May 3 (Reuters) – An ongoing battle by Irish camogie players over the right to wear shorts came to a head on Saturday when two teams were forced to change into skorts before their match could go ahead.
The rules governing playing gear for camogie, the women’s equivalent of hurling, state that it must include skirt, skort — a pair of shorts with an overlapping fabric panel which resembles a skirt covering the front — or divided skirt.
Two separate motions to allow shorts be used were defeated last year.
Kilkenny and Dublin took to the field for their Leinster semi-final wearing shorts, a decision both teams had agreed on as a form of protest against the rule, but were told by the referee that the game would be abandoned if the players did not change.
“Career low for me today when 60 plus players ready to play a championship game in shorts are told their match will be abandoned if every player doesn’t change into skorts,” Dublin captain Aisling Maher posted on social media.
In women’s Gaelic football, shorts are allowed, but camogie remains an anomaly in a sports world where women have been fighting for and slowly obtaining equality after so long playing second fiddle to their male counterparts.
“I love this game, but I am sick of being forced to wear a skort that is uncomfortable and unfit for purpose,” Maher added after the match, which was won by Kilkenny.
“How are female players still having to push for permission to wear shorts while they compete at the highest level of their sport.”
In 2021, Norway’s beach handball team was fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at a European championship match. This brought a rule change where women can now wear short tight pants, although men do not have this stipulation.
Ireland women’s rugby team swapped their traditional white shorts in 2023 in a permanent switch to navy shorts after players voiced concerns about period anxieties, with England women’s soccer team doing likewise.
“In no other facet of my life does someone dictate that I have to wear something resembling a skirt because I am a girl. Why is it happening in my sport?” Maher asked.
Camogie is governed by the Camogie Association of Ireland, closely linked to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), and another challenge to the rule cannot be brought until 2027. (Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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