The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) has reiterated its stance that the GAA’s new spilt season should be maintained.
GPA chief executive Tom Parsons has hit out at “cheap remarks” that preseason competitions should be restored and All-Ireland finals returned to later in the year.
The GPA lobbied for the establishment of the split season to afford intercounty players greater time off between club and county commitments. However, the lack of preseason competitions was criticised ahead of this year’s National Football League, particularly given the introduction of the Football Review Committee’s new rule enhancements.
The earlier staging of the All-Ireland senior hurling and football finals in July to clear the latter half of the year for club competitions has also drawn debate.
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Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday following the GPA’s annual general meeting on Monday evening, Parsons said he is concerned about comments calling for changes to the split season.
“I am worried because there’s a lot of provincial leadership out there talking about bringing back preseason competitions and extending the season into August, while there’s an amateur status committee and there’s data that has shown we have a huge load on intercounty players.
“We also have strong feedback from players that they support the split season – they get meaningful time with their club and they can focus and get a little bit of downtime in August before the club [championship] ramps up.
“We can’t push more load on intercounty players. It’s cheap remarks to say ‘let’s extend into August’ or ‘let’s bring back preseason competitions’ without an actual plan. If anyone wants to make comments or remarks they need to be made in a consultation manner and bring in all stakeholders to find a solution.”
At Monday’s agm the GPA voted on 12 motions, all of which were passed with overwhelming majorities of between 96 and 100 per cent. Two motions expressing a desire for an amendment to the rule requiring camogie players to wear skorts for competitive games were voted on together.
The first motion passed will see the GPA engage with the three Gaelic games governing bodies – the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association – collectively from next year.
The motion was proposed by the GPA’s national executive committee with an eye to the planned integration of the three bodies by 2027.
However, the GPA has expressed frustration over ongoing efforts to engage with the integration process.
After motions were passed by each of the three governing bodies to “prioritise integration” in 2022, the Steering Group on Integration was established to plot a route forward. However, GPA equality, diversity and inclusion manager Gemma Begley said they have only once addressed the committee.
“We’ve made a couple of requests and they’ve been turned down,” said Begley on their efforts to engage with the steering group, which is chaired by former president of Ireland Mary McAleese.
Begley added: “The GPA has had no other engagement, no other consultation or communication about what proposals are in place, what the consultation is going to look like ... timelines.
“We’ve 18 months effectively until something is supposedly going to be in place ... To have one of your biggest cohorts, one of your biggest stakeholders on the outside of that process, I think we can do better. We’re calling on the NGBs [national governing bodies] to do better.”
On the ongoing issue over skorts, co-chair of the GPA’s national executive committee and Dublin camogie captain, Aisling Maher, welcomed the Camogie Association’s decision to hold a Special Congress on May 22nd at which delegates will again vote on a motion to allow players to choose whether they wear skorts or shorts.
“Obviously there’s a certain scepticism, as players, until the vote actually happens, and obviously we’d be hopeful that the vote gets across, but it is very difficult to know. Obviously you can’t get around the fact that it’s the same delegates voting again that voted last year, and unfortunately that vote came up short.”
Maher added: “We’re not looking to get rid of the skort, it is just the opportunity for choice for the player, and I would hope that delegates see that and are reminded of that, and that the underlining message for them going in [to vote at Special Congress] is that we’re asking them to give the choice back to the player.”
Among the other motions approved at Monday’s agm were plans for the GPA to negotiate with the Government on the establishment of a tax credit/relief for intercounty players, call for clear guidelines to support players representing multiple teams, and advocate for equitable funding to support lower-tier counties.
List of motions passed
Motion 1: Unified engagement with Gaelic games associations.
Motion 2: Structured media policy in-season to help players build profile and enhance opportunities.
Motion 3: Guidelines to support players representing multiple teams.
Motion 4: Policy to support the development of hurling in lower-tier counties.
Motion 5: Equitable funding to support lower-tier counties.
Motion 6: Mandate the sharing of season-long injury surveillance and GPS-based load monitoring data with the GPA.
Motion 7: Align manager performance with player welfare.
Motion 8: Improve LGFA injury fund to ensure the process is fit for purpose.
Motion 9: All hurling league finals to be played at suitable county grounds or Croke Park.
Motion 10: Remove mandated skorts.
Motion 11: Skorts reform.
Motion 12: Intercounty player tax credit/relief.
