GAA’s return to play will involve delicate balancing act and best available advice
ON Sunday afternoon at the same time Monaghan and Cavan should have been reflecting on a mouthwatering Ulster Championship tie in Clones, #Covididiots was trending on twitter. Images of jubilant VE-celebrating Brits singing Vera Lynn took over social media where Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney, Marty Morrissey et al should have reigned.
From the moment this year’s draw was made, Seamus, along with every Monaghan player and supporter, would have been salivating at the prospect of a rematch with our neighbours following last summer’s humbling defeat.
But will it ever go ahead? And when? This, amongst a myriad of considerations, is facing the GAA at present and , as a member of the newly formed Covid-19 advisory group, I will be involved in the discussions this coming week.
Since the announcement of the committee, I have had calls, emails, and texts from all directions and viewpoints. Officials, players and coaches across both club and inter-county have voiced opinions. Supported by our county chairman Michael McMahon (right) I ended up sending a circular email to the Monaghan GAA community to canvass their views on what lies ahead, in an effort to be as informed as possible.
It goes without saying that I have to reserve judgment on any course of action until such time as I feel competent enough to do so. Such competency is thin on the ground, and, like the GAA community at large, I have simply followed the expert guidelines issued in recent months, difficult as it has been.
The GAA can be very proud of how it has conducted its affairs to date, with its position as a fulcrum of leadership in the community greatly enhanced. That is why the decisions taken in the coming weeks regarding a ‘return to action’ must be handled delicately.
With over half a million registered players across all codes and grades, and three-quarters of a million registered members, the GAA’s footprint in this country is without parallel. Such size and reach has been put to exemplary use over the past number of weeks as members all over the country have helped their communities.
However, these same numbers will prove to be the greatest challenge when it comes to returning to action following the current lockdown. Our problem is that there is simply so many of us engrained in every workplace and corner of society. So much so that a premature return to action could have a major impact from a transmission point of view.
As professional leagues in Germany, and across the water in England, prepare to return to action, the harsh reality of how difficult this will be for the GAA is being laid bare.
In Germany’s Bundesliga, due to return next weekend, Dynamo Dresden are under a two-week quarantine after two of their players tested positive for Covid-19. Before a ball has been kicked in the Premier League, everything from player revolts to the resistance of relegationthreatened clubs to neutral venues is threatening a restart.
Financial incentives and TV money are drivers in both cases, putting players and clubs in compromising situations. And these are highly resourced sporting bodies that can do whatever is feasibly possible in terms of testing, social distancing and cocooning. It puts the challenge facing the GAA in stark terms.
In terms of reopening our facilities, and the return to training and then playing for underage, club and county teams, there is a time-frame and means by which each of these steps can be done safely.
Our job as a group is – to the best of our ability, and using the knowledge available – to advise what needs happen in order for these steps to take place, along with assessing the risks to our players, members and wider community.
The timing of each of these stages
That return date will only be determined by listening to those who know best
will be difficult to predict. Not too soon, so to risk negatively impacting on the progress made so far on ‘flattening the curve’. But also not too far away, and running the risk of long-term damage to the wellbeing of players, members, and the association in general that could in many ways outstrip the medical risks down the line.
In a rapidly changing environment, that return date will only be determined by listening to those who know best: our medical experts, and our members. We have to balance what we desire with what can be safely achieved, while continuing to have a positive influence on society.
As for Monaghan and Cavan… in the recently derided words of Vera Lynn, ‘We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.’