Author: Kyle Keesling

Indoor League Registration

As the weather starts to turn a little colder, itโ€™s time to sign up for indoor leagues!

Days: Tuesdays, November 15th to March 7th. 

Hurling Schedule: November 15th – January 10th.

Football Schedule: January 17th – March 7th. 
Times: First game will start at 8pm. Last game will finish by 10pm.
Address: The Sportzone, 6601 Coffman Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46268

Final price will likely be about $90 to $95 (per sport, depending on number of sign-ups).

Go here to pay your $20 down payment per sport (if you’re only playing one, it will be $20; if you play both, it’ll be $40): ย https://indygaa.com/shop/leagues/2022-indoor-league/

If you sign up for both leagues at this time, you can receive a small discount.  Total due – $170. 

We don’t want to prohibit anyone from playing that wants to play.  If you need to set up a payment plan, please complete this form and then email treasurer@indygaa.com to finalize payment plan. 

Any other questions/concerns, please email vicechair@indygaa.com

Rules

All Ages Hurl-O-Ween and Ghoulic Football!

A family friendly event for the end of fall league! Players are invited to bring their kiddos out to play alongside them in age-appropriate skills training. Adults will also have one last opportunity for outdoor scrimmages for the year.

All attendees are welcome and encouraged to wear costumes as well as bringing candy to hand out to costumed kids.

Format/times subject to change based on attendance, weather, etc.:

  • 9:30 – Kids and Parents Practice (recommended ages 4+ for full participation, but all ages are welcome to dress up and get treats!)
  • 10:15 – Adult Hurling Scrimmage
  • 11:00 – Adult Gaelic Football Scrimmage

The AGM is this Sunday

Another friendly reminder that our annual general meeting will be held this Sunday morning, October 23rd, 10am at Bier Brewery on 65th St.

There are five open board positions to be decided. Being on the board of any organization is a labor of love and if you have love for your club you absolutely have skills and ideas that would bring value to the board.

Remember that serving on a board is a great way to support the club with skills you already have and/or a great way to develop skills and learn new things. Serving on a board is a great addition to a resume.

Open positions:

  • Chair
  • Vice Chair
  • Coaching Chair
  • Treasurer
  • Events Chair

Claire, our Member Relations Chair, has compiled this document that explains the roles and responsibilities of each of the board seats. Please take a moment to review it and consider throwing your hat in the ring.

If you are interested in any position or have any questions, please contact secretary@indygaa.com.

Also note that we will NOT be holding Sunday practices/fall league this week.

Fall Update

What a Weekend!

This year’s USGAA Nationals was one for the books. All codes won their first round of matches, and we had three out of five codes reach Championship Sunday, including our first-ever Ladies’ Gaelic football panel! 

I’m extremely proud of all that were involved. Whether you were on the pitch, in the stands, or organizing from the sidelines you should be very proud of our accomplishments, and the way that we showed the rest of the country what it means to be a part of the Indy GAA.

Thanks toย Brittney-Elizabeth Photographyย we also have anย extensive photo library documenting the weekend. Photos are available for purchaseย if you would like to own a copy for personal uses, they also make a great gift! Pleaseย contact Brittney directly for details.

๐ŸŒŽ Global Fest – this Saturday

Think global and fest local at Global Fest 2022 presented by Good Living Indy. Join us to share traditions, honor heritage and learn about cultures through food, music, art and play.

The club will have a booth from noon until 5:30pmย to teach people about the great Gaelic games. If you are interested in volunteering please contactย Chris Burrows.

๐Ÿ“‹ End of Year Survey & Award Nominations

Ourย end-of-year survey is now live.ย We’veย combined the survey with our annual awards nominations to make it an easy, all-in-one place for you to leave your feedback while it’s still fresh in your mind.

Please note that award nominations will only be live through September 30th, so don’t wait,ย get it done now!

โ˜˜๏ธ Irish Fest – September 23-24

Indy Irish Fest will be held next Friday and Saturday at Garfield Park. We’ll be there as usual to help and hope to see you there! 

We ask any members who are interested in helping out in the booth toย please complete this form.

โฑ Fall League has Begun!

Fall League will be on Sundays at Eugene Burns from September 11 – October 30, 9:30-11:30am.

General skill work will be practiced from 9:30-10:15. Matches will start at 10:30 and 11:30. Teams will be picked on the day with those that attend. Please bring a dark and a light shirt for teams. 

We will alternate which sport plays first.ย  Football will go first on ODD numbered dates and hurling will go first on EVEN numbered dates. Skill work will follow this same schedule.

๐Ÿ† Fall Tournaments

There are a number of travel tournaments coming up that we want to be sure you’re aware of. We currently have members interested in attending:

  • Midwest Tournament – Madison, WI – Saturday, September, 17th
  • Al O’Leary Tournament – Akron, OH – Saturday, October 1st

If you are interested in playing please contactย Jeremy Pughย or join our travel channels in Slack.

Indoor League

Mark your calendars, Indoor League will run November 15 – January 10th for Hurling/Camogie and January 17 – March 7 for Gaelic Football.

More details coming soon!

Week 10 Games & Club Picnic Update

As we continue to have more people test positive for COVID (as recently as this morning) we’ve decided to postpone the picnic until July 31st.

Games will continue as scheduled and normal forfeiture rules will apply. We recommend that everyone take a test before heading out to the field this weekend and anyone who doesn’t feel well, regardless of test your results, stay home.ย 

If you have questions please contact board@indygaa.com

So what is this Indy Invitational thing anyway?

We are now less than two weeks away from the 2022 Indy Invitational, and as we get closer to that date I thought this was a great opportunity to share a little bit more about what the Invitational is for folks who may not be familiar.

A Quick History Lesson

The Indy Invitational is an annual tournament that the Indy GAA has held for over 15 years now, typically on the second weekend of June. For the last 10 years we’ve held the event at World Sports Park, a purpose-built facility for Gaelic sports as well as cricket, rugby, Aussie rules football, and lacrosse.

Fun fact, in 2014, our first year at the park, then-mayor Greg Ballard attended the event and officially declared it “Indianapolis GAA Day”.

The event also started as a hurling only competition but has grown with the club to now offer competitions in Camogie, both Ladies and Gentlemen’s Gaelic football, and even youth matches, making it one of the largest USGAA competitions outside of Nationals.

Over the years the event has become a favorite among clubs in the midwest, and has also attracted competition from Denver, Washington DC, Atlanta, Greenville, Nashville, and even Canada!

How You Can Participate/Help

We need you, YES YOU, to help make the 2022 event a success, and there are three main ways you can do this – COMPETE, VOLUNTEER, or SPECTATE!

How can I Compete?

A tournament is nothing without competitors, so we welcome ALL of our members, of all abilities and experience levels to come and play. Whether that’s with an Indy GAA team, or as a fill-in player for any travel teams who may be short a player or two โ€” If you show up, you will be on a team! A list of teams and brackets will be posted soon so you can get a taste of the competition. Fill out this form to let us know you’ll be there.

Volunteers Needed!

This event would not be possible without the time and effort of VOLUNTEERS. Numerous members as well as their family members and friends have stepped up over the years to make this event happen, and this year is no different. We need folks willing to act as task runners, keep score, judge lines and goals, run registration and information tables, and even just greet people and welcome them to our city. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering please fill out this form.

Come and Watch

What’s the best way to ensure the success and growth of this tournament and the great Gaelic games? Introducing them to new people! I encourage you to share details about the event with your friends and family, and have them come out and watch. We will have beer provided by our tournament sponsor Bier Brewery, as well as food trucks. There will also be viewing tents to help keep spectators cool and shaded. Admission is free!

If you have any questions leading up to the event please let us know, and we look forward to seeing you on the pitch on June 18th!


June Updates

Football Nationals Practice Changing Day and Location

After feedback regarding player availability we are moving Gaelic football practice for Nationals to Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm at O’Bannon Soccer Fields.

Premier Night – June 10

The first Premier Night of the season will be next Friday, June 10th at 7pm at Kuntz Memorial Soccer Stadium.

Indy Invitational – June 18

It’s back! The 2022 Indy Invitational will be held Saturday, June 18th at World Sports Park in Indianapolis.

We’ll have beer provided by Bier Brewery as well as food truck(s) with Afters being held in downtown Indy at Kilroy’s on Georgia Street.

We welcome not only competing teams but also all fans, friends, and family members to attend. Spectators get in free.

We are also still in search of volunteers, so please fill out or share this form if you or any friends/family members might be interested in helping!

Indy GAA Gives Back

There is a new opportunity for us to give back to our community as a club! Every Sunday there will be a bin near the Mug Club cooler/shed where you can place a donation. At the end of the month the club will donate the items to a local charity. 

In June, we will collect pet supplies and personal care items in July.  If you have a local charity that is important to you that could benefit from these items please contact Claire Lane.

If you prefer you can also use Venmo. Every cent will be passed along, just send it to @claire-lane-2 with “GAA” in the comments.

Indy GAA Evening at Victory Field – July 23

Join us for an evening at the ballpark!

Be one of the first 2,500 fans through the Victory Field gates and receive a comic. Plus, the Indians will wear Thanos specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game, with all proceeds benefiting Indianapolis Indians Charities.

  • Game Date: Saturday, July 23
  • Game Time: 7:05PM
  • Gates Open: 6:00PM
  • Opponent: St. Paul Saints

Wanted: Player Profiles

we hope you’ve noticed the player profiles on our social media accounts over the last few weeks featuring some of our female players. These were created as a recruitment tool to encourage more ladies to join our club. 

We’d like to go ahead and open things up to highlight all of our membership. If you’d like to be considered for a profile feature, please tell us about yourself and why you love Indy GAA. New players, seasoned pros, coaches, Americans, Irish born, always injured โ€” we want to showcase the diversity in our club! Fill out there form here โ†’

Indy GAA Gives Back

There is a new opportunity for us to give back to our community as a club! Every Sunday there will be a bin near the Mug Club cooler/shed where you can place a donation. At the end of the month the club will donate the items to a local charity.

In June, we will collect pet supplies and personal care items in July.ย  If you have a local charity that is important to you that could benefit from these items please contact Claire Lane.

Indy GAA Evening at Victory Field – July 23

Join us for an evening at the ballpark!

Be one of the first 2,500 fans through the Victory Field gates and receive a comic. Plus, the Indians will wear Thanos specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game, with all proceeds benefiting Indianapolis Indians Charities.

  • Game Date: Saturday, July 23
  • Game Time: 7:05PM
  • Gates Open: 6:00PM
  • Opponent: St. Paul Saints