Integration can't come quick enough for dual players

ANNA GARDINER

There is much talk at the moment about the process of integrating the GAA, LGFA and Camogie associations and for Meath’s female dual players, integration cannot come soon enough.

There were several Navan O’Mahonys players involved in the camogie matches on Saturday, who then played a Junior B football semi-final on Sunday. Likewise, Kilmessan played their camogie semi-final on the Saturday and Dunsany had their Junior B football semi-final on the Sunday.

Donaghmore/Ashbourne are another club who played a camogie and ladies football semi-final on the one the weekend. Walterstown junior footballers and Navan O’Mahonys Senior B camogie team both have finals this Sunday. As a player on both panels, which do you choose?

Dunderry are in a Junior football final Friday night and an Intermediate camogie semi-final on Saturday.

We could go on.

Short turnarounds are the norm for ladies dual players and many would have played three matches in a week at the height of this year’s championships.

Fixture clashes with football semi-finals saw the round four of the camogie championship thrown all over the place. Most games were then played midweek and some of these postponed games were played less than a week before the semi-finals took place.

The delays in announcing fixtures are a nightmare for those with weekend jobs or who are living away from home, while the short recovery periods increases the risk of injury.

Meath is not an outlier when it comes to a disregard for the demands on ladies dual players.

For example, Westport ladies had a junior football match one morning recently and had to hop straight in the car to play a camogie match in Galway the same day, and there are instances like this up and down the country.

Without a doubt, greater communication is needed between the LGFA and camogie associations when it comes to the organisation of club fixtures.