After a few no-go practices at Broad Ripple Park these past few weeks we wanted to do everything we could to ensure we could hold a training session this week. With that in mind we’ve reserved World Sports Park for this weeks practice! We hope to see everyone out there at 6:30!
If you have any questions email board@indygaa.com
Due to poor/unusable field conditions we’ve decided to cancel practice this week, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t get out for some craic. Meet us at Connor’s instead, say around 6:30?
I hope you are doing well and are gearing up for a great Indy GAA season. The board and our committees have been working hard to get everything ready for when we all hit the pitch for Pub League in April. The fields have been reserved, our teams have been picked, and the jerseys have been designed and are being produced at O’Neills. It’s already March and we’ll be getting started with practices soon so I wanted to give a quick update on events scheduled for the season.
Before getting into the updates I want to thank the members who helped with the jersey designs this year. Woody White and his crew did a great job putting together the jerseys and working with the captains and sponsors to make sure everyone agreed on the final designs. They put in a lot of time and effort to make sure we’ll look good on the pitch this season. Next time you see Woody White, Kelsey Alcorn, Joel Dale, Jessica Rhodes, Chris Burrows, Brett Mayoney, and Travis Ryan be sure to tell them thank you for their work on the jerseys. We are working to redesign the travel jerseys as well so if you have any thoughts/ideas/proposals you would like to share jump on the #jersey-design channel on Slack or send them to Woody.
Our membership relations officer position is vacant and we are in search of interested members who are willing and able to take over the position. The role of the Membership Relations Officer is to be a point of contact for all of our members, to introduce new members to the club, and keep all of our members engaged in the club’s activities/efforts. The new membership relations officer’s term would start as soon as possible and would end on December 31, 2023. If you are interested in this position to help our club and our members please contact the board at board@indygaa.com.
This year we are doing a special O’Neills Apparel Order in conjunction with our jersey order so that our members can purchase new Indy GAA jerseys, shorts, windcheaters, etc. so you can update your kitbag/wardrobe.
Visit the Club Hub site here →
If you haven’t registered with the USGAA already you will also be required to register for the USGAA before our season starts and/or you play in any tournaments. More information on that process and requirement can be found here. Please be on the lookout for details with more information on the registration requirements when we get closer to the deadline.
We’ve already been invited to play in multiple tournaments coming up this year. There are a few coming up in the next few months:
For more information on the travel tournaments check out the Upcoming Tournament section on the sidebar of the website and the #travelfootball and #travelhurling channels on Slack.
We are looking for a travel competition commissioner to help keep track of the tournaments and interested members who will help set up teams and work on travel plans/details. If you are interested please contact the board at board@indygaa.com.
We are hoping to get back into action with practices in March this year. This year we are planning to start practices the first Wednesday after St. Patrick’s Day, March 23rd. This will heavily depend on the weather but please mark your calendar so you’re ready to get started this March.
The teams have been picked and this year we’re back to eight hurling teams and four football teams. The schedules are posted on our website. This year our Pub League is scheduled to start on April 24th and run through August 7th. This will allow for enough weekends to host full hurling and football seasons from April 24th – July 24th with playoffs for football at the end of June and early July and hurling playoffs at the end of July and early August.
We are planning to host Premier Nights at Kuntz stadium throughout the season again this year. These are fun nights with good competition and a great opportunity for family members and/or friends to see our games for a cheap Friday night event/activity. Details on our Premier Nights will be provided when we get closer to the season.
Planning for the greatest Gaelic Invitational in North America has already started. The date for the Indy Invitational is scheduled for June 18th at the World Sports Park. You will not want to miss this event or its after party so make sure to mark your calendar now.
This event is the best way to showcase our club and it takes a lot of effort to host it so we will need as many volunteers as we can get to set up the fields, run the games, keep everything running smoothly, and tear down. If you are interested in helping please contact our Events Chair, Danny Jorgenson, to let him know and he will add you to his list.
This year the USGAA National finals are being hosted in Chicago from August 19th – 21st and we want to make our presence known and bring home some hardware. Please mark your calendar whether you plan to play or be a superfan for the weekend.
We want to send competitive panels to play and win as many trophies as we can take home this year. To get ready, our coaches have set up additional practices throughout the season for more intense practices for players interested in participating in Nationals. We are planning to start hosting these practices in May and more details will be provided when we get closer to the season.
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is back on this year!! It will be held on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, on the Mile Square in downtown Indy and we are registered to participate. Please join the club in walking in the parade so we can showcase our great club and sports to all of the parade’s spectators. Bring your gear and wear your jersey because we’ll demonstrate the skills of our sports while walking the parade route. After the parade we’ll take pictures with the group downtown, have a short puck/kick around and then head off for afters. St. Patrick’s Day is always a great time to enjoy our friends in the club, make new friends, recruit new members, kick off our season, and of course celebrate the patron Saint of Ireland. For more info check out the calendar entry or join the #lets-talk-about-events-baby channel in Slack.
Do you like basketball? Do you like prizes? Join the club’s tournament challenge for your chance to win a free 2023 membership or a gift card to one of our lovely sponsors.
We’re working with O’Neills this year to set up a site where you can order your favorite IndyGAA themed merchandise – including the 2022 jerseys.
Very soon we will be sharing a link to a special site that will allow members to order team-branded items like shorts, sweaters, jackets, etc, as well as any other 2022 team jerseys you might want to purchase. While most of these items are available year round on the O’Neills IndyGAA site, by adding it to this order you’ll get bulk pricing and reduced shipping.
Please note that if you’re registered for a team you’re already getting your requested jersey size/number – this would only be for any extra jerseys you may want.
The site will only be open for a few days to make sure we get delivery in time for the season to start, so we wanted to give everyone a heads up before it does. We’ll pass along the website link and closing date once we get them, ideally early next week.
Remember – it doesn’t matter how good you are at something as long as you look good doing it, so be sure to stock up!
The Indy GAA Draft party has become a tradition over the past 10+ years, but sometimes it’s easy for us old-timers to assume everyone knows what these types of events are, but in reality there are many folks newer to the club, or those who have yet to join us that may be interested in knowing a little bit about it. With that I figured it was worth providing a brief overview for the uninitiated.
The actual draft takes place in a sequestered location. The captains for each team convene to choose their teams using a variety of strategies and methodologies to ensure they translate the perfect team on paper to the championship team on the field.
With that said, we don’t think of this event being held solely for draft, after all, we do call it a party!
This event is really intended to build excitement around the upcoming season and get members both old and new reacquainted and re-energized after a winter away from the pitch. All other members outside of the draft room have a chance to relax, mingle, and pontificate as to what the teams will look like for the upcoming year.
After the teams have been selected the captains emerge to announce their picks and so ensues the strategizing and game-planning for the season to come.
If that sounds up your alley we hope you’ll join us for the 2022 Draft Party coming up on Sunday, February 20th at 4pm at Centerpoint Brewing.
All are welcome to attend, even if you’re not registered to play, so we encourage you to bring friends and family. If you intend to play and would like to be entered into the draft please make sure you register no later than February 16th!
Also, please take a second to check out the photos below as the links to some of the photo albums I was able to pull up from years past. Over the years the event has been held at a number of different places, including the Blarney Stone Pub, Santorini’s Greek Kitchen, Flat 12 Bierworks, the Hard Rock Cafe, Triton Brewing, and as of the last few years Centerpoint Brewing. Flipping though these photos was a definitely a nice little walk down memory lane, and I hope they are for you as well.
As we prepare to kick off the 2022 season we wanted to get some quick feedback from members regarding the types of training and activities you might like to see.
Please take a moment and complete this survey so we can make sure everyone gets the most of the season!
As we begin to ramp up for the 2022 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.
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 cannot emphasize enough how important this is! If you are not registered, you WILL NOT be able to play.
The deadline for returning players to complete your USGAA Registration is April 30th – NO EXCEPTIONS!
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!
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:
For more photos of the evening (both edited and non) check out our Flickr gallery. Thanks to Woody White for taking photos.
Plans have made, details have been set, and tickets are now live for our annual winter banquet. After missing last year we are excited to be back this year on Saturday, January 8th, 2022, 5:00pm at the The Liter House.
The banquet is a time to reflect on the past season and catch up with each other after a few months away from the pitch. We’ll also be presenting awards to recognize members for their accomplishments on and off the field.
Dinner will be catered by Half Liter BBQ, but don’t worry, alternative dietary requirements will be accommodated, just make sure to note your needs in the notes field when purchasing your ticket(s).
The event is open to all, so be sure to invite your friends and family members, and if you have any questions please let us know.
Dress is formal, but please feel free to get as creative or unique as you like!
Due to the rising cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 we will be requiring that all attendees provide proof of full vaccination, as defined by the CDC, or a confirmed negative COVID-19 test result performed no greater than 48hrs before the event.
Please email a copy of your vaccination record or test result to covid19@indygaa.com to help us keep everything organized. Your data will be kept private and destroyed once we’ve verified your status.
Click the link below to purchase your tickets.
I just wanted to get a quick reminder out before the holiday that we’ve got a few events coming up next week. The first.
December 1st – 8pm on Zoom
Everyone is invited to take part in discussing what our 2022 season should look like from the coaching perspective. Our goal during this call is to come up with recommendations to the board for practice frequency, format, and times so that the board can work on securing fields to meet our criteria.
December 5th – 3pm at Tappers Arcade Bar
Help support the Indy GAA and get those last-minute points at the Flippin Donnybrook pinball tournament. Registration is just $10, and qualifying starts at 3:00pm.
The qualifying round will be a ‘best game’ format for 6 games at one attempt per game. Finals will be group ladder elimination similar to Pinburgh/PAPA. Groups of four in four-game rounds. The bottom two are eliminated. The final four will play one game for the winner.
