Tag...

.....was a game we used to play when we were little kids. If I remember correctly, one kid used to be 'it' and then be tasked with hunting down one of the posse, tagging him and punctuating the action with 'you're it'! Such a simple game but such an enjoyable way of spending 'small break' or lunchtimes when we were in school. It is this simplicity that probably made it so attractive to the Rugby fraternity. They have turned it into a craze as tag rugby has been branded and promoted all over the country (Ireland) and has even broken into the Belgian sporting scene. It is pure recreational sport and allows men and women mix socially on the sporting pitch. It opens the game's doors to people who do not want the cut and thrust of competitive sport and who don't want to find themselves buried under a mountain of bodies on a mucky field or go home battered, bloodied and bruised. Being a summer sport, tag can be played on good pitches and generally in good weather. A few beers afterwards can top off a joly good night for all.

The recreational side to sport is evident in other codes also. Soccer has 5-a-side, night owls and leagues that are populated by gentlemen who should place a sign saying 'recreational player' atop their oversized belly. Hockey has vets teams and a host of other 'sports' like roller blading (!) and frisbee (!) are popping up and capturing the attention of the healthy living starved public.
It highlights an issue which the GAA is struggling to tackle. If you were to look up the phrase recreational sport in the G.A.A. dictionary it would probably be accompanied by a one word definition; weak. The GAA doesn't do recreational sport, competition is just too important. The intensity and personal nature of local rivalries which are played out in schools and clubs negate any possibility of creating a recreational side to our games. We couldn't survive without them. From the age of 10 or 11 when you attend GAA camps, you are acutely aware via the Sciath na Scoil competitions and local games who your friends are and who your enemies are. I remember Barry Gray, who I played with all the way up, had Mars bars thrown at him in one such camp by Valley Rovers punks when he was U-12. Such treatment would put the fire in any man's (boy in this case) belly and the satisfaction of extracting revenge could not be matched by anything other than a Championship win, nor could the hard January slog and months of training that build up to it.

Dublin is probably the one exception. There, we can say that their Junior and Intermediate grades are practically recreational!! They are not defined by hatred or bitterness. Fellas play just because they want to play and there are leagues that can accommodate virtually every standard imaginable. Not in traditional (!) GAA counties like Cork, Kerry, Galway etc though. The belts Conor Counihan gave Michael O'Sullivan out in Brinny in 2001 were as sincere as any he may have given Colm O'Rourke in Croke Park 13/14 years earlier, and it was only a challenge game!

The GAA thrives on its competitive nature. The intensity of it means we lose players who prefer the recreational option. They will often land into a Rugby or Soccer club afterwards with a sob story of ill-treatment and see out their sporting days there. Rarely do you see people coming in the other direction. Mainly because you need to be a certain breed to play GAA and without a penchant for what is described above you will drift. If it’s a drinking club you are after, you have a lot of grief and abuse to take before you earn your pint. Many don't want that.

It is an issue though, as we compete with other codes to attract new players. Remember, those new players will go on and have kids and what they do as adults will influence those kids. I've been pondering a recreational spin-off to hurling and football but it’s a major struggle. Indoor hurling could be one option but players would find it too restrictive. The GAA needs to find a place in its organisation for the man who just wants to play for the craic. We should not ignore these people. Without them, we will see our numbers drop going forward. It’s not going to be easy though.

For rugby, it was an easy adaptation. The simplicity of the game allows for it. The positions are more easily defined. Everyone just stands facing the goal they attack with the opposition looking back at them. Everyone moves forward together, but behind the ball carrier. Objective is to break the opposition line and get over the end line. A couple of jinks or bursts of speed may 'light' up the place from time to time but other than that it’s a case of run towards the goal until someone de-tags you and then offload the ball. Rugby can be broken down this simply and still carry itself off as a sport.

To do the same with hurling would be impossible. The very thing that makes it such a great game is the skill level but the complexity of the skills is what makes it so difficult for players to take it up. You would have to remove the skills to make it playable but you would then barely be left with something that resembles hurling. Maybe something could be done with Gaelic Football but it’s still hard to see. For now, recreational sport will remain in the possession of other organisations and to some extent in less personal GAA counties like Dublin. From a GAA point of view, we should focus on keeping retiring players in the game; maybe by having 9 or 11-a-side vets leagues, played on U-12 sized pitches. Putting your thinking caps on gents.