North American GAA

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North American GAA
Irish:	Meiriceá Thuaidh
Province:	N/A Special County
County colours:
Ground(s):	Gaelic Park - Chicago, IL Irish Cultural Center - Boston, MA
Dominant sport:	Dual County
Standard colours

The North American County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Luthchleas Gael na Meiriceá Thuaidh) or North American GAA is one of the boards of the GAA outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the United States of America, excluding the New York metropolitan region, which is under the control of the New York GAA. The board is also responsible for the American inter-county teams in the USA outside of New York City.

[edit] History

Hurling and Gaelic football have been played in North America ever since Irish immigrants began landing on North American shores. The earliest games of hurling in North America were played in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1788, and there are records of football being played in Hyde Park (now the site of the Civic Center) in San Francisco as early as the 1850s. There are established clubs in the cities that traditionally have a large Irish population, such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston.

In recent years, hurling has started to enjoy support in several other U.S. cities, as evidenced by the establishment of the Milwaukee Hurling Club and Twin Cities Hurling Club (MN). Other clubs include the St. Louis Hurling Club, the Denver Gaels and the Seattle Gaels. Hurling is also starting to gather support at the club level at some universities, such as at Purdue University, California State University at Monterey Bay, and Stanford University.

GAA club officials recruit young Irish people who are visiting North America and will sometimes help them to find summer work. Some clubs operate with a core of Irish-born or Irish-American players who raise funds to invite players from Ireland for the summer. A debate is currently going on in the GAA about concerns about this practice, which some say should be phased out in favour of promoting the game among people who actually live in North America. Advocates say that inviting players is the only way to reach the numbers necessary to field a team, and to draw large crowds to the games. Critics say that the money spent inviting players would be better spent getting local people into the game, and would result in a stronger game in the long run. Most newer clubs have never practiced this policy and are focused on building the sport in the United States, while many longer running clubs continue to rely on international recruiting.

[edit] Early 21st century

The GAA in North America became the victim of two major developments in the early 21st century. One was the security clampdown that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the other is the massive growth in the Irish 'Celtic Tiger' economy. These two factors have led to a reduction in the number of people travelling from Ireland to the U.S., and it has become difficult for many Irish people to stay in the country illegally. Additionally, many Irish emigrants are returning to Ireland, where they can now enjoy a high standard of living that wasn't available to earlier generations.^[1] These factors have reduced the number of people playing GAA in larger U.S. cities.

This trend has been partially offset by growth in smaller cities. The GAA in the North American County Board area is moving into a new era where the games are being spread beyond the Irish community. Youth programs are springing up across the country, as are adult clubs consisting of American-born players who don't necessarily have any Irish connections but love the games on their own merits. The youth programs in particular are experiencing huge growth thanks to the success of the Continental Youth Championship.

[edit] Competitions

[edit] NACB Play-off Championships

Each year on Labor Day weekend, the North American Board holds a tournament between the North American clubs in all U.S. cities where there are GAA-affiliated clubs (except for New York city). Playoffs are held between the Gaelic football, hurling and camogie champions of the different regions in the United States, to determine the NACB champions. Play off locations:

• 2008 Boston
• 2007 Chicago
• 2006 Philadelphia
• 2005 Philadelphia
• 2004 Denver
• 2003 Boston
• 2002 Chicago
• 2001 San Francisco
• 2000
• 1999 Chicago
• 1998 Rockville, MD (near Washington DC)

[edit] Grades

The championships are divided into different grades.

• Men:
  • North American Senior Football Championship
  • North American Intermediate Football Championship
  • North American Junior A Football Championship
  • North American Junior B Football Championship
  • North American Junior C Football Championship
  • North American Junior D Football Championship
  • North American Senior Hurling Championship
  • North American Junior A Hurling Championship
  • North American Junior B Hurling Championship
  • North American Junior C Hurling Championship
• Ladies:
  • North American Senior Ladies Football Championship
  • North American Junior A Ladies Football Championship
  • North American Junior B Ladies Football Championship
  • North American Senior Camogie Championship
  • North American Junior Camogie Championship

[edit] The Continental Youth Championships

Further information: Continental Youth Championship

The Continental Youth Championship (CYC) began in 2004. This is an annual weekend tournament that takes place in various cities from year to year. Venues:

• 2004 - New York
• 2005 - San Francisco
• 2006 - Boston
• 2007 - Chicago

It involves under age teams from all three of the GAA jurisdictions in North America playing football, hurling, ladies' football, and camogie at all ages from Under 8 to Under 18.

[edit] Clubs

In 2005 in the NACB area, there were 110 adult clubs and 14 Youth clubs playing Football, Hurling or Camogie in the US outside New York City. These clubs participated in Divisional Championship competitions to qualify for the North American Finals in their respective sport and grade of competition. As of 2005, Gaelic games were being organized and played in over 30 cities across the US, including:

• Akron, Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta
• Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Burlingame
• Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland
• Denver, Detroit
• Fort Lauderdale
• Kansas City
• Los Angeles
• Milwaukee
• Oakland, Orange County
• Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland OR
• Rochester
• St. Louis, St. Paul MN, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, South Bend, Syracuse
• Waukesha, and Washington DC.

[edit] List of clubs

See List of GAA clubs in North America

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• North American GAA Board
• The Continental Youth Championships
• Gaelic Football, Hurling are Irish Passions, National Geographic News
• Hurling, Men's Fitness Magazine

[edit] See also