Munster GAA report: Up to 80,500 contact hours lost due to Covid-19

A REPORT commissioned by the Munster Council of the GAA has revealed that as many as 80,500 weekly contact hours with underage players have been lost in the province as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that €610,000 a week of economic activity has been lost due to the lack of games during the Covid-19 crisis.

The report, by Repucon Consulting, also found that the Council gets serious bang for its buck on every Euro spent on underage coaching. It confirms that for every €1 invested in GAA Coaching in Munster, there is a Return on Investment of nearly €17, an increase from €12 in 2011 and €15 in 2015.

As a result, the total value generated in 2019 as a result of the €1.7 million spend by Munster GAA Games Development was €30 million. The most valued outcomes of a child’s participation in GAA Activity are

General Wellbeing, Personal Development and Health Benefits while 91% rate Mental Health as the most important benefit of GAA participation.

The detailed 69-page report is based on the creation of a socio-economic measurement system to value the coaching outputs of Munster Council GAA, its coaching channels such as the Games Development structures and the activity of clubs and schools.

The study, assessed feedback from a wide range of sources including parents, second level students and 88% of clubs in the Province,

Speaking following the production of the report, Munster GAA Chairman Liam Lenihan said: “This report reiterates the good work being done by GAA Coaches in Munster over a number of years.

“Coaching is about developing the person as well as the player and for every euro invested in Juvenile Coaching, there is a return of €16.80, an increase of over 10% from a study conducted in 2015.

“Having such rich data at our disposal will help our Coaching & Games team to continue focusing their efforts in the right places to further enhance the social capital of all those children that we facilitate through GAA Coaching in the province.”

The report found 2.15 million playing and training hours were generated by Munster GAA clubs last year, with 3,900 hours of coaching delivery every week with 10,300 mentors and coaches involved across the province. The average number of months of GAA activity provided to underage players last year was nine.

The amount of Transition Students who rate GAA as their number one sport across Munster stands at 65%.