December 13th, 2017

The GAA is delighted to announce details of the first ever GAA Player Conference. The event which will take place in Croke Park on Saturday, February 17th, 2018 is open to all adult players of Gaelic Games (Football, Hurling, Camogie, Ladies Football, Handball and Rounders). The event is themed Prepare, Perform and Recover and is designed to engage educate, support and inform adult club players on player welfare topics.

In relation to the conference, Uachtarán CLG, Aogán Ó Fearghaíl said “I am delighted to announce this opportunity for our players to attend an event such as this, which will help increase awareness of the many fantastic resources available through our online platforms, gaa.ie and learning.gaa.ie, which are available to all our members.”

Player Welfare is one of the GAA’s core values and the Association invests considerable time, personnel, and finance in developing evidence-based programmes and resources. Research has identified the challenge for sports governing bodies in communicating player welfare messages to the playing population. To bridge this gap, the GAA is providing a platform for adult club players to engage and be informed about the following player welfare areas:

o Warm-up / Injury prevention / Strength & Conditioning

o Technical demands of the game & Skills acquisition

o Mental preparation and performance skills

o Nutrition for Performance / Supplements

The conference will include keynote addresses, engaging workshops and discussion groups as well as practical experiential demonstrations on the above and other player welfare related topics including fixtures, concussion and gambling awareness. Special guests and speakers include

  • Eamonn O’Shea (former Tipperary Hurling manager)

  • Cathal Cregg (Head Strength & Conditioning Officer)

  • Prof Niall Moyna (Head of the School of Health and Human Performance and Sigerson Manager – DCU) 

  • Caroline Currid (Performance Coach – experience with multiple All-Ireland winning teams)

  • Dr. Crionna Tobin (Leading sports nutritionist)

  • Dr. Edwenia O’Malley (Sports Physiotherapist)

  • Mark Roe (Researcher, GAA/UCD National Injury Surveillance Database)

  • Further speakers to be added in the coming weeks…

For just €10, attendees will also receive information on key areas of player welfare, an attendee pack and refreshments (including lunch) throughout the day.

In the lead up to the conference, as part of a #PreparePerformRecover campaign, player welfare related resources will be promoted across www.gaa.ie, http://learning.gaa.ie/player and the GAA’s many social media channels to assist players, coaches and clubs as they plan for the 2018 season.

The GAA Player Conference will take place in Croke Park from 9.45am until 3.15pm on Saturday 17th February 2018. Spaces are limited so to book your place, and for further information see http://learning.gaa.ie/player.

For further information please contact playerwelfare@gaa.ie / 01-8658610