SO, the skort-shorts controversy will (hopefully) come to an end this Thursday when a Special Congress, called by the Camogie Association, will take place to decide if the players will have the choice to wear skorts or shorts for the remainder of the year.
Ahead of last weekend’s Leinster camogie final, the Kilkenny and Wexford teams were told to go back into the dressing-rooms to change into the skorts after warming up in the shorts. The Gaelic Players Association requested for the game not to be streamed or have match action pictures be taken if the skorts were to be worn, which is what happened.
Everybody wants this controversy to end, including former Cork player Sara Hayes.
‘It’s a bit ridiculous. There are so many bigger things to talk about than this,’ the current Courcey Rovers manager told The Star Sport Podcast.
‘Part of me feels they missed the boat. When it went to Congress last year, that was the time to go for it. There wasn’t enough publicity about it then. I really feel it didn’t come out through the clubs as enough. I think there was one email about it. That was the time to tackle it.
‘I’m hoping it will change. I had one player who ever trained in a skort. You’d rather wear your brother’s shorts than train in a skort because they are uncomfortable. So I get it. I like the look of the skorts. I’m all for either or. The comfort level isn’t there,’ she added.
This is the big story in camogie at the moment and it has certainly got the country talking. However, that isn’t the only issue with a sport that is growing as Hayes outlines.
‘It’s a very important issue but there are more important issues to talk about. Access to pitches. People at games. Making sure we’re getting the profile out there. Getting access to games. Getting publicity out about games,’ Hayes said.
‘I don’t really go on social media too much so if you’re not there, you might see it but at the same time when I was on it, you’d have to go looking for it. Trying to get tickets to games. Not overly easy to find a ticket to get into the game. There’s a lot bigger issues to talk about. Let’s go after those. The One Club (initiative), get that in place for girls. We need to get more games on TV. We just need this (skorts-shorts issue) to move on and let’s make that change,’ the former Cork star argued.
It must be remembered too that not all players want the skort banned. What the players are asking for is a choice. Hayes agrees with those sentiments.
‘Pro-choice is where we need to be. Hopefully later this month, this will be over with and get on with the proper issues. Like getting people to games, getting games publicly known, getting it out there. Sometimes I don’t even know if there are games on. It’s just not in your face as much as men’s games. We need to talk about bigger things than this,’ Hayes added.
‘I hope the choice will be there. From our club, that seems to be what’s coming through. It’s the choice as opposed to one or the other. There are people who want to keep the skort alone but they actually would rather change the material of it. You can’t do everything but the choice is the fair thing to do for everybody.’
