Surely its time dressing rooms were opened for club matches throughout the country.

Player welfare taking a battering.

Many a rain-soaked championship match over the weekend and players expected just to hop in the car afterwards without a shower.

Dressing rooms were opened months ago for county games.

Club players been looked down on again..

Farney1990 (Monaghan) - Posts: 20 - 04/10/2021 11:29:01    2384344

Dressing rooms have actually been allowed again for club games since September 20, but only for groups of no more than six at a time. Not much use when you've probably got a panel of 25 or more, plus the team mentors and others.

Different rules apply in the North. I may as well just copy & paste in the relevant bit from the latest update from Croke Park, just to give you the full story:

Dressing Rooms: In the South and for all club games, dressing rooms should remain closed for the moment under current Government regulations. From September 20th, Dressing Rooms may be used as changing facilities only before and after games but with a maximum occupancy of 6 people at any one time. Pre-game, or half-time team talks, should continue to take place outdoors and it is recommended that shower facilities are only used where absolutely necessary.

In the North, dressing rooms are now permitted to open but usage should be avoided or minimised where possible (for example, by arriving in kit and showering at home) and time spent in dressing rooms should be kept to a minimum. For this reason, and as in the South, it is strongly recommended that pre-game or half-time team talks should continue to take place outdoors.

In both jurisdictions, where dressing rooms are being used, hand sanitization stations should be in place at the entrance, the areas should be well ventilated (i.e., windows or doors left open), masks should be worn (except if using showers) and no one other than team or support personnel should be permitted entry.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2243 - 04/10/2021 12:10:45    2384349

Farney1990 (Monaghan) - Posts: 20 - 04/10/2021 13:00:53    2384359

I agree. Was just setting out the situation as it currently applies. Wasn't trying to defend it or anything!

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2243 - 04/10/2021 13:12:43    2384361

Yeah it's bizarre at this stage. Are we at almost 90% vaccination now? Players are in close contact during warmups and in the actual games themselves. A man would be in more danger of getting a bad "regular" dose by having to get into the car soaking wet and cold and drive an hour home.

It's ridiculous that say for example here in Donegal, Killybegs have to travel away to St. Michael's (Dunfanaghy) this weekend. The weather has been pretty brutal of late. It'll be an uncomfortable run home for the Killybegs men (a good hour and 45 minutes) if the weather conditions are poor again this weekend

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9132 - 04/10/2021 13:24:17    2384364

Posted below in the Leitrim group - didn't realise there was a forum for it.



Can some please tell me what is the story with all these added restrictions? We are supposed to be lifting restrictions, not adding more. Is it coming from the county board or Croke Park?

Examples:
- Not allowed park in the car park of Mohill or Ballinamore's pitches even though we were allowed only 3 weeks ago. And Mohill ladies game this morning and they were allowed.
- 6 only allowed in a dressing room
- No allowed in the dressing room at half time. This time of year, its a relief to get into a dressing room at half time to get out of the wind and rain.
- Not allowed shower after a game. St Mary's lads a couple of weeks ago in torrential rain and then expected to get into a car and drive 40/50 minutes soaked. Surely there is more potential to pick up a flu and a weaker immune system potentially more risk of contracting COVID (I'm not a doctor but that's the way these things work... apparently)
-

And, I think it was poor form that Leitrim didn't play the 2 senior games Saturday and play the junior Sunday. Due to their greed, and that's exactly what it is Mohill unfairly go the game postponed to next week while Manor and Carrick were forced to play the day after.

leitrimlad15 (Leitrim) - Posts: 14 - 04/10/2021 09:03:47 2384324

leitrimlad15 (Leitrim) - Posts: 65 - 04/10/2021 13:35:32    2384368

Championship match in Tyrone last night in the rain. Players huddled under a garden gazebo at half time. Treated like animals.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2012 - 04/10/2021 14:37:13    2384379

And the thing is, there was uproar and lack of inequality called a couple of weeks ago when the Irish women's rugby team had to tog out next to a few skips (which is just as bad). Yet club players, of which they are in the majority, just have to smile and put up with it.

beano (Wexford) - Posts: 1417 - 04/10/2021 14:46:26    2384382

At least some of those things from Leitrim would appear to be down to local management. There's absolutely nothing in the protocols from Croke Park about where you can and can't park, for example.

Curious about the Tyrone thing in particular, especially as full use of dressing rooms is allowed in the North. And is there not even a stand of some sort at the venue, that the players could have used for shelter instead?

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2243 - 04/10/2021 15:15:19    2384385

Even if they just let the away team in for showers and a change afterwards it would be a start.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9132 - 04/10/2021 15:26:18    2384387

This has really p...ed me off in last week to 10 days since there was a huge change in the weather.the people who the Gaa depend on get soaked,have to tog out in the stands if there is one available,if not all huddled together near the side of pitch..ive seen refs and officials emerge from dressing rooms,and it definitely looks as if they have the use of them..who came up with this magic number of 6 inside at any one time?has any thought gone into this for players who have distances to travel?have gpa anything to say on this matter?

CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2214 - 04/10/2021 17:01:48    2384404

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1908 - 04/10/2021 18:33:18    2384408

The same rule of "no more than six at a time" applies to club gyms....unless everybody is either fully vaccinated or has previously recovered from Covid. Then you can allow in as many as you like.

I see no logical reason why the same shouldn't apply to dressing rooms. With 90% of adults now fully vaccinated, there'd be very few who'd still have to tog off outside in the cold.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2243 - 04/10/2021 18:46:57    2384410

Players in Laois huddling together for shelter under a gutter during driving rain:
https://twitter.com/Woolberto/status/1444719890741530626

By the way, despite the fact that this thread was relatively active for a few days, I had to search back through a page and a half of thread titles before finding it. It's been overtaken by loads of things that would normally have been posted in the county forums.

If admins are definitely not going to restore the county forums, wonder would they at least find a way of adding a "search" function, to make it easier to find threads that might go a few days or even longer without anything being added to them?

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2243 - 05/10/2021 15:20:42    2384507

We all know that the flu and things like pneumonia are things of the past, Buicheas le Dia.

So i don't see why anyone ought to be whinging about getting togged out in the wind and the rain. It's not as though you might "catch your death of cold" anymore, because people don't get colds any more.

Just Covid.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 2554 - 05/10/2021 17:56:50    2384530