Getting off the beaten path in sports is often a refreshing thing to do.
It’s the place in sports where you don’t have to suffer the seemingly never-ending decline of hockey as perpetrated by Gary Bettman — Las Vegas — $500 million — silliest world hockey event this September — enough said about that.
Or baseball, where a .200 batting average is somehow worth $30 million.
And, the beat of disappointment goes on.
So I like to off the beaten path where you can see sports played more for the sake of the sport, and the fans that enjoy them.
There are no multi-million dollar prima donnas in the National Lacrosse League.
Rugby is a sport where you take a knock, get back up and congratulate the opponent on a good hit, not roll on the ground like a wounded duck as seems the norm in top-level soccer.
And then there are sports largely unknown in Canada which are just plain fun to watch.
Leading that list would be hurling, a sport with deep roots in Ireland, and virtually unknown outside the Irish community.
“Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic and Irish origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA),” detailed Wikipedia. “The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for over 3,000 years. One of Ireland’s native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players, and much terminology. There is a similar game for women called camogie. It shares a common Gaelic root with the sport of shinty (camanachd), which is played predominantly in Scotland.
“The objective of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley to hit a small ball called a sliotar between the opponents’ goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points. The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession.
“Provided that a player has at least one foot on the ground, a player may make a shoulder to shoulder charge on an opponent: (a) who is in possession of the ball, or (b) who is playing the ball, or (c) when both players are moving in the direction of the ball to play it.”
As a long-time fan of field lacrosse there is at least a passing similarity, although in terms of team sports, hurling is about as unique a sport as there is.
If you are lucky you will happen upon an occasional game late night on a Canadian sports network, but the best source for games in YouTube, at least for a free taste.
Love the game, and it is easy to fall for, you can subscribe to games live online at https://gaago.rte.ie
And, there is hurling in Western Canada.
The Western Canada Division (WCD), with its 5 (five) affiliated clubs, is a Division within the Canadian County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is one of two Divisions’ in Canada, Toronto’s Division having 7 (seven) affiliated clubs. There are also clubs in Ottawa, Quebec City, and Montreal. The 3 (three) founding clubs, the Calgary Chieftains, Edmonton Wolfe Tones, and the Vancouver Harps, have been joined by Red Deer Eire Og (2008) and the Vancouver Celts (2009).
Peter McGloin is secretary of the Western Canadian division of the GAA, and also the founder and Chair of the Regina Gaels GAA club, which is the first and only GAA club in the province of Saskatchewan.
The Western Canadian GAA Championships are being held in Regina over the Canada Day long weekend, which is a great chance to see the game live.
“We will have access TV cameras there to cover the games, this is a small community based TV, but it will serve as a great introduction to Canadians to our games, and they can see that there are teams they can play for or support in their community,” said McGloin via email.
The Regina Gaels also have our own website and YouTube channel where we create and upload some PR videos to promote our club.
www.reginagaels.ca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQGk3IQoZIA
McGloin said his interest in hurling was almost hereditary.
“As a recent immigrant from Ireland (moved to Regina Sept 2012), my first instinct was to contact the local GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) club, the GAA is the governing body of Gaelic Games i.e. Gaelic Football, Handball, Hurling and Camogie (Hurling for females). The GAA have proved to be a great networking tool for the Irish Diaspora, and is as much a social and cultural club as it is a sporting club,” he said.
“However I was disappointed to find out that the nearest GAA club was in Calgary, so together with my wife and a few friends we founded the Regina Gaels GAA club in March 2013, in O’Hanlon’s bar in downtown Regina.
“The sport is a great way to stay fit and healthy, and I love nothing more than “puc-ing” a ball around on a warm Saskatchewan summer’s evening, and it’s a great way to make friends and meet people. Our unofficial club house is Shannon’s Pub & Grill in Regina, and they have been a great supporter of the club, and the pub acts as a focal point for the club, where players can debate and discuss all thing hurling and Gaelic Football over a pint of Guinness. Our club contains about 30 players, 10 of which are Canadian born, and it’s great to be able to introduce “Saskatchewan people to our game, and it has defiantly helped a lot of the recent Irish immigrants to integrate into the community here in Saskatchewan.”
In general terms McGloin said the game is well-played in Canada.
“The game is very strong in the large urban cities, such as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and they would have players numbers far in excess of what we have in Regina, however by playing regularly against these stronger teams, the standard is improving in Regina,” he said.
“The annual GAA World Games are being held in Dublin, Ireland in August of this year, and the Canadian Hurling team will exclusively consist of players from Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Vancouver, so it will be an excellent opportunity to test ourselves against other international teams.”
To get better still will mean broadening the player base.
“In reality hurling is primarily played in Canada by the people with an Irish connection, the big step for the expansion of hurling here is to introduce the sport to people outside of this sphere, which we are trying to do,” offered McGloin.
“In Regina we run a city league during the summer, to promote the game in the city, and we are trying to introduce the game in other cities in the province such as Moose Jaw and Saskatoon.
“Our biggest challenge is raising awareness of the sport in smaller towns such as Weyburn, Estevan and Yorkton, where there is an active population, who we believe would really enjoy the sport.”
Hurling definitely intrigues me and I am hoping to head to Regina this weekend for a firsthand look.
