Category: Events

by Kyle Keesling

A Big Thanks to our 2023 Golf Outing Supporters

The 2023 Indy GAA Golf Outing was another huge success!

This past Sunday provided us with beautiful weather, while Eagle Creek Golf Club provided the lovely course, and had 20 teams show up to play.

We appreciate everyone who showed up to play but also want to recognize that this event could not have happened without the support of a few particular individuals and our sponsors.

A huge thank you to our sponsors:

We’d also like to provide a shout-out to Ciaran Connery, Andretta Erickson, Brian Mathes, Mike Monaghan, Woody White, Tim Riley, Brien Shoemaker, Jeremy Pugh, and Paul Flynn for donating their time and resources to make this event a success!

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by Kyle Keesling

Indy Invitational Volunteer Callout

The Indy Invitational is in just two short weeks, and we need everyone’s help to succeed. While most of the focus is on the games, this could not happen without the generous donation of people’s time as volunteers.

We have a variety of roles we need help with and if you aren’t sure what a particular role is, ask!

If you have specific questions, please reach out to our Events Chair, Jessica Rhodes.

🙋‍♀️ Sign up to Help Now →
by Kyle Keesling

StretchLab will be at the Indy Invitational

Indy GAA is excited to announce that StretchLab will be joining us for the Indy Invitational at the Indianapolis World Sports Park on June 17th.

StretchLab is a team of Certified Professionals who do Assisted Stretching for all body types. For our specific Indy GAA community, they will be focusing on Recovery, Sports Performance and Injury Prevention! 

You will see a tent and portable tables available on-site and will be able to receive a free demonstration stretch with one of their Flexologists before, in between, and after the games. All assisted stretches will be customized to meet the needs of your own body. 

They are also offering 50% off for first in-studio visits and 10% off memberships if you are interested in making this service a part of your regular wellness regime. For more information about their team and offerings, you can find them online and/or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

by Kyle Keesling

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 — 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!

🙋‍♀️ Sign up to Volunteer →
💥 Sign Up to Complete →
📢 Share the Tournament Event on Facebook →
🗓 The Club Calendar Entry →
by Kyle Keesling

2021 Award Winners

Our annual awards banquet was this past weekend, where we announced player awards for achievements both on and off the field. This year’s winners are:

  • Club Person of the Year – Chris Burrows
  • Male Hurling Player of the Year – Brian Church
  • Female Hurling/Camogie Player of the Year – Kelsey Alcorn
  • Male Football Player of the Year – Paul Flynn
  • Female Football Player of the Year – Jillian Beyke
  • Hurling/Camogie Rookie of the Year – Armando Magallanes
  • Football Rookie of the Year – Kevin McCarthy
  • Hurling/Camogie Most Improved Player – Clayton Tsang
  • Football Most Improved Player – Brett Mahoney
  • Referee of the Year – Tim Riley
  • Mentor of the Year – Brien Shoemaker

For more photos of the evening (both edited and non) check out our Flickr gallery. Thanks to Woody White for taking photos.

by Kyle Keesling

September Premier Night this Friday

The September’s Premier Night will be held this Friday, September 10th, 7pm at Kuntz Stadium!

NY Slice Food Truck

For those of who may be unfamiliar, Premier Nights are a chance for our members to play a match under the lights on a (nearly) properly sized pitch. We encourage all members along with their friends and family to come out and enjoy a night of good games and good fun.

We hope to hold three matches for the evening, one hurling, one Camogie, and one Gaelic football, but that all depends on your availability and willingness to play. So if you’d like to participate in any of these matches, please fill out this form so we can put together the most competitive teams possible.

🍺🍕 Did Somebody Say Beer & Pizza?

Sure did! Beer will be available and the NY Slice food truck will be on site serving up authentic NY style pizza, so come hungry!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Vice Chair, Josh Lane.

🙋‍♀️ Sign Up to Participate →
🗓 View on the Calendar →
📢 View & Share the Facebook Event →

by Kyle Keesling

Premier Nights are Back!

The first Premier Night for 2021 will be held this Friday, August 6th, 7pm at Kuntz Stadium!

For those of who may be unfamiliar, Premier Nights are a chance for our members to play a match under the lights on a (nearly) properly sized pitch. We encourage all members along with their friends and family to come out and enjoy a night of good games and good fun.

We hope to hold three matches for the evening, one hurling, one Camogie, and one Gaelic football, but that all depends on your availability and willingness to play. So if you’d like to participate in any of these matches, please fill out this form so we can put together the most competitive teams possible.

Beers from our sponsors will also be available for purchase, so don’t forget your wallet!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Vice Chair, Josh Lane.

🙋‍♀️ Sign Up to Participate →
🗓 View on the Calendar →
📢 View & Share the Facebook Event →

🗓 2021 Premier Night Dates

by Kyle Keesling

Updates for the Week of June 7-13

As we continue to ramp up activities for the year I wanted to take a quick second to put together a list of events and happenings that everyone should be aware of.

In addition to everything below we hope to see you at practice this Tuesday… if the weather cooperates 🌧

June Board Meeting this Wednesday

This month’s board meeting will be held this coming Wednesday, June 9th, at 7:30pm on RingCentral Meetings. All members are welcome to attend and we encourage you to do so, particularly if you have any questions or ideas you’d like to contribute. You can view the call-in details, and add the event to your calendar here →

Pub League Registration Deadline is this Friday

As we announced last week, registration for our club and the 2021 pub league is now live. The deadline to register and ensure you are entered into the draft is end of day this Friday, June 11th. The draft will be held a week from today, Monday, June 14th, at 7:30pm at Centerpoint Brewing.

You can register here, and if you have any questions please reach out to registration@indygaa.com.

Sunday Pick-up Games

This past Sunday we began holding pick-up games/stick tosses at Eugene Burns Fields. We will continue to do this until Pub League starts on July 11th. Hurling/camogie match starts at 11am and Gaelic football starts at noon.

More details can be found here →

July Virtual Referee Course

The Heartland GAA will be holding an online referee course next month, on July 14th, at 8:30pm. The training will be lead by Heartland Treasurer and long-time referee/trainer Brian Mathes.

This a great course for anyone interested in refereeing or even just wanting to get a better understanding of the rules. All skill and experience levels are welcome.

Call-in details are still forthcoming so be sure to check the calendar event for updates.

Team Challenge
by Paul O'Donoghue

🏆 April Team Skills Challenge

March was a great month for our clubs Monthly Skills Competition. I know it’s tough not being on the field with each other but hopefully you felt some club esprit de corps and a connection to your teammates as we completed our challenges. I have my fingers crossed that this month’s challenge brings us one step closer to playing with each other soon.

March’s Winners

Hotel Tango rose to the trash talking of the pretenders to the throne to claim the football challenge and Skyline Roofing swooped in for the victory on the very last day in the hurling/camogie challenge.

This Month’s Challenge

Our hurling/camogie challenge involves the jab lift with a run/solo and our Gaelic football challenge is wall kicks. Please take a moment to view the videos below for all the details:

The Prizes

A $10 voucher for one of the club’s sponsors for all participating members of the winning team. In addition, all participating members of the team with the most participants will be entered into a drawing where one team member will win 2 passes to the Indianapolis Zoo!

Further Guidance

Please video and upload the recording to our Slack channels in the channel #monthlychallenges  and on social media. Please remember to mention your team and sponsor at some point in the recording and extra credit if you tag them too.

Don’t forget to enter your score here, or get someone on your team to do it for you, onto the Google Sheet linked below. THIS IS VERY A IMPORTANT STEP to ensure we can accurately tally the winners!

The challenge will end on April 30th, and a new challenge will then be launched for the month of May, hopefully bringing us one month closer to us getting together on the field again. This is a great opportunity for us all to practice our skills, stay connected and have some fun until we return to play.

I hope you all enjoy the virtual challenge and best of luck to everyone!