THE Munster Camogie Association’s decision to cancel Cork and Waterford’s provincial senior final has aggravated an already combustible skort issue in another negative week for the sport.
Firstly, this section of The Southern Star was earmarked for a report and reaction from last Sunday’s Munster Camogie senior decider between Cork and Waterford at the Ragg, county Tipperary.
A repeat of the 2023 All-Ireland final between the three-in-a-row chasing Rebels and a Déise team coming off a productive league campaign was eagerly anticipated.
Instead, all of this and last week’s headlines have been unwanted, negative and downright depressing.
The national and local news media cycles have instead been concerned with the Camogie (national) and Munster Camogie Association’s continued mishandling of an ongoing ‘skort issue’.
In the week leading up to the Munster Camogie senior final, Cork and Waterford’s players openly admitted through their media engagements that they wanted to execute their right to choose between wearing skorts or shorts. Both squads expressed their intention to wear shorts in the final.
Under current Camogie Association rules players must wear skorts before any game can proceed.
It was announced that a hastily arranged Camogie Association special congress, to decide if that rule can change to allow players the option of wearing either garment, would go ahead. That special congress will take place at Croke Park on May 22nd.
Then, late last Friday evening, a mere 16 hours before this year’s Munster Camogie senior final was scheduled to throw-in, the provincial association’s board issued a statement that included the following.
‘Saturday’s Munster senior camogie final has been postponed as Cork and Waterford insisted on wearing shorts. The game will now be played at a later date likely when shorts are permissible attire following the Special Congress vote on May 22.
‘As the current camogie rules of play are still in place and the players have indicated they would not be prepared to play the game in skorts, the decision has been made to defer the game in the best interests of all players and officials involved.’
After a full week’s preparation, hydration, tactical meetings, training sessions and issuing statements through the GPA, Cork and Waterford’s players were informed by their provincial association that their Munster final was being scrapped.
Imagine the outcry if a men’s Munster senior hurling final involving Cork was called off on the eve of the final? Cork’s senior hurlers and their supporters wouldn’t stand for it. Why should the Cork or Waterford Camogie players?
One particular line in the Munster Camogie’s poorly-worded statement struck a chord: ‘the decision has been made to defer the game in the best interests of all players and officials involved.’
Unsurprisingly, that statement elicited an angry response, through the GPA, as Cork and Waterford came together to jointly state: ‘As a united group of players, we want to express our bitter disappointment that today’s Munster Senior Camogie Final has been postponed.
‘It shows scant regard for the preparation of players both physically and mentally to be ready for a provincial showpiece, to make this decision just 16 hours before the scheduled throw-in.
‘Anyone with an understanding of what it takes to compete in elite sport knows that this could never be in the best interests of players.
‘We feel completely let down. Both panels had meticulously planned to peak for today. Training schedules and workload will now have to be readjusted, while not even knowing when the game will take place,’ they said. ‘There was an opportunity to take a step forward from the recent controversy. Instead, a provincial final has been postponed because we took control of what we would wear. To us, that feels like a massive step backwards.’
Last Sunday, under-fire Camogie Association President Brian Molloy went on RTÉ national radio show This Week to comment on what’s become a national story.
Sadly, Mr. Molloy chose to use his national platform to remind everyone listening that the rules are set out by the Camogie Association members in congress and not by the President.
His role is simply to ensure that the decisions taken in congress are honoured.
As with the Munster Camogie Association’s decision, Brian Molloy’s comments, despite admitting his personal hope was to ‘see choice’, felt like passing the buck. Basically, the association was telling its players you will have to wait until the vote on May 22nd and that’s that. What makes that stance even more galling is the fact some Camogie matches in Leinster went ahead with both teams wearing shorts. Others around the country were threatened with abandonment until skorts were worn. So, where do we go from here? Camogie clubs and counties are using social media posts showing players wearing shorts and demanding the vote allows for the choice.
Nobody wants to be in this situation, not the associations, delegates or players. Yet, there is growing concern that the upcoming special congress vote, as with last year’s equivalent, might not be passed despite it clearly being the will of the players.
No one is asking for skorts to be removed, far from it. All players are asking for is the right to choose one or the other. Skorts or shorts.
Surely amid a myriad of statements, counter-statements and match cancellations, the Camogie Association could temporarily relax the ruling on the wearing of shorts, at least until the special congress vote is completed.
In a fortnight devoid of common sense, that simplest of gestures and a temporary relaxing of the rule would ease an escalating situation. Now, the eyes of the country and beyond will be fixed on Croke Park and May 22nd’s special congress.
Its outcome has the potential to mend broken fences and move with the times or pour petrol on a combustible issue that could explode into something much worse.
Over to you delegates.
