regulations to clubs before return to play.

Size ball for 2021 in hurling and football

Fe 18 size 5 football & size 5 sliotar

Fe 17 size 5 football & size 5 sliotar
Fe 16 size 5 football & size 5 sliotar
Fe 15 size 4 football & size 4 sliotar
Fe 14 Size 4 football & size 4 sliotar
Fe 13 size 4 football & size 4 sliotar
Fe 12 size 4 football & size 4 sliotar
Fe 11 Smart Touch Football & Smart Touch Sliotar
Fe 10 Quick Touch Football & Quick Touch Sliotar
Fe 9  Quick Touch football & Quick Touch Sliotar
Fe 8  First Touch football & Quick Touch sliotar

Fe 7  First Touch Football & Quick/First Touch sliotar.

 

2021 groups

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Cork GAA webinar to help players and parents get back to activities

With underage GAA activity now just days away, Cork GAA are reaching out to coaches, child/youth players and their parents to provide practical advice on supporting players return to their local GAA clubs. The webinar will focus on personal development and adopting a positive outlook in life and sport.
The webinar will be held on Friday, April  23, from 8-8.45pm.
“Importance of Return to Sport – Fitter Body, Fitter Mind”
Our first guest speaker at the event will be Cork U20 football manager, Keith Ricken, pictured above. Keith is working as a GAA Development Officer in C.I.T. for the last 20 years. He has huge experience as a club coach most notably with his own club St Vincents and has coached hurling and football at all levels. Keith is also recognised by many for the assistance he gives to players off the field and will be sharing some of this advice to players and parents in this webinar. Keith will also provide practical tips around personal development.
Our second speaker is Barry Corkery who worked with the Cork Minor Football All Ireland winning team of 2019 and is currently a Cork U20 Football selector. Barry is a member of the Eire Og club and is a mental health therapist by profession. Barry will offer practical tips around having a positive mindset and having clear goals in life and sport.
We would ask clubs to pass this information on to all club coaches and parents and actively encourage them to join this short but very informative webinar.
To register for the event, please complete the below form
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Preparing for return to play

All clubs, players, mentors and those involved in organising games are delighted to see players return to pod training on April 26.
It is great to be taking the first step on the road back to normal GAA activities, which hopefully we will see in the near future.
We have been receiving a lot of emails with questions about return to play from clubs regarding leagues and championships. Rebel Óg are working hard behind the scenes to formulate a “return to play plan” with several options being put in place, depending on what announcements and level of activity the Government and Croke Park will allow.
We, like you, are waiting on confirmation of return to play dates, protocols, regulations etc from the Government and GAA. Once that has been confirmed we will be contacting all clubs with plans going forward.
This will include information on the following
When competitions, leagues, full training etc can start and what competition, league, training format we will return to play at?
The yearly calendar/program timetable of games.
Rules and Regulations regarding same.
In the meantime, we ask that club secretaries in preparation for the return to play, please log onto your online secretary’s portal and update all the contact information etc there, and to follow the guidelines for garda vetting, child welfare and coaching courses before we return to the field of play.
One decision has has been made are the days when games will take place to help clubs start to put their own plans in place. These will run across all regions.
The days for the age groups for the 2021 season are as follows:
Monday: U15 C3 and U12
Tuesday: U13 C3
Wednesday: U17/18  and U14
Thursday: U13 in West and North Regions
Friday: U13 in East, Mid and Choiste (old central) Regions
Saturday: U15 and U16
Sunday: U15 second teams and U17 C3 teams
We must remind clubs that our “return to play” will be based on the guidelines and rules as laid out by the Government, Croke Park and Cork County Board.

We are not there yet, but we are close and hopefully it won’t be long before conversations will be around games and full training sessions.

In the meantime stay safe and please ensure that all protocols are strictly adhered to when pod training returns on April 26.

 

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Subsidised hurling helmets for underage teams

Subsidised hurling helmets for underage teams, up to and including minor grade, at a cost of €35 each, are available from Coiste Chontae Chorcai.

Please note: Minimum order of six helmets applies.

The allocation is as follows:

  • Senior Clubs: 75
  • Intermediate Clubs: 50
  • Junior Clubs: 40

An application form is attached and should be returned, with remittance, to Cork G.A.A. Office, Páirc Ui Chaoimh, Ballintemple, Cork.

Clubs will be contacted when helmets are ready for collection from Myrco Helmet Factory, Ballincollig, Co. Cork.

The last date for applications is 31/10/2021. Please note that the 2020 scheme is now closed.

Please ensure this form is forwarded to your juvenile section.

HelmetScheme

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Cork GAA looking after mental health at youth level

Cork GAA has led the way in recent times in the promotion of physical activity in communities throughout the county as well as being conscious of the mental health of players and all involved in the sport.

A vast range of content has been rolled out to cater for players at child and youth levels organised by Rebel Óg Coaching.

In February, Colm Crowley and Pat Spratt launched a weekly series of fundamental activities for Primary School teachers and pupils to use as part of their PE programme in the absence of face-to-face interaction.

The activities were easy to follow, required very little space and little or no equipment while most importantly great fun.

They were a great support to teachers and there were more than 50,000 interactions with the content through their Youtube account. This was followed up in March with a focus on club players at child level by bringing activities to club coaches on a weekly basis which they could use with their players at grassroots level.

The GAA at national level have also enhanced this offering with a “Be Ready To Play” initiative designed to provide resources to coaches at child level.

Cork GAA has also been very proactive at teenage groups targeting individual skills practice for players on a weekly basis, again through its Youtube channel propagating the mastery of right and left sides of the body covering the basic skills in both hurling and football.

Players and coaches have also got guidance around athletic development, injury prevention, and nutrition through the “GAA Return To Play” programme.

Players who are on regional representative squads have been working on their leadership skills with their peers, sharing what their club and community means to them, and getting to know other players through online communities being formed by GDAs and development squad mentors.

Boys on county U15,16 and minor county panels have had access to talks around dealing with setbacks in sport and life, controlling their reaction to stimulus, dealing with stressful situations, and general mindfulness strategies that will be useful in everyday life.

The players have access to high-quality conditioning programmes led by high-performance manager, Aidan O’Connell and inter-county players such as Eoin Cadogan, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Matty Taylor, Mark Collins, and more have all contributed enormously to these boys well being in various ways over the last few months, which shows the strength and unity of the Cork GAA family.

This combined with individual clubs linking in with players has ensured that the pandemic has not been as bad as it might otherwise have been for our youths across the county as all played their part in trying to take care of young players mental health.

 

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Join the Páirc Uí Chaoimh stewarding team

Cork G.A.A. are adding new Voluntary Safety Stewards to the Stewarding Team at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Club members are encouraged to become a part of the team.

To be part of the match day action, the following is required:

    • Aged 18 years or older
    • Available midweek and/or weekends
    • Active and enthusiastic
    • Customer focused
    • An interest in GAA would be beneficial

If interested in becoming a Voluntary Safety Steward please complete an application form on https://gaacork.ie/stewards/

For further information: www.gaacork.ie/stewards or email eventcontroller@paircuichaoimh.ie

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Rebels’ Bounty opening draws tonight

Message from the organisers

A Chara,

Firstly, a sincere thank you to all Rebels’ Bounty members who kindly purchased tickets over the last few months and we hope that both Club and County now will reap the benefits of your generosity.

Tonight, we host the first of our draws for 2021, in association with our media partners, the Irish Examiner.

The event will be livestreamed from Páirc Uí Chaoimh at 7.30pm (sales close at 5pm).

90 cash prizes will be drawn for the months of January, February and March, with more than  €100,000 to be won on the night.

All Rebels’ Bounty prizes are listed here: https://gaacork.ie/rebelsbounty/prizes/

Please access the livestream using the following links to view.

You can watch the event on Cork GAA website here => Cork GAA 

You can watch the event on youtube here => Youtube link 

You can watch the event on facebook here => Facebook Link 

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