This years Scór na nÓg will take part on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th March in Allenwood GAA hall.
In a change from previous years, the Quiz will be run as a separate event on Thursday 23rd March, starting at 8pm.
All other competitions (Solo Singing, Ballad Group, Instrumental Group, Recitation, Novelty Act, Céilí Dancing and Set Dancing) will be run on Friday 24th March, starting at 7:30pm.
Scór na nÓg is open to all club members who are U17 for 2023.
What is Scór?
When people think of the GAA, they think of hurling, camogie, football….and maybe handball. But it’s easy to forget that a huge part of the GAA’s remit is to promote “Irish Culture and the Irish language”. Scór is a competition and is the main way in which we, the GAA, give an outlet for our members to take part in Irish pastimes such as storytelling, dancing, music playing, singing, etc.
Why should we take part?
Not everyone can be a star footballer, hurler or camóg. But almost everyone has some party-piece up their sleeve….whether that’s singing a song, telling a good yarn, dancing a set, a bit of acting or being a quiz boffin.
Scór is a great way to include EVERYONE in your club, by giving them an opportunity to represent it on the county, provincial and All Ireland stage. In addition, it gives an outlet to members of ALL AGES to do so.
This is particularly true for the Scór na nÓg competition. This is for U17s only, but apart from that is the exact same as Scór Sinsir (Senior Scór). It’s wonderful to see kids get up and perform in front of a live audience. The confidence and experience it gives them is brilliant, and I’d highly recommend it to any parent/club to give a gentle push to their kids to take part.
This year, the Leinster Final will be in the Wexford Opera House. The experience of being in a professional theatre, with green rooms, professional personal mics, etc, is something that will stay with the competitors forever.
What are the competitions, and how many are there?
There are eight events/disciplines in Scór that cover various aspects of Irish culture: Figure/Céilí Dancing, Solo Singing, Ballad Group, Recitation/Scéalaíocht, Léiriú/Novelty Act, Instrumental Music, Set Dancing and Table Quiz. The competition is divided into two age levels, Scór na nÓg, for young people under 17 and Scór Sinsir, for those over 17. If you have a club which is particularly strong or active in Scór, you may be able to run off an internal club competition to see what acts will go forward to represent your club. In Kildare, each club is invited to submit acts in each of the 8 events, and these acts compete in the county final. Winners go through to represent Kildare in the Leinster semi-final, and then, if successful the Leinster final. Winners in the Leinster final then represent club, county, and province in the All-Ireland finals. The format is the same through each of these rounds (the one exception is the Table Quiz, where winners go straight through to the All-Ireland final).
Who do I contact if I want to take part?
Each GAA club has an “Irish and Culture Officer”, whose job it is to promote Scór (and Irish) within the club. This person is usually the one who organises teams, mentors, etc., and often “encourages” people to shake off the nerves and take to the stage.
Clubs wishing to enter in teams should contact Rita Doyle (County Scór Secretary) using the entry form sent to your club secretary.
Where can I find out more?
You can find out a bit more about Scór on the GAA website (e.g. current rule book): https://www.gaa.ie/the-gaa/cultur-agus-gaeilge/scor We also have the latest Kildare Scór news on the Kildare GAA website: http://kildaregaa.ie/bord-na-nog-results/
