The issue regarding skorts won't help participation numbers in camogie, according to former Limerick player Aoife Sheehan.
Camogie players will continue to wear the skort, a pair of shorts with a fabric overlapping panel that resembles a skirt, after congress rejected a motion to change to shorts. The next time delegates can vote on the playing uniform will be at congress in 2027.
Tipperary Camogie had proposed the motion but it did not pass, with 55% voting against the change.
Former players such as Ursula Jacob and Geraldine Kinane have expressed their disappointment at the outcome, and speaking on the The Sunday Game, Sheehan argues that the key to a successful outcome is choice.
'I find it very frustrating…in this day and age you should be given an option' – @ursulajacob on Congress defeating the motion for camogie players to wear shorts instead of skorts
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 8, 2024
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"What's going to have to happen, is let players choose," she said.
"Some players like wearing skorts, some players don't, and some players like wearing shorts. But if we're looking at retaining players, and there's such a dropout rate, especially younger players, and it's younger players, I think, that get frustrated with shorts more so than anyone else.
"So we need to be saying, right, let's listen to the views, let's have a debate about it, but let's give the players a choice, because that's the most important thing."
The skorts issue continues to be a hot topic in camogie, with the debate arguably overshadowing some of the magnificent displays we've seen on the field of play this weekend. #thesundaygame pic.twitter.com/DD6WQCTCsV
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 14, 2024
Four-time All-Ireland winner with Wexford Kate Kelly agreed with Sheehan’s viewpoint and said lessons can be learned from other sports.
"Send the vote out to everyone within that membership system and see what they actually think," she said.
"You can segregate that then by age. You can see what feedback you're getting back from parents, from adult players, from the administrators, from the non-players, and then you can make an informed decision.
"The uniform has become more controversial in gymnastics, in the hockey, in the netball, and they're all moving more to discuss that and be open about what players want and what they feel comfortable in."
