Ian Cusack
IT’S not surprising to hear about the growth of Gaelic football outside Ireland. The sport is pre-packed and ready for export. It’s not overcomplicated by excessive rules and bares resemblance to internationally renowned sports like soccer and Aussie Rules. You won’t become Colm Cooper overnight, but after a few training sessions the basics can be picked up.
The same cannot be said for hurling. The speed of the game coupled with the artistry of commanding a hurley, demands commitment and plenty of practice. Baring that in mind, it’s all the more impressive that Den Haag, Brussels, Luxemburg, Budapest and host city Zürich will all be fielding hurling teams this weekend in the third round of the European Hurling Championship, with many also competing in the Camogie Championship.
Den Haag sit in pole position coming into the weekend’s hurling games with 50 points to their name, however Zürich are just four points behind and will enjoy the luxury of home advantage. The winner of each round receives 25 points, the runner-up gets 20 points, third place 16 and fourth place earns 13. Three additional points are awarded to a team that starts a minimum of two non-Irish players in every game.
Each round of the championship is run in a blitz style culminating in a third/fourth place playoff and grand final. Matches last thirty and are played on an 11-aside basis in hurling, and seven aside with ten minutes a half for camogie.
That non-Irish have taken to the sport is enough to warm the heart of any hurling lover. But the fact that the Zürich Inneoin GAA club was actually founded by a group of Swiss lads who had spent time in Ireland is the stuff of romance novels. Karl Cogan, a member of the Zürich outfit, shed some light on the multi-national nature of the club.
“We are a small club with about 16 to 20 active hurlers. About ten of us are Irish, and of that number four or five are relative newcomers. The rest of the lads are a mix of Swiss, English, German and one from Kosovo. Our camogie team is made up of two Irish girls and eight Swiss girls.
“Zürich Inneoin was actually formed by a group of Swiss guys, who returned to Zürich after working in Dublin in the early 2000s with a curiosity for the game. One of the founding members Timo Powling is still heavily involved, he is the club chairman and will line up in goal on Saturday.
“He’s a very good player and never looks out-of-place among Irish hurlers. Since the beginning there has been a constant stream of Swiss guys playing for the club, with distinction as well as other ex-pats such as Germans, English and Australians.
“At our tournament on Saturday we will have four or five non-Irish guys on our panel with at least two in the starting 11. Some people come down to training give it a go and decide it’s not for them, others stick at it and after a while pick up the skills and blend in. We do notice that guys that have played tennis or floorball [unihockey] tend to have very good hand-eye co-ordinations and striking skills.
“I really think our camogie team is amazing. They are mostly Swiss girls who took up playing camogie when they were in college and now they are competing against girls who played at a very high standard back home and they are getting closer to a tournament win — hopefully this Saturday they can finally do it.”
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/a7iBeBOAF1g/post.aspx
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