July 8th 2023.
Thomas McCurtains GAA Club is spearheading a campaign to allow camogie players to wear shorts. The Irish sport is one of the fastest on grass, but could be out of touch due to an outdated clothing rule.
Women are currently required to wear a skort, a combination of shorts and a skirt, or face a yellow card. In comparison, men’s teams playing hurling, the equivalent of camogie, are allowed to wear shorts.
The London-based club has taken the initiative to ‘future-proof’ the sport and do away with the skort. Shauna Connolly, from the club, said: “It’s an ongoing frustration for our players. We’re disgruntled and it’s always a conversation inside and outside of the changing rooms – that of impracticality, discomfort and distraction.”
The Long and Skort of It report surveyed 240 women and 82% said they preferred to wear shorts. 75% said that skorts don’t reflect current society, with some players labeling the clothing as ‘archaic’ and ‘distracting.’
As a result, a petition was created to support the Shorts not Skorts campaign. Kelly Ann Brennan, player and co-manager of TMC, said: “In an age when women have never been more visible in sport, I am very proud that my own club is standing up for equality and to make a change.”
But what is camogie? It is a team sport for women, similar to hurling, co-ordinated by the Camogie Association. Two teams of 15 play in a 60-minute match. The aim of the game is to hit a small ball between the opponents’ goalposts with a wooden stick. The ball, called a sliotar, can be caught, carried, struck, or kicked.
A goal is equal to three points and one point is scored when the ball goes over the bar. It is estimated that 100,000 people play camogie in Ireland, with its popularity stretching throughout the UK and wider world.
The TMC club has seen growth in recent years, with its first Under 12’s team being fielded. Players from all backgrounds have bolstered the club's ranks, but unless the sport as a whole is ‘future-proofed’, they fear this growth could stall.
Kelly added: “Skorts in their essence were invented to make activities more comfortable for women yet now, for us do the complete opposite. Wearing skorts is a barrier for young girls and women to play. There are girls and women out there who aren’t playing Camogie because of it.”
The campaign has gained support from opinion and sports writers, as well as camogie legend Ursula Jacob. Jacob suggested that girls ‘always’ wear shorts rather than skorts in training and that a change to shorts could lead to wider changes within the game.
The club is now calling for the Camogie Congress to change the rules of playing gear to include shorts. If enough motions are put forward, a vote will be made possible. This is in line with other sports, such as the Lionesses no longer having to wear white shorts and female Gaelic Football players wearing navy rather than white shorts.
Shauna concluded: “It gives us confidence and validation that cultural shifts are happening and organisations are responding.”
The Shorts not Skorts campaign is a powerful movement for equality in sport. To see the Long and Skort of it results in full, click here.
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