Category: Leagues

by Kyle Keesling

Week 7 Has Been Postponed

After much deliberation on the board and consultation with team captains we’ve decided to postpone this weekend’s matches to next weekend.

This decision was made due to the fact that we have enough members traveling to the USGAA Nationals this weekend that nearly every team will be unable to fill a full roster.

We still welcome any folks that are still in town to come out to the fields for a stick-toss/scrimmage.

What does this mean for the schedule?

Luckily not too much! The schedule was created this year with a built-in make up week on September 19th. This was originally going to be used as a rain day or as an extra week of practice for teams prior to the playoffs, which start the following week, on September 26th.

All matches have simply slid by one week, allowing us to still complete the league on time. All calendars and team matchups have been updated to reflect the new dates and you can look below for the next scheduled matches.

Week 7 Match-ups

DateTeamsTime/ResultsVenue
Connor's
Dugan Wyatt & Czernik
Guinness
Jeptha Creed
Bier
Hotel Tango
Tappers
Daredevil Brewing
Hope Plumbing
Skyline

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to us, board@indygaa.com

Tristan and the Mighty Bucks
by Kyle Keesling

Pub League Starts this Weekend

Pub league starts this weekend and we couldn’t be more excited! These games have been a long time coming and I know that it’ll be great to see everyone out on the pitch again. With that being said, I wanted to take a moment to share a few bits of info with everyone.

League Pick ‘Em is Back

Our league commissioner, Tim Cabeen, is once again holding a League Pick ‘Em. Those who are interested in participating can submit their Week 1 picks here. If you have any questions you can get ahold of Tim here.

A Special Thanks

I also wanted to take a moment and acknowledge all of the hard work and planning that has gone into making the season possible, particularly Tristan and the “Hardy Bucks” (my favorite band in college) who braved some adverse weather conditions this week to get the fields lined for this weekend.

Aussie Friendly has Been Postponed

We were informed this morning by our friends the Indy Giants that our Aussie rules football friendly scheduled for this Saturday will need to be postponed until further notice. We’ll be sure to share more details on the re-match as they come together.

Week 1 Details

We are hoping that the weather holds out on us, but if something changes be sure to keep an eye on Slack for the latest. If you need access to our Slack community please email me.

Without further ado below you’ll find the Week 1 matchups. You can also view lots of useful info on each matchup page, including fields, referees, and officiating crews.

Week 1 Match-ups

DateTeamsTime/ResultsVenue
Connor's
Centerpoint
Skyline
Jeptha Creed
Bier
Hotel Tango
Tappers
Daredevil Brewing
Guinness
Hope Plumbing
by David Littlejohn

July Updates

Pub League Starts Next Weekend!

I hope you are as excited as I am to get back on the pitch for Pub League.  It has been too long since we’ve all been able to get together and play.  Games are scheduled to start on July 11th at Eugene Burns fields and you can check your team’s schedule (here).  One thing you will notice about the schedule this year is that hurling and football will both be played on Sundays. 

Another thing you will notice is that teams will be sharing ref/officiating duties for both sports.  Please do your best to be available for both your game and officiating duties when your team is scheduled to do so.  It makes things run a lot easier when we have enough members ready to play/help on time.  Since we have 7 teams for hurling this season we had to adjust the schedule and unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this will require bye weeks for all teams. 

Before we get started on the 11th it would be best to make sure you have everything ready to go when you get to the fields.  Aside from having your standard playing equipment please make sure you have at least your own water bottle(s) and sunscreen. 

With hurling and football on the same day some days may be long.  A few other items you may consider bringing for game days are snacks, a chair, tent (something for shade), more water, a change of shoes/sandals, etc.  I am looking forward to a fun season and can’t wait to see everyone back on the pitch. 

You can view the entire pub league schedule here, and view each individual team’s schedule by visiting the team pages on our website. Woody White has also created a handy, printable schedule, so be sure to check that out as well!

Referee Training

Our own Brian Mathes will be hosting a virtual referee training course on July 14th at 8:30pm. Since all teams will be required to officiate games through the season and we will need hurlers to help with football and vice versa this is a great opportunity to learn all of the basics and rules for both sports. More details can be found here →

Nationals

With so many unknowns last year and at the beginning of this year the board decided not to officially send any teams to nationals this season.  The plan is to host a full Pub League season for all of our members and to get the family back together.  We are hoping to get things back to normal next year for our schedule and tournaments. 

Before the USGAA’s deadline to submit teams to nationals the board was contacted by members who requested to travel to nationals independently to play for the Indy GAA.  The board accepted this request and submitted it to the Heartland Division and USGAA asking if members from our club at different levels of play could participate at nationals with the stipulation of playing at Junior B or lower.  This was a unique request for this year because the members interested to play come from various levels of play.  The USGAA considered our members’ request for a few weeks and granted them to play this year at the Junior B level since there will be Junior A and Junior C players playing together. 

This is a one-time situation that was led by our members and we wish them the best in Boston.  If you are interested in playing in Boston or want to get more touches on the ball at their practices this summer contact Brogan Sheedy for more information.

We have received questions asking if the club has paid any fees/dues/money to send the team to Boston this year and the answer is no.  Each player is covering their own expenses for travel and the tournament (as any normal year) and there are no registration fees directly affiliated with sending teams to Nationals so the club did not pay any additional fees/dues for these members to attend the tournament.    

I hope everyone has a fun, and safe 4th of July, and I’ll see you on the pitch!

Download Our Printable Schedule →
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.

by Kyle Keesling

🎉 2021 Pub League Registration is Live

Now that we have over a month’s worth of practices under our belts we figured it was a good time start talking about Pub League!

While some of the finer details are still in flux we do have enough information to open up registration for the season. If some of you are thinking to yourself “wait, I already did that” you’re right, but let me quickly explain why we’re asking you to do this again.

Early on in the year we created a simple registration form on our website to try and gauge interest in playing this year, and while we did keep that open through USGAA registration, it became apparent that it wasn’t really the best way to get our ducks in a row… that and only a little over of half of y’all actually completed it 😆. The good news is if you’ve already done it, or done it in years past, the form should be pre-populated with your information, just double check it to see if it’s all up to date.

In addition we also need to collect league dues for the year, and the registration process is the best way to do that, so without further ado, here’s what you need to know this year:

  • The 2021 Draft will be on Monday, June 14th, 2021 @ 7:00pm at Centerpoint Brewing
    • Both football and hurling/camogie drafts will be held on the same night
    • We will be maintaining the same draft order used for the 2020 season
    • We know that the fact that we are not carrying over the teams from the 2020 season is disappointing to many of you, and believe us when we say we considered many different options, but ultimately there were a number of teams that are now missing key people from their rosters that would put them at an unfair disadvantage
  • Deadline to register is end-of-day Friday, June 11th
  • If you are a returning member and did not register with the USGAA by the April 30th deadline you are not eligible to participate in the 2021 pub league season
  • If you are a new member and have not registered with the USGAA, no worries! You have until August 30th to register. Please contact our secretary, Rachel Keesling, for more information
  • All games, both hurling/camogie and Gaelic football will be played on Sundays
    • League will run July 11th – October 3rd
    • Labor Day weekend will be a bye week
    • Playoffs will be held on September 26th and October 3rd
  • We are also more than happy to accomodate payment plans for those who might need them, just reach out to our treasurer, Chris Burrows, to get set up

We also know that this past year has been very difficult for folks, so we wanted to come up with a way to help out those of us who’ve been hit the hardest. With that in mind we offering a no-questions-asked 30% discount for any member who may have experienced hardships due to the pandemic, just use the coupon code COVID19 when completing your registration.

Still have questions? Contact registration@indygaa.com for help!

✏️ Register for the 2021 Season Now →
by Rachel Keesling

2021 USGAA Registration Instructions

As we begin to ramp up for the 2021 season we also have to take care of all of the clerical work that goes with it. Part of that is not only registering with our club, but also with the USGAA. As we voted on at the 2019 AGM, all members are responsible for registering themselves with the USGAA and paying the fees associated with that.

You MUST be registered with the USGAA in order to play in our Pub League and/or any other sanctioned games or tournaments. This requirement and deadline is not something determined by our club, but rather at the national level. The fees associated with this registration help the USGAA organize tournaments, develop and promote the games in the US, as well as fund the insurance policy that protects all players, including you, on the pitch. We know that this deadline may seem early in comparison to the restart of our own club’s activities, this is in part why we have decided to hold off charging any Indy GAA club dues for the time being.

We cannot emphasize enough how important this is! If you are not registered, you WILL NOT be able to play. I will be calling on the 2020 team captains to help me get this done and ensure that you and your teammates are properly registered.

The deadline for returning players to complete your USGAA Registration is April 30th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

Step-by-Step Registration Instructions

  • Choose 2021 Heartland Division – Register Now
  • Log In 
    • If you have registered in the past, your info should already be in the system
      • Your user name is your email 
        • If you are new, you’ll need to create an account 
    • If you don’t remember your password try Indygaa!9, but you also many need to just use the password reset
  • Choose Someone to register
    • Your name and DOB should be here if your account already exists
    • If it is not there, click “Someone else…” to enter that information
  • Click Add Registration for Selected person
  • Select ‘Indianapolis Camogie $42’ or ‘Indianapolis Hurling and Gaelic Football $63’
    • DO NOT CHOOSE ‘Indianapolis Social Membership $11’ or ‘Indianapolis USGAA Club Fees $105’
  • Scroll to bottom and click continue to registrant info
    • If you played last year, all of your info should be in there 
  • Select Resident Player – Homegrown (Unless you’re visiting us from Ireland)
  • Last 4 digits of drivers license 
  • State where ID was issued 
  • Country of birth
  • Division and team category
  • Division? Heartland
  • Primary sport?
    • Ladies Camogie, Ladies football, Mens hurling, or Mens football
  • What team are you registering for?
    • Indy GAA Camogie/Hurling/Football – write what applies to you
  • At which grade are you registering? (If you aren’t sure, just select Junior)
    • Junior, Intermediate, Senior, or N/A
  • Are you a dual code player? (Do you play two sports? IE hurling/football or camogie/football)
  • What other team do you play for? If not dual, put NA, otherwise put Indy GAA
  • At what grade are you registering? Junior, Intermediate, Senior, or N/A (select N/A if not dual code)
  • Continue to registrar participant 
  • Payment 
  • Enter billing info (if not entered)
  • Then enter credit card data 
  • Confirm registration 
  • Payment should be complete 
Visit the USGAA Registration Site

Still have questions? Refer to the registration guide provided by the USGAA, post in the #usgaaregistration channel in our Slack, or contact me for help!

by David Littlejohn

☘️ Spring Update

🦠 The Latest Regarding COVID

I hope your 2021 is off to as good of a start as it can be given the current situation.  Hopefully this year we’ll be able to gather and play again, but we are still in a holding pattern as we wait for things to get better.  If this were a normal season we would have already had our draft events, our second round of indoor would be complete and we’d be gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. 

Unfortunately COVID is hanging around into 2021, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  So far this year our board has been able to hold two meetings to discuss plans for the upcoming year.  At this point we still don’t know when health professionals will recommend that it is safe to play contact sports, but we will keep a very close eye on their recommendations and guidance and we’ll do our best to keep the Club informed of any updates and/or plans for our events and season. 

📋 2021 League Registration

Josh Lane has created potential schedules with varying start dates so we can hit the ground running when the time comes.  We’ve submitted our COVID plan to the Marion County Health Department in order to reserve the fields at Eugene Burns. 

Our main goal is to keep our members and their families safe and healthy which is why we will not host games if there are still restrictions that recommend against it.  With that in mind, our board has also chosen to focus on our local events and season this year and as part of that adjustment we will not be hosting our invitational.

Not knowing when we will be able to start our season makes it a little tricky to ask our members to register for the season.  To help us get a better understanding of who all is interested in playing this year we are asking members to register here at no cost (for now).  When we are able to play we will ask for all members to pay before playing our first games. 

This week, the USGAA has also announced that they will be requiring registration, including the same fee structure as in past years ($63 males/$42 females). Be on the lookout for an email from Rachel soon on how to complete that process.

Having this early registration helps us plan for the upcoming season.  We hope that all of our members will return to play but we understand that each person has their own level of comfort regarding this situation and may choose to put more time between the pandemic and playing.

🏆 February Skills Challenge

Last month we launched our virtual challenge program and are working to continue it to encourage our members to stay active and engaged.  February’s Frigid Digits Challenge has wrapped up and Hope Plumbing won the first round of hurling and Bier Brewery took the win for football. 

We are planning to continue the virtual challenge program and would like to see all of our members submit their challenge videos.  If you have any thoughts or ideas on challenges or how we can improve this program please feel free to send them to the board.

Stay tuned as we will be announcing the March challenge soon.

✏️ March Board Meeting

This month’s board meeting will be held next week, on Wednesday, March 10th at 7:30pm. If you care to join us you can use this meeting link. If you have any issues joining the call please contact Kyle.

📰 Member News & Updates

A by-no-means-exhaustive list of things that have happened over the preceding months. If I missed something big of yours, forgive me and please don’t take it personally, I barely know what’s going on outside of the four walls of my house these days 😆.
If you have updates/news to share with the club about yourself or a fellow member please email pro@indygaa.com to have it included in a future update. – Kyle

  • Aaron Wilder received his MA in English, word on the street is he’s also one helluva bread baker…
  • Break out the tweed and leather-bound books, Chris Bungard was promoted from Associate to Full Professor at Butler University
  • Brogan Sheedy became engaged to this fiancée Erin
  • Mike Monaghan and family welcomed their second child Jackson Patrick
  • Reid Smith and family welcomed their daughter Harper Jo
  • Phil Bar…something and family welcomed their second son Clayton
  • Andretta Erickson, after many rounds of fostering cats with Indy Humane, finally found her forever-cat Ledger, beginning her slow descension to crazy cat lady status
by Kyle Keesling

Champions crowned in the 2020 Indoor Football League

The 2020 Indy GAA Indoor Football League came to a close last night at Sport Zone Indy, with the Blue Team walking away victorious.

Thanks to everyone who came out this year to play and compete and to our sponsor, Rad Brewing, for providing this year’s league shirts.

This marks the close of this year’s indoor leagues as we now turn our focus to outdoor pub league! Hurling matches start on Sunday, April 19, and Gaelic Football on Thursday, April 23. For more information on matches please check out our club calendar.

Also, if you’re playing in this year’s league don’t forget to get registered with the USGAA. You should’ve received an email this week from our secretary with instructions on how to do so, but if not please reach out to secretary@indygaa.com.

2020 Indy GAA Award Winners
by Kyle Keesling

2020 Award Winners Announced at Annual Banquet

On January 17, the club held their annual awards banquet at Tinker House Events. A great time was had by the nearly 70 members, friends, and family in attendance.

Without further adieu, here are your 2020 award winners:

  • Camogie Offensive Player of the Year – Ty Bremer
  • Camogie Defensive Player of the Year – Kelsey Alcorn
  • Camogie Player of the Year – Alicia Mendez-McCarthy
  • Hurling Offensive Player of the Year – Rudy Nehrling
  • Hurling Defensive Player of the Year – Pat Funk
  • Hurling Player of the Year – Brogan Sheedy
  • Broken Hurley Award – Tim Cabeen
  • Most Improved Player Award – Jacob Owens
  • Rookie of the Year – Brett Mahoney
  • Female Football Offensive Player of the Year – Elizabeth Parlin
  • Female Football Defensive Player of the Year – Claire Lane
  • Female Football Player of the Year – Jillian Beyke
  • Football Defensive Player – Reid Smith
  • Football Player of the Year – Jarlath O’Malley
  • Football Offensive Player – David Hoffmaster
  • Club Person of the Year – Chris Burrows
  • Youth Most Improved Award – Jacob Rhodes
  • Youth Sportsmanship Award – Aoife Taheny
by Kyle Keesling

2020 Pub League Registration is Open

Registration is now live for the 2020 Indy GAA Pub League. We are excited to get things going early this year, but there are a couple of changes to the way registration works this year.

If you attended the AGM back in November you are likely already aware of these changes, but for those that could not make it, or just need a refresher, here’s what’s new.

Registration Process

The first change is that you will be required to register and pay dues with both the Indy GAA (like you normally do) as well as with the USGAA, our club’s national governing body.

In year’s past the club Secretary (thanks Susan!) has taken care of USGAA registration on our members’ behalf, and the club has absorbed the cost of the additional dues, but as the club grows, and the national dues fees increase, we’ve found that process to be unsustainable.

How to Register with the Indy GAA

Registering for the 2020 Indy GAA pub league couldn’t be easier:

  1. Visit the registration page
  2. Fill out the form
    1. It should be pre-populated if you were registered last year, just double check that you’re logged in and that the information is still correct
  3. Follow the redirect to PayPal and pay your $150 dues

How to Register with the USGAA

Information on how to register with the USGAA for 2020 is still forthcoming, but the fees will be:

  • Females – $40, with an additional $2 credit card fee
  • Males – $60, with an additional $3 credit card fee

We will be sure to pass on additional details regarding this process as soon as we receive them.

Registration Deadline

The second change is that there will be a hard deadline to register, with no exceptions. That deadline will Wednesday, February 5th. 

This deadline was picked to give us enough time to plan for the drafts, secure the proper number of pub league sponsors, order jerseys so that they will be available in time for the league to start, among other responsibilities. The league drafts will be held on:

  • Hurling Draft – Monday, February 10th
  • Gaelic Football Draft – Monday, February 17th.

All members must be paid in full to both the Indy GAA and USGAA prior to stepping on the pub league fields on April 19th. If you do not register by the deadline, you are NOT ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY ON-FIELD ACTIVITIES FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. 

The only caveat to the registration deadline is that new members who have never been associated with any other USGAA-affiliated club have until August to register with the USGAA.

Important Dates

  • Wednesday, February 5th – Pub League Registration Deadline
  • Monday, February 10th – Hurling Pub League Draft
  • Monday, February 17th – Gaelic Football Pub League Draft
  • Friday, April 17th – USGAA Registration Deadline
  • Sunday, April 19th – First Day of Hurling Pub League
  • Thursday, April 23rd – First Day of Gaelic Football Pub League

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please email registration@indygaa.com.

Register for the 2020 Pub League and Pay Your Dues →