A Safe Return for Gaelic Games Document has been issued by the GAA’s Covid-19 advisory group.
See link for full details.
https://www.gaa.ie/news-archive/news/covid-19-update-safe-return-to-gaelic-games/
The GAA notes and welcomes the plans published by the government last Friday and some of the dates included relating to the possible return of sporting activity, including Gaelic games.
The Association will attempt to seek clarity around some of the issues that have arisen in internal discussions since last Friday including the challenge of social distancing in contact sport.
GAA facilities are to remain closed as part of efforts to prevent gatherings which breach the restrictions.
We are instructing our clubs and counties to continue to adhere to the restrictions and to refrain from organising on-field activity. These measures are expected to remain in place until July 20th.
We will continue to monitor the dates and timelines as revealed by the Government and our arrangements will remain under constant review.
Our units are reminded that the Player Injury scheme is suspended and will remain so until an official return to action protocol is confirmed.
The GAA still firmly hopes to be able to play county and club competitions this year, subject of course to public health guidance. We can confirm however that no inter-county games are expected to take place before October.
Counties are asked, in the interest of players, to suspend all inter-county training until further notice. There will be a phased resumption of training at both club and county level to allow players to prepare appropriately for playing games.
While not categorically ruling out the possible staging of games behind closed doors later in the year, there appears to be a lack of appetite for this type of fixture-scheduling at the current time across the wider Association.
The GAA can also confirm the appointment of a dedicated Covid-19 Advisory Group which will advise the Association on matters relating to return to play protocols and other similar issues.
WITH summer camps and holidays cancelled (some Cúl camps are going ahead) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a challenge has been put out to the young people of Cork to push themselves to do focused, positive and fun activities and earn rewards for achieving personal goals and new skills.
Cork ETB (CETB), in partnership with the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Joe Kavanagh and Cork County Mayor Cllr Ian Doyle, are issuing the We Are Cork Youth Challenge for summer 2020 to give youngsters and teens an opportunity to jump into a fresh skill or develop existing talents.
Some 30 challenges across music, arts, society, environment, sport and technology have been set with registered participants asked to complete 20 tasks over the summer months and record their experiences for others to see. A special Mayor’s medal will be given to each successful participant with IT prizes also up for grabs for the most creative and exciting challenges.
We Are Cork Youth Challenge is timed to start from June 22nd, a day before St John’s Eve (Bonfire Night) aiming to provide young participants with opportunities to focus their energies on positive activities through the summer as well as on that night.
Lord Mayor Cllr Joe Kavanagh has taken on the baton of his predecessor John Sheehan to promoted the Challenge. He pointed out that all of those who take part and complete the challenges will earn a special edition commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal and be in with a chance to win one of six iPads. “Travel restrictions, the widespread cancellation of summer camps and traditional summer activities have made this a very different summer holiday experience for many young people. Cork ETB has moved quickly to help fill the void, and I urge as many people as possible to participate,” added the Lord Mayor.
Cork ETB devised the We Are Cork Youth Challenge in partnership with Cork City and County Councils, Music Generation, Cork Sports Partnerships and others in response to the Covid-19 crisis; it is hoped that thousands of Cork teenagers will get involved and focus their energies and have some fun in the process. The ETB funds over 14 organisations to provide youth services throughout Cork as well as allocating grants to voluntary youth clubs and organisations, aiming to achieve better outcomes and brighter futures for children.
CETB Chief Executive, Denis Leamy – who chairs the Youth Committee of Cork City Council’s Covid Response team – explained that a total of 30 inclusive, non-gender-specific challenges have been set with young people completing 20 of them to earn the commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal. He stressed that this is not a competition. “The overall aim is participation, engagement and fun – lots of fun,” he said. “The challenges should be kept simple and could be anything from completing a 3km run, compiling a Spotify list, cooking a meal traditional to another country or composing a rap or song or writing a poem,” he explained.
The We Are Cork Youth Challenge involves young people uploading videos of their challenges completed to Microsoft’s free, easily-accessed and secure FLIPGRID app and social media channels which will be moderated by Cork ETB.
Tuesday, May 26, 7.30pm
Returning to Gaelic games post COVID – Keeping your squad fit and preventing injury
https://learning.gaa.ie/gaacoachwebinar2020
Wednesday, May 27, 8pm
Importance of Physical Literacy in Children with Dr Stephen Behan
Register here : https://www.rebelogcoaching.com/cork-gaa-webinars/
Thursday, May 28, 7.30pm
Dr Aine Mcnamara & James Devane
Registration not open yet but will be available from Wednesday morning at 10am on www.learning.gaa.ie
- When registering please double-check the email address you enter (dots & spaces in particular) as if you submit an incorrect address, we have no way to send you the link to the event.
- If you have registered and not received the link to join by Monday morning, please inform us by email. It may be that you made a typing error when entering your email address.
- We will do our best to accommodate late registrations but cannot guarantee.
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Tuesday, May 26th. Please click on the following link: https://learning.gaa.ie/gaacoachwebinar2020
Topic: Returning to Gaelic games post-Covid – Keeping your squad fit and preventing injury
This webinar will look at the issues facing GAA athletes in the current Covid-19 situation and how to address them. We look at the return to play post-Covid, and ways we can mitigate for time out of play. We will look at specific ways of tailoring training to avoid injuries both in the ’small group scenarios’ and also in the main group training when players return. We will discuss injury prevention and recovery strategies to use with your players during a condensed playing calendar.
Presenter: Eamon O’Reilly
Eamon is a chartered physiotherapist and clinic lead of SPARC South Dublin. He has worked with a number of intercounty teams in both football and hurling. He has worked with the Dublin hurlers since 2011. He has worked as a physiotherapist for the Irish International Rules team on 3 different series. He has also been involved in physiotherapy services for the Irish high-performance boxing teams. Eamon is also a currently serving member on the national GAA’s medical, scientific, and welfare committee. He also served on the sports science expert group for the GAA. His main clinical area of expertise involves complex chronic athletic injuries around the hip including recurrent hamstring issues, abdominal and hip/groin issues.
This workshop will be presented by Damien Coleman, Connacht Hurling Development Manager. It will give to those in attendance an insight into “Best Practice” for coaching and developing our youngest and most vulnerable players. It will explain the values and guidelines that have been meticulously developed over many years by the GAA’s Coaching & Games Department.
90% of the workshop is highly relevant to coaches of all sports and all ages as it is value based and values transcend all sports and all age grades. Those currently involved with young players will obviously find it beneficial, but it would also be an excellent starting point for those considering getting involved in coaching whether they are current players or people that have never lifted a hurl.
This is a good opportunity to recruit some new coaches for your club so maybe pick up the phone and ask some “potentials” to register. It will set them up nicely for maybe taking their first steps into coaching by signing on for one of the GAA’s excellent foundation courses held in every county.
- When registering please double check the email address you enter (dots & spaces in particular) as if you submit an incorrect address, we have no way to send you the link to the event.
- Please also register by 9pm on Sunday night so that we can send you the link to join the event. If you have not received the link to join by Monday morning, please inform us by email. It may be that you made a typing error when entering your email address. We will do our best to accommodate late registrations but cannot guarantee.
Register here for the session on Monday next, May 11, 8pm on Nursery Hurling: Value and guidelines, part one: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hrxFrNSvpUKfwz6H4bd_zt7yIXMZmCpLhPGC25EIp9ZUNFU0Q0VDRTVLTUFEVDJONlgxSzJEWEQzUC4u
Webinar on Monday, May 18, will be on The Goalie – Number 1 on every team.
This workshop is a must for all hurling coaches and is highly recommended for current and prospective goalkeepers. It will be presented by Martin Fogarty, National Hurling Development Manager and will look at all aspects of goalkeeping especially the requirements to be a teams No. 1 and the specialised training involved. The workshop will include priceless advice from some of the game’s greatest goalies.
Note: Each webinar requires a separate and distinct log-in. Attendees need to complete a registration form for each event and subsequently receive a log-in link.
“Player Development – Putting all the parts together”
This Wednesday sees Brian Cuthbert discussing player development, identifying the key ingredients that are required for any player pathway.
Brian brings a huge level of knowledge to this area with his practical experience as a school teacher/principal, along with his coaching roles with Bishopstown and Cork.
He has recently completed his PHD in Talent Development through UCC and was also a key member of the recent National Talent Academy Framework Report and the Cork GAA Football Development Plan.
Brian is ideally placed to bring this wealth of experience and knowledge to coaches in this free webinar on Wednesday next, May 6, at 8pm.
To register, simply contact colm.crowley.gda.cork@gaa.ie before Wednesday at 3pm.
ALL involved in Rebel Óg would like to send their condolences to the family of Paddy Andrews, Shamrocks Hurling and Football Club.
Paddy was their Rebel Óg board representative for 40 years, taking in the former minor board and underage boards.
To his wife, Mary; children, Patrick, Peter, Vincent and Senan and extended family we send our sincere condolences.
May he Rest in Peace.
Cork hurler Robbie O’Flynn.
Cork Senior Hurler, Robbie O’ Flynn, has come up with a novel way of raising funds for Marymount Hospice.
He is gathering team members and GAA managers to undertake a solo run challenge over 48 hours on 25th and 26th April for Marymount hospice, which depends heavily on public donations.
Up to 50 Cork players and managers are expected to do a solo relay run in their gardens to raise funds over 48 hours next weekend. The solo runs will be videoed and streamed live via an Instagram page which Robbie set up for the event @Corkhurling.Marymount
He has also made a Facebook Page to support the initiative.
Robbie O’ Flynn said: “With a lot of Marymount’s fundraising events cancelled due to Covid-19, I thought it would be great if we could do something collectively to support them.
“Initially, I was thinking of donating or raffling jerseys but then thought that a solo run would be something that we could all get involved in to support this worthy cause. It would also be within social distancing guidelines in that we will all do the run in our own gardens or within a 2km radius of where we live. I asked some of the lads and they thought it was a great idea. Management have been really supportive too.”
The event aims to raise €50K for Marymount Hospice. Anyone who donates to the fund will be entered into a prize raffle for Cork team jerseys.
The 22-year-old player from Glounthaune in Cork, who has recently completed a Masters in Management and Marketing at UCC, said “ the run will begin at 6am on Saturday the 25th of April, followed on the hour and around the clock by each participant. “
The fundraising campaign has been launched via a Go Fund Me page and donations are already coming through.
“It’s good to be able to play a part in supporting such a worthy cause”, said Robbie.
“Covid-19 restrictions are affecting Marymount’s scheduled fundraising activities so this is a great opportunity to use our time, energy and skills to make a difference to people’s lives.”
Patrick Horgan, captain of the Cork senior hurling team, said: “We are all so delighted to be involved in such an event to support Marymount Hospice and the great work they do. Everybody in Cork has a close connection to Marymount in one way or another and show great strength and generosity any time an event like this one is run.
“The way Cork people especially come together to support something like Marymount, makes us all proud to be from Cork.”
Speaking about the event Cork Senior Hurling Manager Kieran Kingston said “Marymount Hospice is so important to the people of Cork, and the we are delighted to be able to be involved in a fundraiser like this, for such a great cause like Marymount Hospice”
Donations can be made via https://www.gofundme.com/f/corkhurlersformarymount/donate or by contacting Marymount Hospice’s fundraising team at 021 4501201 or email fundraising@marymount.ie
Some creative thinking from our games development personnel has seen over 6,000 children engage in fun interactive GAA activities this week from the comfort of their own homes. GDA’s performed live movement and skill sessions which children followed over 4 days as a novel way of replacing the Easter camps they would have attended in their clubs.
Games Manager, Kevin O Callaghan noted: “GDA Colm Crowley floated the idea at a recent meeting and other GDA’s rowed in with some excellent content to bring the project to fruition. Numbers have been beyond our expectations with 11,000 views of the content through the week and we are exploring further similar projects in the near future reaching out to teenage players also.”
There were 2 live sessions each day. Session 1 was aimed at 4-8 year olds, ran by Colm Crowley and Pat Spratt. Session 2 was run by James McCarthy and Paudie O’Brien for 9-12 year olds. Feedback from parents has been really positive with this novel initiative allowing parents and children to get active together and engage in physical activity to boost fitness and mental health in a fun way.
The sessions are a great resource for boys and girls to continue practicing their skills in the coming weeks so please log on to the link below and engage with the activities presented.
The Easter camps are just one element of the games development staff’s resourceful strategies in over coming the Covid-19 impasse. Cork GAA are also running weekly “Wednesday night Webinars” with a different guest speaker each night aimed at coaches of club players. Next Wednesday sees Pat Spratt talking about club structures and the benchmarking programme and coaches can log in by registering in advance with GDA Colm Crowley*.
There will also be a series of On Line foundation courses rolled out over the next 8 weeks catering for over 300 coaches throughout the county. Those wishing to register for foundation courses can register with Shane Supple.
colm.crowley.gda.cork@gaa.ie
shane.supple.gda.cork@gaa.ie
and log on to www.rebelogcoaching.com for further details of all initiatives.
The GAA, supported by the Cumann na mBunscol and the GPA, are delighted to announce the publication of the first of its weekly #GAAPrimary Challenges on learning.gaa.ie/primary-school – a series of learning & physical activities for children in Primary School, as they return from the Easter break.
During these particularly challenging times for families, the #GAAPrimary Challenges are designed to help teachers and parents to work on the cross-curricular lesson plans with children to meet their learning needs. Gaelic games-themed lessons are across all curriculum subjects and are for children at every class level, based on the GAA Céim ar Aghaidh/Step Ahead resource.
For some fresh air and physical exercise, inter-county stars set Skill Challenges that can be done at on nearby your home. Also, there are fun competitions and prizes.
Primary school teachers are encouraged to share lesson plans, learning material and ideas by email to: gamesdevelopment@gaa.ie or to social media using #GAAPrimary.
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=5lOTk69ctQc
Stay well and stay safe!
