HURLING 2008 Training Schedule Games & Training Spring & Summer 2008 Sundays 3:00pm - new players wanted. GSU's soccer field in Panthersville 2819 Clifton Springs Rd, Decatur, GA 30034-3739 - click here for map Continuing growth is a guarantee with the enjoyment everyone is getting out of hurling so far. Check out the club store for the latest in Clan Na nGael gear at www.cafepress.com/atlantagaa Please contact Jim Whooley for more information at [email protected]   Hetic times at training as always, Spring 2007 Rob shows how it is done, Spring 2007 What is Hurling? Hurling is a game similar to hockey, in that it is played with a small ball and a curved wooden stick. It is Europe's oldest field game. When the Celts came to Ireland as the last ice age was receding, they brought with them a unique culture, their own language, music, script and unique pastimes. One of these pastimes was a game now called hurling. It features in Irish folklore to illustrate the deeds of heroic mystical figures and it is chronicled as a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2,000 years. The stick, or "hurley" (called cam�n in Irish) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface. The ball or "sliothar" is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges. Hurling is played on a pitch approximately 137m long and 82m wide. The goalposts are the same shape as on a rugby pitch, with the crossbar lower than a rugby one and slightly higher than a soccer one. You may strike the ball on the ground, or in the air. Unlike hockey, you may pick up the ball with your hurley and carry it for not more than four steps in the hand. After those steps you may bounce the ball on the hurley and back to the hand, but you are forbidden to catch the ball more than twice. To get around this, one of the skills is running with the ball balanced on the hurley To score, you put the ball over the crossbar with the hurley or under the crossbar and into the net by the hurley for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points. Each team consists of fifteen players, lining out as follows: 1 goalkeeper, three full-backs, three half-backs, two midfielders, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. The actual line out on the playing field is as follows: A game is played over two halves of 30 minutes (at club level) or 35 minutes (at inter-county level). Players wear a jersey with their team colours and number on the back. Both teams must have different colour jerseys. The goalkeepers' jerseys must not be similar to the jersey of any other player. Referees normally tog out in black jerseys, socks and togs. Goalkeepers may not be physically challenged whilst inside their own small parallelogram, but players may harass them into playing a bad pass, or block an attempted pass. Teams are allowed a maximum of three substitutes in a game. Players may switch positions on the field of play as much as they wish but this is usually on the instructions of team officials. Officials for a game comprise of a referee, two linesmen (to indicate when the ball leaves the field of play at the side and to mark '65'' free kicks and 4 umpires (to signal scores, assist the referee in controlling the games, and to assist linesmen in positioning ''65' frees). A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal. A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal. A '45'/'65' is signalled by the umpire raising his/her outside arm. A 'square ball', when a player scores having arrived in the 'square' prior to receiving the ball, is signalled by pointing at the small parallelogram. Other Sports and useful information: http://www.handball.ie/newsite/start.php (Handball website) Quick description of the games Originating in Ireland, the two main gaelic games are Hurling and Gaelic Football. Camogie is the highly popular female version of hurling and there is a growing amount of Ladies Gaelic Football being played. In Hurling and Gaelic Football, the scoring system is the same. The target is a set of H posts like in rugby but with a net on the bottom section like in soccer. Players on two teams of fifteen must put the ball over the bar for a point or in the net for three points. There are other games promoted by the governing body, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA,) but they are more recreational in nature. These are Handball, Rounders and Road Bowling. Follow the links below to find out more about each game. Youth League With emigration from Ireland to America trickling to a halt, the youth programs in the GAA in the USA have never been more important. The future of gaelic games in the NACB area depend on the success of the youth programs getting American-born people into the games from an early age. In addition to the NACB underage games that are held at the playoffs, a newer competition is the Continental Youth Championship that started in 2004. It is administered directly from Croke Park, and includes teams from the NACB, Canada, and New York City.