This narrative will eventually discuss camogie but will also explore issues such as complacency, priorities and opportunities. Its aim is to highlight the importance of getting children involved in sports while challenging tendencies that create hindrances in their path. However, prior to that, attention must be given to Paris.
The Paralympics possesses the unique ability to expand your understanding of sports. It challenges your existing beliefs about sports, shattering the notions you once held as absolute. All of these perceptions become redefined. Indeed, snobbish judgments about unfamiliar sports couldn’t be more misplaced in the context of the Paralympics, an environment which contests such attitudes.
A single afternoon devoted to watching goalball or wheelchair rugby or the T64 high jump (essentially a one-legged high jump) is enough to make you reconsider your biased views about the superiority of other sports. Such boasts about one sport being superior to another seem meaningless when compared to the amazing feats achieved by amputee athletes.
The Olympic Games in Paris were no different. Over the span of 18 days, the Olympics consistently forced you to reassess your definition of sports and its boundaries. Regardless of the event you attended, there was always a latent curiosity that begged the question, “Why are we not part of this? What is restricting us?”
The manner in which Paris presents sports only intensifies this curiosity. For instance, you probably wouldn’t have wondered why Ireland doesn’t have a beach volleyball team during the Rio Olympics in 2016. The mere thought of pale-skinned Irish playing beach volleyball under the scorching sun wouldn’t make much sense. We understand our strengths and it doesn’t necessarily involve competing with the sun-kissed athletes of Copacabana.
The beach volleyball Olympic event was staged in a custom-built sandy pit situated at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Yes, it was arguably the most absurdly beautiful and picturesque sandpit globally, but it was only a sandpit. The closest beach was a whopping 170km away. Is it so outlandish to propose that we could establish a handful of our own sandpits, potentially in a good number of our national schools?
Might it be because of unreliable weather conditions? If that’s the case, then so what? Among the six countries winning beach volleyball medals in Paris were Sweden, Germany and Norway (men) and Brazil, Canada and Switzerland (women). When Brazil is excluded, five of the eight highest-scoring countries in the winter Olympic medal tally remain. There’s no inherent reason why they should dominate beach volleyball, except that someone championed the idea.
Once the volleyball nets were disassembled, that very same Eiffel Tower spot was transformed into a football ground for the Paralympic blind football tournament. Paralympic viewing choices may not be as varied or abundant as those available during the Olympics – DiscoveryPlus’ selection of scattered sports isn’t available – but if RTÉ or Channel 4 broadcast it one day, spending a little time watching wouldn’t be such a bad choice.
Just as no one initially envisioned beach volleyball happening underneath the Eiffel Tower, football too wasn’t devised as a sport for the non-seeing. However, the concept of embedding a bell into a ball changed that, and it’s been a Paralympic sport since 2004. With favourable circumstances, a women’s division might even be included in the schedule for the Los Angeles event four years from now. The more participants there are, the more sporting events we’ll see.
In Ireland, all roads lead back to opportunity. Discussions about funding, training, sports science, and analysis can continue ad nauseam, but if we don’t provide young people with the chance to participate, none of those discussions will bear any fruit.
The circumstance was unlucky for Camogie, as the All-Ireland finale clashed with the conclusion of the Olympics this year. Consequently, the spotlight usually concentrated on the season’s highlight was shared with Ireland’s athletes enjoying their moment of stardom. Unfortunate, but inevitable at times.
However, there occurred a questionable incident. Several Dublin Camogie clubs decided to coordinate Go Games matches with counterparts in Galway and Cork for the hordes of aspiring young girls participating in the final. The proposed timeline was straightforward; a morning game, lunch break, then everyone moving on to the All-Ireland final. Sounds ideal, yes?
Nevertheless, the organisers ran into an obstacle. The Camogie Association imposed a rule; no games were to occur on the day of the All-Ireland final. This rule covered everything, from the adult county championships to the Go Games intended for seven and eight years olds. Unless the Camogie Association specifically approved, Sunday was to be reserved exclusively for the finals in Croke Park.
Though the issue was settled eventually after several back-and-forths, it left a sour taste. Emails were circulated, pleas made for a touch of reason. A disheartening element was the Association’s insistence on proof of purchased tickets for the finale from the participating and hosting clubs, before sanctioning a go-ahead for the games. A precaution, perhaps, aiming to ensure the young players didn’t satiate their interest in Camogie before becoming potential paying spectators at Croke Park.
The scenario underlies a cultural reality in Ireland. Four major sports dominate over the remainder, an outcome of socio-cultural dynamics as much as sporting factors. These sports, football, hurling/Camogie, soccer, and rugby, enjoy national recognition and involvement, which could potentially weaken if complacent.
Should you represent a sports institution and find yourself in a situation where you’re hindering young lasses from participating in your sports event, particularly on a date that garners the most interest, it’s pivotal to honestly reassess your priorities. There’s an expansive realm of sports awaiting to embrace your offspring with numerous chances to engage.
Visualise being clueless about this reality. Ponder being so narrow-minded.