Successful Tigin Cup 7s Inaugural Junior Development Tournament, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Six camogie teams competed at Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri (USA) over Memorial Day Weekend (May 26 - 27, 2012) in the Inaugural Junior Development Tournament. Teams from Baltimore/Washington, Indianapolis, St Louis (2 teams), Milwaukee and Atlanta battled it out in the blazing heat for a chance to take home the Tigin Cup.

Forest Park provided a great backdrop for the tournament, which was organized and hosted by the St Louis Gaelic Athletic Club. Despite temperatures that reached the upper 90s (Fahrenheit), the teams played some great camogie. The level of play did not suffer in the heat, and the display of skills impressed both players and spectators alike. The round-robin format on Saturday morning allowed each team to play 2 games, with the results setting the afternoon's match-ups. St Louis 2 and Atlanta, the #3 seeds, met in the afternoon's first match. The #2 seeds, St Louis 1 and Milwaukee, met in the second match, and Baltimore/Washington and Indianapolis, the #1 seeds, met in the finals. Baltimore/Washington took home the Tigin Cup, but the day was, more importantly, a victory for camogie in America.

The camaraderie was in evidence the entire weekend. The ladies were able to meet each other during Friday evening's social at the tournament's sponsor, Tigin Irish Pub. Saturday night's social, also at Tigin, gave the ladies a chance to congratulate each other on a great day of camogie. Rivalries were put aside again on Sunday morning as volunteer coaches conducted a clinic for all players to help improve both knowledge of the game and technical skills.

The tournament is to be an annual event and is a wonderful opportunity to play some fantastic camogie in a friendly yet competitive setting. All ladies and teams are welcome, so bring a full team, combine teams (as Baltimore and Washington did), or join a team on your own (as one Seattle camog did). Thank you to St Louis GAC for being such great hosts; North American County Board (NACB) for setting up the camogie development; Mary O'Connor for taking an interest in camogie development in America; the tournament sponsor, Tigin Irish Pub; and to all the teams who made the trip to St Louis.