GAA and AAI team up

ecoli

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=8712

novel idea however i dunno whether it will do either of the sports any benefit to be honest

emerald007

as discussed in january : AAI in Croke Park

thirtyfoot

At worst it will give our top 3 athletes exposure to a greater audience. Running in front of that many people in Ireland will be a unique opportunity for Irish athletes. The captains are pumped for this with both Gillick and Hesh big GAA heads while O' Rourke is a Corkonian so they follow all sports and they all see this as a great chance to showcase their talents. They are fully in behind it and very excited.

It will also give our sport some much needed good exposure and its a good news story and positive. With events like this and also the success of the younger kids on the track it puts the good stuff in the spotlight.

I think its great idea and it will show the greater Irish sporting public how good our guys are. The teams will have more than these elite guys too as its 5 per provincial team so it will be a chance for other athletes to compete in front of 80,000 people!!! Thats a unique opportunity.

We all know athletics is dying and needs a revamp. Novel ideas are put forward like Bolt running the 150m in Manchester, pole valuting in shopping centres in Germany etc etc. This is another example and an attempt to try something different and get the sport exciting again. Who knows, this could be just the beginning of something and a way to reach new audiences.

I can see many benefits for our sport with this, much more than what the GAA will get out of it. In that sense, fair play to the GAA guys for going with this. I'd love to run in Croker!!!

Hard Worker

Personally, I'm against this.
Firstly, the GAA have no time for other sports and their ridiculous rule 42 ( not sure what number it is now ) should not be tolerated by our Sports Minister. Of course, they have no problem making a small exception for the millions of euro that football and rugby internationals bring to them.
Secondly, they receive a totally disproportionate amount of funding from the state. While we have a number of athletes who should, yet aren't being funded, the GAA ( or the GPA ) have no problem handing over 2000 euro of taxpayers money to the Roscommon reserve goalkeeper * with the pot belly, who only missed 7 training sessions out of the 30 this year.:mad:

* not an actual case, however, it's not too far off the mark.

Peckham

The Provincial Super Sprint Relay will see the athletes run in a shuttle style relay down the centre of the pitch.

On the grass? Is this not an injury waiting to happen with grass that has been cut up a bit by football boots?

Connacht team captain Paul Hession said “This is a fantastic opportunity to run in Croke Park and also to run in front of 80,000 people on home soil.”

Although according to a Fianna Fail Senator Mark Daly it isn't actually home soil!

thirtyfoot

Hard Worker wrote: »

Personally, I'm against this.
Firstly, the GAA have no time for other sports and their ridiculous rule 42 ( not sure what number it is now ) should not be tolerated by our Sports Minister. Of course, they have no problem making a small exception for the millions of euro that football and rugby internationals bring to them.
Secondly, they receive a totally disproportionate amount of funding from the state. While we have a number of athletes who should, yet aren't being funded, the GAA ( or the GPA ) have no problem handing over 2000 euro of taxpayers money to the Roscommon reserve goalkeeper * with the pot belly, who only missed 7 training sessions out of the 30 this year.:mad:

* not an actual case, however, it's not too far off the mark.

Is that not letting personal beliefs regarding the politics of sport get in the way of the progress of the sport (something we chastise the athletics dinosaurs of doing all the time). I could be as bold to say its small minded and petty but that would be unfair as I don't know your full reasonings for been against this.

Weigh up your opinion regarding the GAA politics or your envy of their excellent player welfare lobby groups with the excitement that athletes may have with competing in Croker and the positive exposure it will bring (let alone the avenues for future ventures it may open). Our sport (as in athletics) is dying and needs an injection. This is exciting. The athletes that know about it find it exciting. Bring it on. Leave the personal hatred of the GAA aside and lets see what happens. Should we deprive Hesh and Gillick of fulfilling boyhood dreams of running on Croker because it sits uncomfortably with a few. The athletes want it, but hey, what do they know as they are only the athletes.

I grew up down the country. I learned my athletics craft on the local GAA pitch. We did our circuits in the clubhouse. We had a long jump with runway at the side of the pitch. All for free. Co-operation between sports and we in our running club were the big winners.

Hard Worker

I would never deprive the athletes of a chance to profile themselves and get the buzz from such an event. I was just expressing my opinion.
Anyone who knows me will know why I have such a hatred of the GAA.
Again, I don't want to spoil anyones fun.

thirtyfoot

Hard Worker wrote: »

I was just expressing my opinion.

Any opinion that contradicts mine I regard as being small minded and petty, thats why I could never be on a county board;)

Your hatred of the GAA reminds me of my father, he hates the GAA but loves hurling.

Clum

I don't think it's enough on the GAA's behalf.

One of the main tasks of the Gaelic Athletic Association when it was established was to govern athletics, as well as the team sports.

For the more recent generations it's been all about the team sports, which is fair enough considering we had the BLE and AAI and various other bodies established since 1884, but early GAA history is loaded with athletics.

These celebrations are a great oportunity to show the public how athletics were brought to the people of Ireland by the GAA and a couple of relays isn't really enough to don the cap in memory of the early years of the association.

Stupid_Private

Tingle wrote: »

I think its great idea and it will show the greater Irish sporting public how good our guys are. The teams will have more than these elite guys too as its 5 per provincial team so it will be a chance for other athletes to compete in front of 80,000 people!!! Thats a unique opportunity.

Do you seriously think 80,000 people will watch and cheer this? The majority of the 80,000 in the stadium will be off at beer stands, burger stands or in line for the toilet when its going on. There's alway things at half time at games which no pays any attention to, I don't see this being any different.

I also wouldn't expect it to be broadcast. It'll probably get the usual 5 second clip that they show at half time of what ever was happening on the pitch while the pundits were doing analysis.

thirtyfoot

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Do you seriously think 80,000 people will watch and cheer this? The majority of the 80,000 in the stadium will be off at beer stands, burger stands or in line for the toilet when its going on. There's alway things at half time at games which no pays any attention to, I don't see this being any different.

I also wouldn't expect it to be broadcast. It'll probably get the usual 5 second clip that they show at half time of what ever was happening on the pitch while the pundits were doing analysis.

Does anyone see benefit in this bar me? Will anyone be excited to sit in the Hogan Stand and see Hesh scorch up the middle of Croker? Ok, may not be perfect but jaysus its different and somewhat innovative.

Clum

Tingle wrote: »

Does anyone see benefit in this bar me? Will anyone be excited to sit in the Hogan Stand and see Hesh scorch up the middle of Croker? Ok, may not be perfect but jaysus its different and somewhat innovative.

No.

It'd be like having a puc fada competition around the Curragh before the Derby. Wouldn't show case hurling, and the crowd would only be half interested.

DJS

I think that is a great opportunity for the athletes, and I wouldnt mind doing it myself!!

Its a good way to shake things up in athletics, I mean these guys are superstars in athletics but yet not that many GAA heads would even know who they are.

Did I read it right when it said that the top 5 in the sprints from each province will get selected or is it going to be made up of runners and Gaelic Stars

So just lets get this clear,
Leinters could have Gillick, Ste colvert, Hynsey, Grego just a few names
Ulster - Boyle, Jason Smyth, Dean Adams

Does there have to be a certain number of women on the team

thirtyfoot

DJS wrote: »

I think that is a great opportunity for the athletes, and I wouldnt mind doing it myself!!

Its a good way to shake things up in athletics, I mean these guys are superstars in athletics but yet not that many GAA heads would even know who they are.

Did I read it right when it said that the top 5 in the sprints from each province will get selected or is it going to be made up of runners and Gaelic Stars

So just lets get this clear,
Leinters could have Gillick, Ste colvert, Hynsey, Grego just a few names
Ulster - Boyle, Jason Smyth, Dean Adams

Does there have to be a certain number of women on the team

Now we're talking. Munster will have a decent batch too except may struggle with the boys while Hesh will have O' Cathain but could struggle with the girls. Not sure of the make up of teams but it will give some of those athletes you mentioned a great chance potentially to run in Croker.

blind_hurler

Tingle wrote: »

Does anyone see benefit in this bar me? Will anyone be excited to sit in the Hogan Stand and see Hesh scorch up the middle of Croker? Ok, may not be perfect but jaysus its different and somewhat innovative.

I'm with you, I think it's a great idea...

Why can't GAA and running go hand in hand?

I'm sure a lot of GAA and soccer players turn to running to keep fit and then go on to boost the running scene, help with races etc. which can only be good

GAA players have got little support for the effort they have put in over the years and now that the GPA exists they are starting to fight for their rights as their training becomes more and more professional in nature whats wrong with that.

True the GAA is big and full of bureaucracy but nothing is perfect. With the AAI they are trying something new and I for one say fair play.. maybe not all the 80,000 will watch but if you get half thats still 40,000 spectators

blind_hurler

DJS wrote: »

I think that is a great opportunity for the athletes, and I wouldnt mind doing it myself!!

Its a good way to shake things up in athletics, I mean these guys are superstars in athletics but yet not that many GAA heads would even know who they are.

Did I read it right when it said that the top 5 in the sprints from each province will get selected or is it going to be made up of runners and Gaelic Stars

So just lets get this clear,
Leinters could have Gillick, Ste colvert, Hynsey, Grego just a few names
Ulster - Boyle, Jason Smyth, Dean Adams

Does there have to be a certain number of women on the team

thought I read

"Each provincial team will be made up of top two male and female athletes and they will be joined in the spectacle by former GAA football stars."

thirtyfoot

Clum wrote: »

No.

It'd be like having a puc fada competition around the Curragh before the Derby. Wouldn't show case hurling, and the crowd would only be half interested.

I hate horse racing but love hurling so I'd probably enjoy that.

RoyMcC

We do need ideas and innovation. However the best thing about this venture is that they've made it an inter-provincial, which will get the crowd going a bit. Sadly I don't think the average punter will be wowed at all by the excellence on display - it's not easy to appreciate the difference between a 10.5 and an 11.5 sprinter.

Now if the fastest GAA guys/girls were to be involved then there would be some fascination in comparing them with Hesh, Derval etc.

But, as European Athletics & UK Athletics are, at least stuff is being tried even though it may not work.

Maybe it's up to this forum to come up with innovative ideas for Athletics Ireland

Running Bing

Surprised at the negativity on here tbh.

Whats not positive about athletics biggest stars showcasing their ability on a massive stage in a way that is accessible to somebody who doesnt know all that much about the sport? Surely it has to be a good thing?


Also I think GAA players are due a bit more respect than they get from a lot of people. They give serious commitment, have a huge passion for their sport and work immensely hard for little return.

Bottom line though its a nice bit of exposure for our top athletes and Id hate for the people not to recognise that just because of personal grievances they might have with the GAA.

aburke

Nice idea...
But it's nothing more that the jog around the pitch that Sonia or Gillick did after they won medals.

Nobody will be taking it seriously - not the athletes, not the GAA [former players!], not the crowd.

But at least its somthing new and different, and should be given a chance!
I'l looking forward to it - at least one Athenry man will compete in Croker this year!

Alan

Orizio

Running Bing wrote: »

Surprised at the negativity on here tbh.

Whats not positive about athletics biggest stars showcasing their ability on a massive stage in a way that is accessible to somebody who doesnt know all that much about the sport? Surely it has to be a good thing?


Also I think GAA players are due a bit more respect than they get from a lot of people. They give serious commitment, have a huge passion for their sport and work immensely hard for little return.

Bottom line though its a nice bit of exposure for our top athletes and Id hate for the people not to recognise that just because of personal grievances they might have with the GAA.

Unfortunately, many people are still living in the past, can't let their prejudices go and still view the GAA and all those involved in it as some kind of blood thirsty vampires out to brainwash the children of Ireland. ie boards is full with these Conor Cruise O'Brien types.

Anyway, it sounds like a good idea, even though I assume the likes of Gillick, O'Rourke will kick the GAA lad's asses big time.

Orizio

Hard Worker wrote: »

Personally, I'm against this.
Firstly, the GAA have no time for other sports and their ridiculous rule 42 ( not sure what number it is now ) should not be tolerated by our Sports Minister. Of course, they have no problem making a small exception for the millions of euro that football and rugby internationals bring to them.
Secondly, they receive a totally disproportionate amount of funding from the state. While we have a number of athletes who should, yet aren't being funded, the GAA ( or the GPA ) have no problem handing over 2000 euro of taxpayers money to the Roscommon reserve goalkeeper * with the pot belly, who only missed 7 training sessions out of the 30 this year.:mad:

* not an actual case, however, it's not too far off the mark.

While I think the smaller, less popular sports in Ireland should be given much more state support, singling out the GAA in this case is a nonsense when you consider the FAI gets more despite being the most incompetent sporting organisation in Ireland overlooking a completely abject LOI. At the very least the likes of GAA and IRFU are competently run, which one can' say about other sporting organisations that are given grants.

Also, have you a link to the Roscommon goalkeeper getting 2k, and you do realise that Rule 42 was changed years ago? Complaining about the GAA not having time for other sports is frankly bizarre, as if you seem to think the GAA should be active in promoting other sports. Do you also expect the IRFU to actively promote soccer in Ireland? :rolleyes:

Woddle

Orizio wrote: »

Unfortunately, many people are still living in the past, can't let their prejudices go and still view the GAA and all those involved in it as some kind of blood thirsty vampires out to brainwash the children of Ireland. ie boards is full with these Conor Cruise O'Brien types.

Anyway, it sounds like a good idea, even though I assume the likes of Gillick, O'Rourke will kick the GAA lad's ass big time.

A bit over the top, and if you were a regular to the ART forum you would actually see that it's quite well balanced, so maybe spend a little more time here before you put us in the Conor Cruise O Brien brigade

I think the idea shows that at least there trying but I don't know what its purpose is, I'm sure the athletes doing it will have a bit of crack though. However Roymcc makes a good point, what would you come up with...

Goes of to think of how to reinvent interest in Irish athletics
Example 1
Example 2

Orizio

In my defense, I said ie boards in general rather then this forum.

Start a thread in After Hours titled 'GAA' (no need to say more then that) and see what happens.

I'm not quite sure I see the point of it either, but its a good thing for both the athletes - who get a bit of exposure - and the GAA players, who get to test themselves up against Ireland's finest.

Woddle

double post

Woddle

Orizio wrote: »

the GAA players, who get to test themselves up against Ireland's finest.

Now theres an idea, Irelands version of sports/super stars, at least I think thats what that program was called on BBC

David Gillick
Tommy Walsh
Brian O Driscoll
Robbie Keane
Nicolas Roche

all competing in multi events

Orizio

Woddle wrote: »

Now theres an idea, Irelands version of sports/super stars, at least I think thats what that program was called on BBC

David Gillick
Tommy Walsh
Brian O Driscoll
Robbie Keane
Nicolas Roche

all competing in multi events

That would be excellent actually - my money would be on Nicolas Roche, anyone who will (probably) finish in the Top 30 in the Tour De France must have an astonishing work ethic and high threshold for pain.

meathcountysec

Tingle wrote: »

Any opinion that contradicts mine I regard as being small minded and petty, thats why I could never be on a county board;)

But that's the reason why I'm on a county board:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

limerickleader

If athletics in this country had remained under the GAA umbrella from 1884, we'd be in a far better position than we are now in terms of levels of participation, organisation and exposure.

hawkwing

Woddle wrote: »

Now theres an idea, Irelands version of sports/super stars, at least I think thats what that program was called on BBC

David Gillick
Tommy Walsh
Brian O Driscoll
Robbie Keane
Nicolas Roche

all competing in multi events

My money would be on Walsh as he would have the others all injured before it even began with a few digs..

Clum

Tingle wrote: »

I hate horse racing but love hurling so I'd probably enjoy that.

Me too, but my point is that somebody like yourself wouldn't be at the horses in the first place. The crowd in Croke Park wont care about some retired footballer not being able to run as fast as a female sprinter.

I'm a big fan of the GAA, go to games regularly (up until late June every year when the county normally gets knocked out of all competitions) and think gaa football is a great sport. But putting on this relay is a novelty and no more so than that. It's not going to tell the masses anything about athletics. There'll be no times or records or previous performances to measure the relays against.

Maybe put the Hess in a flat out 60m against some current in-form gaa all-stars, or send Eileen O'Keefe out with a hammer and see if she can throw further than a puc out, or see if Deirdre Ryan can jump over the height of a cross bar. These may put athletics in to some sort of perspective in the gaa world, but an old fun run relay up and down the pitch is a load of crap.

thirtyfoot

Woddle wrote: »

Now theres an idea, Irelands version of sports/super stars, at least I think thats what that program was called on BBC

David Gillick
Tommy Walsh
Brian O Driscoll
Robbie Keane
Nicolas Roche

all competing in multi events

Using the following BBC Superstars events, out of that lot I'd imagine there be only one winner - Gillick with O' Driscoll pushing him.

100m: Put your head down and run as fast as you can.
No contest, our boy!

800m: Put your head down and run almost as fast as you can for 600m and then hang on for dear life until the finish.
No contest, our boy!

50m swim: Thrash around like a mad thing and hope to stay afloat - diving is encouraged, but tumble turns are banned.
If he has any decemt stroke, our boy!

Gym test - squats: Always a source of controversy. Your feet must be dragged from one line to another as many times as possible in a minute. Sliding in socks is allowed, but those who value their feet are advised to wear shoes.
Think Keane might take this one but Gillick would be top 3

Gym test - dips: Another bone of contention. The aim is to lift yourself up using two parallel bars until your elbows lock out, then to dip down before locking out again. You have one minute of sheer pain to do as many repetitions as you can.
Drico, then Gillick

Kayak: Duel in pairs along a 120m course. The two fastest paddlers win the dubious right to do it all again, this time head-to-head in the final.
Who knows

Mountain bikes: A one-off race up a very steep 600m slope.
Roche, then Gillick

Football (men only): Contenders must dribble from the start-line before trying to slot past keeper Dave Beasant. You have three cracks at goal and, in the likely event of a tie, positions are settled on time.
Robbie, Drico and then who knows

Golf (men's heats only): The aim is to chip five balls as close to the pin as possible. For every ball that comes to rest inside the target zone, you score points, graded according to how close to the hole you finish. Every shot counts and total points decides the winner.
Robbie/ Tommy Walsh then who knows

Archery (men's final and women): Like golf with arrows. Five attempts to hit the bullseye and the highest total score wins.
Probably eye/hand co-ordination of Tommy Walsh and then a lottery

Tennis (men's final and women): A real thigh burner. You must touch your bum on a box and then get up and hit a volley deep into the singles court without hitting out. Balls come at regular intervals over a minute and the top scorer will hit predominantly three-pointers (deep shots), as opposed to two-pointers (mid-court) or one-pointers (drop volleys).
Tommy Walsh but Gillick would be savage if he can hit a ball at all

All in all, Gillick would be the man, no contest.

cfitz

Tingle wrote: »

800m: Put your head down and run almost as fast as you can for 600m and then hang on for dear life until the finish.
No contest, our boy!

That's a bit Jerry Kiernan-esque. Nicholas Roche would be a contender for this one.

RealistSpy

It would be interesting to watch though. How is the relay going to work anyway?

thirtyfoot

Clum wrote: »

Maybe put the Hess in a flat out 60m against some current in-form gaa all-stars, or send Eileen O'Keefe out with a hammer and see if she can throw further than a puc out, or see if Deirdre Ryan can jump over the height of a cross bar. These may put athletics in to some sort of perspective in the gaa world, but an old fun run relay up and down the pitch is a load of crap.

Ok, I will breakdown each of your suggestions and say why they won't work.

1 - GAA won't want one of their top players against one of the fastest men in the world so a head to head against GAA player is a no go. Understandable from GAA perspective. This is not to only show how great athletes are, its also to help GAA celebrate their 125 and athletics was a big part of that for much of the 125 years.
2- Do you think Croker head groundsman will allow a hammer to be tossed in Croker at half-time in a game. Pitch could be really damaged and a loose one from Eilo could kill someone. Nice idea but impractical.
3 - Deidre Ryan highjumping the cross bar. Are you mad. 10 mins to take down nets, get Deirdre ready, attempting to jump off grass over an unmovable crossbar. Then get nets up again for restart of game. Nice idea but impractical.

See, all lovely ideas but would be shot down as impractical. We can all have lovely ideas and we always have good ones here but the real world is different guys. Committees, sign-offs, logistics etc all to be taken into account. Bear in mind this could be the start of something. There is an appetite within Croke Park to stage something more tangible in years to come. Questions of 'how much would it cost to get athlete X to Croker' are being asked. What do we do, say ah lads it'll never happen and we don't want to be associated with you as our sport is not getting a good representation or do we go with these guys who are lets face it probably some of the best 'can do' merchants when it comes to sport in Europe or the World.

Ok, you have been given 10 mins to showcase your sport in front of 80,000 40,000 20,000. Gimme you ideas as the above won't work?

Not so easy. This is the thing. You all have great ideas and can sit and slag and whinge and moan but there are many moving parts here with lots of dots to be joined together. The fact that this is going ahead at all is a mini-achievement. Do you think they just rolled up last week and said they had this idea and any chance it can work. There have been many suggestions and this is the most practical to all parties - AAI, Croke Park, GAA, 125 Committee. As I said, its a mini-achievement that its happening at all. It may be a flop and a disaster but at least they are trying and getting off their asses and giving it a go.

So, suggestions for 10 mins in Croker lets go......(and getting Martin Fagan to do a few repeats up and down the pitch in his flats and tee shirt is a non starter;))

thirtyfoot

cfitz wrote: »

That's a bit Jerry Kiernan-esque. Nicholas Roche would be a contender for this one.

True, we all know should he move up but none of those boys would get near Gillick in an 800 (its like the Bekele vs Wariner over 800 debate) yet Roche isn't even a Bekele while Gillick would be close enough to being a Wariner.

Stupid_Private

What I think is wrong is the whole half time thing - not the relay idea. Generally the sort of crap that gets put on at half time at games would be two U10 teams playing what ever sport is on show - sometimes the pitch can be split up so there's multiple games going on. No one watches, no one cares, but its great for the little kids that they are playing in Croke Park or Landsdowne road . Just because these kids are being replaced with adults running do you think anyone will care any more than if it was a few ten year olds running around the pitch? Personally I don't.

thirtyfoot

Stupid_Private wrote: »

What I think is wrong is the whole half time thing - not the relay idea. Generally the sort of crap that gets put on at half time at games would be two U10 teams playing what ever sport is on show - sometimes the pitch can be split up so there's multiple games going on. No one watches, no one cares, but its great for the little kids that they are playing in Croke Park or Landsdowne road . Just because these kids are being replaced with adults running do you think anyone will care any more than if it was a few ten year olds running around the pitch? Personally I don't.

So should they have said 'no thanks' to the GAA and jeopardized the potential of bringing world class athletics to Croke Park and Dublin in the future? If you had to make the call from the AAI perspective what would you have told the GAA when they invited you to have 10 mins in Croker?

RealistSpy

What would world class athlete want in croke park? Does it have a 400m running track?

Stupid_Private

Tingle wrote: »

So should they have said 'no thanks' to the GAA and jeopardized the potential of bringing world class athletics to Croke Park and Dublin in the future? If you had to make the call from the AAI perspective what would you have told the GAA when they invited you to have 10 mins in Croker?

They've been invited, they go and be nice. I just don't feel it's a big deal and I'm surprised that there's 3 pages about it being a great or crap idea.

thirtyfoot

RealistSpy wrote: »

What would world class athlete want in croke park? Does it have a 400m running track?

There are ways and means my friend, Usain Bolt ran down a Manchester street!!!!

Clum

Tingle wrote: »

Ok, I will breakdown each of your suggestions and say why they won't work.

1 - GAA won't want one of their top players against one of the fastest men in the world so a head to head against GAA player is a no go. Understandable from GAA perspective. This is not to only show how great athletes are, its also to help GAA celebrate their 125 and athletics was a big part of that for much of the 125 years.
2- Do you think Croker head groundsman will allow a hammer to be tossed in Croker at half-time in a game. Pitch could be really damaged and a loose one from Eilo could kill someone. Nice idea but impractical.
3 - Deidre Ryan highjumping the cross bar. Are you mad. 10 mins to take down nets, get Deirdre ready, attempting to jump off grass over an unmovable crossbar. Then get nets up again for restart of game. Nice idea but impractical.

I didn't say Ryan would jump over a cross bar, she'd jump the height of one. Over a normal high jump set up.

It's no surprise that the GAA will only put retired players up against sprinters, but a proper show of athletics should involve today's best gaa players sprinting against athletics' best.

I was also gonna say the throwing a hammer in Croker wouldn't work, but its this type of thing that would show what our athletes are doing.

If they want to showcase athletics to a non-athletics fanbase they need to incorporate the sport in to the foreign territory with like for like. The relay event is about as useful as a parent's race at some parish sports day.

Flying Abruptly

Will this be shown on the tele at half-time rather than the usual commentary?

thirtyfoot

Stupid_Private wrote: »

They've been invited, they go and be nice. I just don't feel it's a big deal and I'm surprised that there's 3 pages about it being a great or crap idea.

Supposed depends where your gra is. I love the sprints so this appeals to me as it does to the others who are into the sprints that I know. I can understand how this wouldn't appeal to the Ron Hill brigade but maybe this is not geared towards you.

I think the number of pages on A/R/T wouldn't be a good indication of whats a big deal in the athletics world - Garmin Forerunner thread has more posts than the Euro Youth Olympics, which is a bigger deal??

I'm posting on this and vehemently supporting it as I believe its innovative, shows how collaboration between sporting bodies can work (at a time when our own organisation is on its knees organisationallly) and also because I am frustrated with the negativity I've seen about it (I must say only here).

Its ok when you are only concerned with the 6 inches in front of your face, but sometime the bigger picture needs to be looked at.

This place depresses me some times (and a lot recently)!!!

thirtyfoot

Clum wrote: »

I didn't say Ryan would jump over a cross bar, she'd jump the height of one. Over a normal high jump set up.

It's no surprise that the GAA will only put retired players up against sprinters, but a proper show of athletics should involve today's best gaa players sprinting against athletics' best.

I was also gonna say the throwing a hammer in Croker wouldn't work, but its this type of thing that would show what our athletes are doing.

If they want to showcase athletics to a non-athletics fanbase they need to incorporate the sport in to the foreign territory with like for like. The relay event is about as useful as a parent's race at some parish sports day.

Ok, so 10 mins Croker, hit me with your ideas?

thirtyfoot

Flying Abruptly wrote: »

Will this be shown on the tele at half-time rather than the usual commentary?

Doubt it.

Clum

Tingle wrote: »

Ok, so 10 mins Croker, hit me with your ideas?

If they really want a relay I'd say do a 4 x 100m on an oval track, not up and down the pitch, with AAI vs GAA. Could be male sprinters (Hession, Gillick, etc) vs fastest from footballers and hurlers and female sprinters (O'Rourke, Cuddihy, etc) vs ladies footballers or camogie players.

But the gaa would have to put forward their fastest sprinters to make a competition of it. AAI would win hands down but it'd show the difference in performance and abilities and, whilst being entertaining, it'd put a stop to a lot of the 'why don't we ever win gold in the olympics, our athletes don't train hard enough, just look at how hard the gaa players train' comments from joe public.

Maybe throw in an 800m race too. To make this almost fair put in some retired AAI team of household names against an all-star gaa team. Sonia, Catherina McKiernan and Eamon Coughlan vs the best of the inter county players.

What they have lined up for us is a typical inter-provincial set up (which I don't see the point to considering it doesn't even work with football or hurling) and there's no relevance to everyday athletics events.

helpisontheway

Tingle wrote: »

Ok, so 10 mins Croker, hit me with your ideas?

I like the relay idea in essence but would have rather if it was done with 32 Counties rather than 4 provinces.Each team to be made up of 2male/2female athletes,1 County footballer and 1 County hurler!
Example-
Cork-Derval o Rourke/Edmond O Halloran/Joan Healy/Brian Murphy/Sean Og O Halpin/Graham Canty
Kerry-Eilish Fitzpatrick/Ger O Donoghue/Laura Crowe/Patrick Phelan/Tadgh Kennelly/Paul Galvin[We will use him as our hurler ha ha]
Dublin-Claire Bergin/David Gillick/Louise Kiernan/Stephen Colvert/Ciaran Whelan/Dotsy O Callaghan

cfitz

Tingle wrote: »

True, we all know should he move up but none of those boys would get near Gillick in an 800 (its like the Bekele vs Wariner over 800 debate) yet Roche isn't even a Bekele while Gillick would be close enough to being a Wariner.

I think Bekele would destroy Wariner over 800m.

And just to keep things on topic - I like the high jump idea, it's far more relevant than a relay - set up a high jump in the middle of the field the exact same height as the crossbar. Get our best male and female high jumper in the country along with our best male and female from each of the counties playing on the day. Give them all 4 attempts just at that one height.

thirtyfoot

Clum wrote: »

If they really want a relay I'd say do a 4 x 100m on an oval track, not up and down the pitch, with AAI vs GAA. Could be male sprinters (Hession, Gillick, etc) vs fastest from footballers and hurlers and female sprinters (O'Rourke, Cuddihy, etc) vs ladies footballers or camogie players.

But the gaa would have to put forward their fastest sprinters to make a competition of it. AAI would win hands down but it'd show the difference in performance and abilities and, whilst being entertaining, it'd put a stop to a lot of the 'why don't we ever win gold in the olympics, our athletes don't train hard enough, just look at how hard the gaa players train' comments from joe public.

Maybe throw in an 800m race too. To make this almost fair put in some retired AAI team of household names against an all-star gaa team. Sonia, Catherina McKiernan and Eamon Coughlan vs the best of the inter county players.

What they have lined up for us is a typical inter-provincial set up (which I don't see the point to considering it doesn't even work with football or hurling) and there's no relevance to everyday athletics events.

As I said GAA won't want their athletes up against ours, won't work. Its not to show we are better than them.

Former track greats won't want to race. Our memory of them is being glorious on a track and not aged, looking old and struggling around a track in front of 80,000 40,000 20,000. Eamonn Coghlan has confirmed this sentiment when approached about something like this in the past and I can understand where he is coming from.

Will there be enough time to setup an oval track including changeover zones etc in 10 mins? Could be tight turnaround.

So, those ideas won't work. See, not so easy my friend. Any other ideas?

thirtyfoot

helpisontheway wrote: »

I like the relay idea in essence but would have rather if it was done with 32 Counties rather than 4 provinces.Each team to be made up of 2male/2female athletes,1 County footballer and 1 County hurler!
Example-
Cork-Derval o Rourke/Edmond O Halloran/Joan Healy/Brian Murphy/Sean Og O Halpin/Graham Canty
Kerry-Eilish Fitzpatrick/Ger O Donoghue/Laura Crowe/Patrick Phelan/Tadgh Kennelly/Paul Galvin[We will use him as our hurler ha ha]
Dublin-Claire Bergin/David Gillick/Louise Kiernan/Stephen Colvert/Ciaran Whelan/Dotsy O Callaghan

I like it. Maybe next year could be an option, would give more athletes a chance to race too. Cork vs Kerry would be interesting with Galvin vs Canty on the last leg, digs would surely be thrown.