Winter Hurling

With Christmas approaching and the snow beginning to fall, what are the hurling-mad among us meant to do?

Scullion hurls decorations

Hurling in "The Great White North" can be such a joy during spring, summer, and fall but as the Canadian winter creeps in, hurling can take a back seat to games like indoor soccer, ice hockey, and other winter sports. This can be a bad time for GAA clubs in Canada because players they have recruited throughout the year disappear as the clubs have no activities running. The answer: look indoors!

A common sight popping up around Canadian cities this time of year are football domes or "Bubbles"(simply an inflated cover over an astroturf field). A quick Google search will put you in touch with your local field but finding an open time slot might be more difficult. Generally though, a bit of searching will find you an opening.

Concordia University Soccer Dome, Mtl

While these fields are invaluable resources, some of them can be quite expensive so having a committed group of players to fork out the cash is important to avoid having one or two people covering the whole bill.

Some clubs, such as the Quebec City Patriotes, even charge a lump sum at the start of winter so they can keep playing their beloved Gaelic Football all winter long.

So you've got your players and you've got your field, but the next obstacle is that some fields may not approve of you playing a normal game of hurling in an indoor environment. Changing the rules a little to keep everyone happy will probably be your best shot.

This year the GAA Development office launched a new recreational hurling game initiative called Camán Abú. This inititave was designed to be more inclusive and less physical. Having not had the chance to try it yet, the game looks perfect for playing indoors.

More info on the new recreational games can be found at http://justplay.gaa.ie/

Or you could always do as the Indy hurlers did last winter and not let a little thing called snow stop you.

L.Greene