Wexford camogie legend weighs in on skorts controversy – ‘If it deters one player from playing, it's one too many'

Irish Independent

06-05-2025

Over the weekend, the Dublin and Kilkenny senior camogie teams both took to the field wearing shorts during their Leinster semi-final clash in protest of rule 6(b) which requires them to wear skorts instead.
The referee subsequently called both captains over and ordered them back to the dressing room to change or the match would be abandoned.
In a recent survey from the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), 83% of players indicated that they would prefer to wear shorts, while 70% reported discomfort while playing in skorts. 65% expressed concerns about exposure in media content, affecting their mental state, while 49% said that they had experienced anxiety around period leaks.
A four-time All-Ireland winner and multiple All-Star Ursula Jacob has blasted the Camogie Association in the wake of the Dublin v Kilkenny controversy, stating that there is a 'disconnect between the players and Camogie Association hierarchy'.
"Every day we face hundreds of choices,' she said. 'We choose what time to get up at, what time to go to bed. We choose what to eat. We choose what to watch on TV. We choose what to wear to work. Thankfully, the modern Ireland that we live in allows us to make choices. Unless you want to play camogie.
"If you are a girl or woman who wants to play camogie, you do not have a choice about what you wear when playing our national game. If you want to play, you have to wear skorts If you don't want to wear a skort, then you don't play – skorts that girls don't feel comfortable to play in. Skorts that they don't train in. Skorts that they don't want to wear.'
The Wexford legend goes on to state that the skorts issue is just one of a myriad of issues that exist within the sport currently.
"I'm sick and tired of having to constantly talk about the controversies surrounding camogie, the game I love,' she says. 'I have been very fortunate to have experienced some of the best parts of camogie. I loved every minute of playing and now I take huge joy from watching the next generation play.'
Jacob goes on to talk of the many massive moments in the sport in recent years – Julia White's injury time point to secure the All-Ireland for Cork in 2017, Therese Maher finally winning an All-Ireland for Galway in 2013 after a 16-year wait, Waterford bridging a 78-year gap in reaching the 2023 All-Ireland final – should be the talking points of the sport, not 'an archaic rule that will not be reviewed again until 2027'.
In the mind of the camogie legend, it's a simple fix.
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'Just let each team decide if they want to wear dark colour shorts so that players can feel as comfortable as possible,' she said. 'Fans don't go to see what kit the players are wearing. Not the boots or jerseys. Fans go to watch great skill, great ability and great moments of sport.
"The number one priority for the Camogie Association should be to let the girls play. We should be promoting the game in a positive light.
"What we do not need is players being faced with more barriers to stop playing. If the current skort rule deters one player from playing, then that's one player too many. We need to remove all barriers that may shrink our camogie community. Camogie players should have a choice.'
The RTÉ pundit also criticised the 'non-existent' promotion of camogie, branding it 'simply not good enough'.
In response to the controversy, the Camogie Association noted the findings of the GPA survey and noted that 'player welfare is at the heart of everything we do'.
They stated that a democratic vote at Congress 2024 had determined that rules governing what player attire should not change.
'The Camogie Association remains committed to respecting the democratic process in all decisions that affect all of our members,' they concluded.
'Voting delegates at Congress represent all the members of the Association, including players and parents of players across the country.'