Rebellion against ‘outdated' camogie skorts rule gathering pace

Irish Times

07-05-2025

The rebellion against the
Camogie Association's insistence that its players wear skorts rather than shorts
in compliance with its rules is gathering pace.
Reigning All-Ireland champions Cork and Waterford on Wednesday evening confirmed they would defy the regulation by wearing shorts for Saturday's Munster final.
'We will be togged out wearing shorts,' the teams said in a statement released by the
Gaelic Players' Association
. 'That is our choice.'
Cork players had earlier said they were prepared to forfeit the game if they were instructed by the referee to change into skorts.
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The issue has rumbled on for several years, with the vast majority of players surveyed saying they find skorts – half skirt, half shorts – uncomfortable and restrictive of their movement on the pitch.
However, efforts to give them the option of wearing shorts were rejected by delegates at camogie's congress last year.
The issue flared up again last weekend when Dublin and Kilkenny's players wore shorts for their Leinster semi-final. They were told by the referee, who was obliged to enforce the rule, that the game would be abandoned unless they changed into skorts. Which they did.
The opposition to the rule has hardened since, with Dublin Camogie
instructing its referees to take no action if players refuse to wear skorts
. A number of league games in Dublin on Tuesday evening featured players wearing shorts, when, strictly, they should have been sent off for non-compliance.
Female Sinn Féin TDs and Senators wore shorts to Leinster House on Wednesday in solidarity with the players, with several Opposition voices calling on the
Department of Sport
to intervene in the dispute.
The Minister of State at the department,
Charlie McConalogue
, later called on the Camogie Association to engage with the players and urged them to find a resolution.
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'Making sure that everybody is comfortable in terms of participating in sport is absolutely essential,' he said.
The association is to be invited to Leinster House to address the Oireachtas committee on sport, the chairman of which, Labour TD Alan Kelly, has described the skorts rule as
'bananas' and 'outdated'
.
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The association's initial response to the controversy was to stand by last year's vote by congress, the majority of the delegates female, while saying it could be reviewed in 2027.
But with the pressure mounting in the face of player protests that could yet result in a string of abandoned games in this year's championship if the rules are enforced, they may have no choice but to relent. Saturday's Munster final will be the ultimate test case, unless they act before then.