Thomas McCurtains GAA Club spearheaded a campaign to allowed camogie players to wear shorts (Picture: Shauna Connolly)
It’s the fastest game on grass – but is camogie at risk of becoming out of touch due to an outdated clothing rule?
Players of the Irish sport have demanded it be ‘future-proofed’ by doing away with one very controversial piece of clothing: the skort.
Women are obliged to wear the short-skirt combo in camogie or face a yellow card. In hurling – the men’s equivalent of the sport which is near identical in rules – players wear shorts.
Players at Thomas McCurtains GAA Club (TMC), founded in east London in 1920, have spearheaded a bid to change the ‘outdated’ skort rule.
The club’s Shauna Connolly told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s an ongoing frustration for our players, we’re disgruntled and it’s always a conversation inside and outside of the changing rooms – that of impracticality, discomfort and distraction.’
A report was recently conducted by the club – titled ‘The Long and Skort of it – which showed how the debate stretched across several teams.
Of the 240 women surveyed, 82% said they preferred to wear shorts. Meanwhile 75% said they didn’t feel skorts reflected current society.
Some responded that skorts were ‘archaic’ while another player said it was ‘distracting’ to constantly pull down the skirt element to the skort.
In hurling – pictured here is Patrick Horgan of Cork in action against Mark Fitzgerald of Waterford – men wear shorts during matches (Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile/Getty Images)
Whereas in camogie, skorts are the requirement despite the two sports being broadly similar (Picture: Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Around 85% responded they didn’t know the history of the skort.
Following the report, hundreds then signed a petition calling for change to the controversial camogie dress code.
Kelly Ann Brennan, player and co-manager of TMC, said: ‘Skorts in their essence were invented to make activities more comfortable for women yet now, for us do the complete opposite.
‘In an age when women have never been more visible in sport, I am very proud that my own club is standing up for equality and to make a change.
‘One of our mottos is “Never compromise on our principles” and wearing skorts is a compromise we are no longer willing to make.’
TMC has grown in popularity in recent years – the London club recently fielded their first Under 12s team – and players from all backgrounds have bolstered their ranks.
Camogie: what is it?
Camogie is a team sport for women, very similar to hurling, and co-ordinated by the International Governing Body, the Camogie Association. It is very similar to hurling.
Some 100,000 people play camogie in Ireland, but it’s popularity has spread through much of the UK and wider world.
The game sees two teams of 15 play in a 60-minute match. The objective is for players to use a wooden stick to hit a small ball between the opponents’ goalposts, either over the crossbar, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper.
The ball, called a sliotar, can be caught in the hand and carried for no more than four steps, struck into the air or along on the ground with the stick. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand for short-range passing.
A goal is scored when the ball goes between the posts and under the H-shaped bar. This is equal to three points. One point is scored when the ball goes over the bar.
But unless the sport as a whole is ‘future-proofed’, they fear this growth could stall.
Shauna added: ‘While the skort has developed over time in line with culture and society, we are at a new point now where the skort is not reflective of it nor the players.
‘Wearing skorts is a barrier for young girls and women to play. There are girls and women out there who aren’t playing Camogie because of it.’
The club’s campaign has reached the likes of opinion and sports writers Eimear Ryan and Joanne O’Riordan, and in turn, led to worldwide debate on the topic.
Camogie legend Ursula Jacob was previously questioned on the topic in an interview with OurGame. She raised the point that girls ‘always’ wear shorts rather than skorts in training.
While she never had an issue herself with skorts while playing, she knew others who ‘absolutely hated’ them.
The pundit suggested a change to shorts could lead to wider changes within the game.
Camogie needs to be ‘future-proofed’ to attract for players (Picture: Shauna Connolly)
‘Wearing skorts is a compromise we are no longer willing to make’ (Picture: Shauna Connolly)
Jacob told OurGame: ‘Maybe we should have everything completely in line with the hurling rules – hurlers wear shorts so maybe camogie players should wear shorts as well. Because, maybe we should start to call [camogie players] female hurlers.’
‘I’m a hurler, I know we say camogie player [for women], but I’m a hurler as much as someone else.’
So, what’s next for the Shorts not Skorts campaign?
TMC are calling for the Camogie Congress – which oversees the decisions on rules and regulations for the sport – to change the rules of playing gear to include shorts.
A vote will be made possible if enough motions are put forward by clubs, which would in turn encourage delegates to raise the skorts issue.
Key progress in other areas of women’s sport have also given camogie players hope they can have similar success with the Shorts not Skorts campaign.
The Lionesses no longer have to wear white shorts – citing period anxiety – and a similar move was made for female Gaelic Football players who now wear navy rather than white shorts.
‘It gives us confidence and validation’, Shauna added.
‘That cultural shifts are happening and organisations are responding.’
To see the Long and Skort of it results in full, click here
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‘Wearing skorts is a compromise we are no longer willing to make.’
