GAA Response to Coronavirus

[Milltown Row2]

Was listening to an interview where they mentioned maybe having some form of social distancing in stands, odd they don't seem to be worried about what happens on the pitch? Is there to be no social distancing there?

https://youtu.be/traiDANVlag

The "up his shirt" call from the sideline will be banned

[Eire90]

Would anyone like to see an autumn championship as a one off just for this year  games under lights on a saturday night under lights might be good for games. All ireland final 5pm saturday kick off.

[Rossfan]

No and theres no kick off either.

[Eire90]

So  no provincial  club championships this  year so maybe they should double the provincial club championships next season so any team that wins a county championship this year still gets to compete for the provincial and all ireland titles so that would be an 18  team ulster club championship or if same team  wins both they are the sole representive in the county..

[five points]

This might be mad but if I was Tom Ryan now I'd be having county boards provisionally plan county football and hurling championships in August/September, and the possibility of staging knockout intercounty championship in both codes in October and November. If the latter is a non-runner, have counties run shortened club leagues in late autumn into early winter. I'd forget about finishing the national leagues and I'd drop the provincial and All Ireland club championships this year,

[vallankumous]

No and theres no kick off either.

Ye can still have the row kick off

[thewobbler]

This might be mad but if I was Tom Ryan now I'd be having county boards provisionally plan county football and hurling championships in August/September, and the possibility of staging knockout intercounty championship in both codes in October and November. If the latter is a non-runner, have counties run shortened club leagues in late autumn into early winter. I'd forget about finishing the national leagues and I'd drop the provincial and All Ireland club championships this year,

The only thing Tom Ryan should be doing now is reminding members that as and when the government(s) permit team sport again, and insurers have given the resultant all clear, that teams can then then return to training.

It won't take more than a few days at that point to either sort out a full or truncated schedule, or to dismiss the entire season. Simply divide the numbers of weeks left in the year by the number of teams willing to compete, and you get the start point. Everything after that is fine-tuning.

Any planning before the government announcements is  a waste of time.

[Captain Obvious]

With no Provincial and All Ireland championship likely this year I'm starting to wonder how many of players in their 30s and late 20s will be seen in their county colours again? A year or longer without inter-county football is sure to have a big change in management also.

[imtommygunn]

Antrim had pulled some of their best players out of retirement

I do wonder about Cluxton. Maybe boys like Moran from Kerry and the likes of Cavanagh from Tyrone could see an earlier end too.

[seafoid]

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaa-meet-on-friday-amid-dire-financial-threat-of-losing-championship-summer-1.4230886

The GAA meets by remote special congress on Friday against a backdrop of huge financial uncertainty for the association. Intensifying concerns over whether a championship can take place given doubts about the lifting of social restrictions mean that virtually all of the revenues for 2020 are in doubt.

Director general Tom Ryan estimated the potential cost of losing the championship as in the region of €60 million, which is nearly the entire revenue of €73 million for last year.

[Rossfan]

That was last Friday

[Square Ball]

Asked whether there was any chance of people being able to play sport outside this summer, Mr Raab said this would be "very difficult because of the level and scale of interaction".

But he added: "I think the professional sport may be different because of the scale of testing that they would be able to introduce.

Take what you want out of this.

[the goal was on]

scale of testing they are able to do?  So are premier league clubs able to produce their own tests/labs etc or is the government gonna prioritise professional sport ?. Does that mean that if i get a test done then i can get on with my business?. I've said it before it will send a wrong message to a lot of people particularly those not interested in sport if they turn on there telly and see social guidance being broken just so sport can carry on. Oh but they got tests done, yeah but I feel great so ill just crack on. I just cant see how contact sports and the government guidance can marry up.

[LCohen]

scale of testing they are able to do?  So are premier league clubs able to produce their own tests/labs etc or is the government gonna prioritise professional sport ?. Does that mean that if i get a test done then i can get on with my business?. I've said it before it will send a wrong message to a lot of people particularly those not interested in sport if they turn on there telly and see social guidance being broken just so sport can carry on. Oh but they got tests done, yeah but I feel great so ill just crack on. I just cant see how contact sports and the government guidance can marry up.

There will be a huge amount of scenario planning done before any relaxations are permitted. Maintaining the discipline of the majority is key. Football on free to air tv might help especially end of season. If soccer can afford the tests (and it would have to regular testing) and the game was able to make every possible adjustment the residual risk might me worth taking. I'm saying might. None of us have the data. Governments might want professional sport to take this risk. Professional sport might not want to take the risk. What is in it for them if there is no gate receipts, they don't get any new TV money from the free to air stuff, they have already bagged the pay tv money and the sponsorship revenues?

[Blowitupref]

John Horan admitted both the club and inter-county championships could now run into next year,

"We're open to that if that's a possibility," he said.

"We'd just adjust the 2021 season. I think there's a hunger and an appetite out there among both players and spectators to see the games being played. I think people would accept that if we were to make such a decision that it would be to the benefit of everyone involved."

Two weeks ago the GAA said that the championships were "highly unlikely" to begin before the month of July, but Horan said the prospect of a further delay is increasing.

"We're going to act totally responsibly. Social distancing of two metres is a high priority at the moment, I can't see contact sport coming on board in the short term.

"We're an amateur sport. I know there's a lot of speculation that professional sports like rugby and soccer may come back here in Ireland and overseas, but that's probably in the sense that they've cocooned their players.

"Our amateur athletes, they go back to their families, they go back to their work place. We can't put any of those people, or those people they come in contact with, at risk just for the sake of playing games. We won't be making any rushed decision on this.

"If and when we do return, the club scene will be our priority because 98% of our activity happens at club level. As we're looking at it at the moment, our return initially will be back to club activity before we engage in the inter-county playing."