College
Football and Hurling is coming to the North East! College teams from across the northeast region
will be converging on the Irish American Home Society in Glastonbury CT in just
over 2 weeks for the inaugural fall tournament of Gaelic Football and Hurling. The IAHS and Hartford GAA have graciously
agreed to host the tournament. Teams
from Boston College, St. Joseph’s (Philadelphia), Fordham (New York), Iona (New
York), and UConn (Connecticut), along with club teams from Hartford and
Worcester, will compete for the fall trophy.
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| UCONN Hurlers |
Gaelic
Football and Hurling Clubs have formed in recent years in third level
institutions from Southern California to New England. The
National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association was established in 2009 to
assist in the development of new hurling and Gaelic football teams on college
campuses throughout the United States, and to provide a structure in which
competitive games can be played. With
GAA clubs springing up on college campuses in the northeast region a need was
seen to put some organization and structure around the games. This year a committee was formed to help with
the efforts, and the Northeast Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association was
formed. The board covers the an
area including New England, New York, New Jersey Pennsylvania, Maryland, with
the goal of spreading awareness and advancing gaelic sports in colleges in the
region.
The tournament
is the first of it’s kind in the area and the inaugural trophy will be awarded
to the winners. It is a huge first step
towards the development of games in colleges in the northeastern region. “We
are really looking forward to hosting our first ever tournament,” says Simon
Gillespie, Chairman of the Northeast Collegiate Board. The tournament is a block to build upon, and
the goal being that eventually the clubs themselves will be in a position to
administer the games and competitions.
Many of the players involved have come through the youth ranks in their
respective areas. Over the years a gap
to be bridged was that from minor to adult level. It is a gap made all the more difficult
because most of the players who come through underage ranks do not have the
opportunity to continue to play when in college. Growing gaelic games in third level
educational institutions will go a long way to bridging that gap, though there
is a learning curve involved as Simon points out. “The success of the day will be based on
whether the Colleges teams themselves are a success. Most of these teams have players who have
grown up with clubs and a community but now these players must not only play
the game, but also learn to set up, administer, and coordinate their teams
without influence from parents or coaches.
That is also an important learning curve for the players. The work put
in by these kids will hopefully pay off and we can use this day as a starting
point for Colleges GAA in the North East” pointed out Simon.
There will be local television present to cover the
events of the day, a big boost for the fledgling teams and organizational setup.
According to Simon, “The news today from Hartford is that Fox News may also be
present on the day to find out more about Gaelic Games in the Colleges. This will expose our organization, a
relatively small Irish American Community, to a possible audience of thousands
of people in the local area. It really
bodes well. Thanks to the Hartford
GAA for seeing the possibility of involving National Media sources.”
November 9th in Glastonbury, CT will hopefully mark
the start of a transformation of Gaelic Games in the Northeast and the United
States as a whole. The Northeast also
will have the opportunity for further exposure since the 2014 National
Collegiate GAA Finals will be hosted in the Northeast, with college teams from
all over the country traveling to take part. As Simon emphasized, “We really need this day
to be a success if Collegiate GAA is going to be a success on the East Coast of
the US and we are going to make a success of the NCGAA Finals Memorial Day next
year.” Simon thanked the people in
Hartford for their willingness to open their doors, “I would really like to
thank the Irish American Home Society for the use of their facilities as well
as the Hartford GAA club who have always shown they to be willing to host any
tournament that promotes Gaelic Games.”
Maybe one day we will look back at November 9, 2013
as the day it all began.
By Rory O’Donnell
