Cooper Helmets

puddie77

We bought our 14year whos a very keen hurler a cooper helmet only 2 months ago at a cost of 120€ we were informed by his club yesterday that these make of helmet will no longer be excepted by the gaa at any age group from senior all the way down.Any else hear this or is he getting his wires crossed i wonder?

pajoguy

Yeah its true. Apparently only 3 types covered under insurance. Mycro, Azurri and another but Cooper supposed to be bringing someth out in th near future to comply with I.S. someth or other.

rebel girl 15

I don't think that its really fair tbh, the Coopers are safety certified to European safety standards for the junior helmets, the GAA want them certified to IS 355 standards

http://cooper.ie/index.php?main_page=more_news&news_id=4&zenid=1256c25dd5871fabdb4373ae695cedfd

http://cooper.ie/files/3201%20iss%201.pdf is the safety statement

Nozebleed

thats the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard. i suggest you make a stencil saying azzuri or mycro and stick it over the cooper logo. spray the helmet if need be.

Gingy

That is pretty ridiculous alright. I can never see it being enforced at adult level, it was bad enough for some lads who had to get a helmet for the new year, without going and telling them that their helmet isn't certified as an official GAA helmet!

sgthighway

If you get a head injury while playing hurling and you are not wearing an approved helmet; you will have problems making any sort of insurance claim. Coopers really let them selves down on this one. They were always the best choice IMO.

ShamoBuc

The problem is alot of players have 'cut' the middle row out of the face guard. It they were to get injured - technically - they are not insured.

rebel girl 15

ShamoBuck wrote: »

The problem is alot of players have 'cut' the middle row out of the face guard. It they were to get injured - technically - they are not insured.

Cork players were told a few weeks ago that these helmets will not be allowed by refs in future! Martin Coleman had one with bars cut out, and was told that

Peace

Is there a modified face guard on some of the helmets? In the intercounty matches i see fellas with faceguards where the bars don't seem to interfere with their vision at all.

premierstone

Obviously the refs arent enforcing this as of yet, just from parnel park on Sunday I noticed that Noel McGrath was wearing a cooper helmet and the Dublin keeper had more than one of the wires cut out of the guard.

ShamoBuc

Peace wrote: »

Is there a modified face guard on some of the helmets? In the intercounty matches i see fellas with faceguards where the bars don't seem to interfere with their vision at all.

I do not think that there is an 'allowed' or 'manufactured' modified one. Any modification is done by the player themselves - probably with a hack saw or something, it's what I did years ago with mine. The GAA will eventually have to start checking the helmet ( manufacturer ) and faceguard ( for modification) befrore throw in. Until they do, players will feel they can get away with it. I do not think it will be long before Refs are given yet another job to do!!

kildareman09

i tink your allowed wear cooper if your over minor level lads

rexel1

Cooper helmets are not officially recognised by the gaa so therefore you will not be insured if you wear one.

The link below shows only Mycro, Marc and Azzurri are approved.

I dont know how cooper can still be selling these helmets knowing they are not covered under the gaa insurance scheme

http://www.gaa.ie/page/merchandise.html

rebel girl 15

rexel1 wrote: »

Cooper helmets are not officially recognised by the gaa so therefore you will not be insured if you wear one.

The link below shows only Mycro, Marc and Azzurri are approved.

I dont know how cooper can still be selling these helmets knowing they are not covered under the gaa insurance scheme

http://www.gaa.ie/page/merchandise.html

Saw this on the cooper website

Due to some misleading reports in the media recently we feel the need to make our customers aware the safety certificate we hold is a European Cert, a legitimate standard and cannot under law be ignored by any sporting body.

http://cooper.ie/index.php?main_page=more_news&news_id=4&zenid=1eb0ec85d9839a48213b72aeab2868e3

Imposter

Would a certified ice-hockey helmet and faceguard be allowed? (Mine is certified to ISO 10256 (which is just for ice-hockey but the helmet far better quality than anything i've seen worn in hurling! Also has a part of the faceguard whixh is plexiglass allowing for far better vision than with a unmodified hurling helmet)

Also regarding insurance - if there is no GAA insurance (for example outside Ireland - in europe at least it is so) can it be compulsory that helmets are worn? and then is it restricted to the limited number of GAA approved helmets?

rebel girl 15

Imposter wrote: »

Would a certified ice-hockey helmet and faceguard be allowed? (Mine is certified to ISO 10256 (which is just for ice-hockey but the helmet far better quality than anything i've seen worn in hurling! Also has a part of the faceguard whixh is plexiglass allowing for far better vision than with a unmodified hurling helmet)

Also regarding insurance - if there is no GAA insurance (for example outside Ireland - in europe at least it is so) can it be compulsory that helmets are worn? and then is it restricted to the limited number of GAA approved helmets?

I think it is part of the playing rules, rather than to do with insurance, its in the guide part 2 saying helmets must be worn, changing it from under 21 http://www.gaa.ie/page/official_guides.html - so you would still have to wear it.

rebel girl 15

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthcleas Gael Christy Cooney has clarified that referees will not be asked to police the rules regarding the wearing of helmets.

The GAA introduced new regulations at the start of the year which prohibit a player from entering the field of play without a helmet and full face guard.

Mr Cooney says that it is up to individual players, clubs and county boards to ensure that the helmets worn are IS355 approved and have met stringent safety standards.

“It’s not the referee’s responsibility,” Mr Cooney said.

“It’s the responsibility of the individual player and the club and the county board to make sure that players are wearing the helmets that are specified.

“In the event of they having a serious accident, and they are not wearing a helmet that is specified, they won’t be covered by insurance and it’s on everybody’s interest.

“Not only are we encouraging are we encouraging them to wear the proper specification, but it is important for them, for their own health and safety, to wear the specification that is required.”

Mr Cooney also encouraged players not to tamper with helmets by removing face guard bars to improve their sight lines.

“They just must wear the helmet as specified for their own safety,” he added.

“That’s very important and I would encourage them to get a bit of common sense and do what’s right.

“I don’t believe that once they get used to wearing them, for the players that hadn’t been wearing them, they won’t have any difficulties.

“We wouldn’t have made it compulsory unless we felt it was the right thing to do in the interest of the health and safety of all our players.”

MayoForSam

Article in today's Indo which says that referee's may be asked to police the enforcement of the helmet rule: http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/refs-may-police-helmets-amid-bending-of-rule-2085208.html

The photo in the article is of a Cooper helmet which does NOT have the IS355 certification :rolleyes:. A helmet must have passed certification tests and be permanently stamped with the IS355 mark to be a valid head protector i.e. helmet plus the faceguard. DIY mods are a no-no.

rexel1

Interesting statement that on the cooper website.

BUT WHY are they not approved by the GAA???

Why dont they or the GAA confirm what the issue is if they meet the standard.

Its fine saying they meet the standard but if they are not recognised by the GAA/insurance company it is huge mess. Not too many people these days can afford to take the legal route for an insurance claim.

At the end of the day the GAA is the governing body and what they say goes i reckon.

So its Azzurri, Marc or Mycro for me to be on the safe side

SallinsMan

Is it true that older helmets (have my pride and joy since I was 11) are going to be outlawed as they might not meet standards. I haven't ever tampered with my and while it looks a bit dodge and a bit old its saved me on more than one occasion. Would hate to shovel out €50 / 60 on a new one.

Incidentally anyone wanted to play hurling this year in Kildare is more than welcome to give us a shout in Sallins. Just drop me a line at salinshurling@gmail.com

yellowfish

I see this is an old thread, but I have just been informed by my clubs insurance officer that she has been told that no helmet without the CE mark is covered by the GAA insurance- This means that my 9 year old has been playing without insurance as his cooper helmet has no such mark- The Cooper website says the helmet does carry the mark, but I can not see it- The GAA website says cooper are approved.
This from the site
............... It is recommended that players should only use Hurling Helmets that are IS 355 approved. This is the only standard recognised by the Association.

O'Neills
Aspis (Smyths Toys)
Azzurri
Cooper Helmets
Marc Helmets
Mycro Helmets
Atak Sports
..........................................
Does anyone know any more about this? If the helmet is not covered I will be more annoyed that my child and others are uninsured than the cost of the helmet- plenty of players have these helmets.