Purpose:: To examine the association between combined session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) workload measures and injury risk in elite Gaelic footballers.Methods:: Thirty-seven elite Gaelic footballers (mean ± SD age 24.2 ± 2.9 y) from 1 elite squad were involved in a single-season study. Weekly workload (session RPE multiplied by duration) and all time-loss injuries (including subsequent-wk injuries) were recorded during the period. Rolling weekly sums and wk-to-wk changes in workload were measured, enabling the calculation of the acute:chronic workload ratio by dividing acute workload (ie, 1-weekly workload) by chronic workload (ie, rolling-average 4-weekly workload). Workload measures were then modeled against data for all injuries sustained using a logistic-regression model. Odds ratios (ORs) were reported against a reference group.Results:: High 1-weekly workloads (≥2770 arbitrary units [AU], OR = 1.63–6.75) were associated with significantly higher risk of injury than in a low-training-load reference group (1.5), players with 1 y experience had a higher risk of injury (OR = 2.22) and players with 2–3 (OR = 0.20) and 4–6 y (OR = 0.24) of experience had a lower risk of injury. Players with poorer aerobic fitness (estimated from a 1-km time trial) had a higher injury risk than those with higher aerobic fitness (OR = 1.50–2.50). An acute:chronic workload ratio of (≥2.0) demonstrated the greatest risk of injury.Conclusions:: These findings highlight an increased risk of injury for elite Gaelic football players with high (>2.0) acute:chronic workload ratios and high weekly workloads. A high aerobic capacity and playing experience appears to offer injury protection against rapid changes in workload and high acute:chronic workload ratios. Moderate workloads, coupled with moderate to high changes in the acute:chronic workload ratio, appear to be protective for Gaelic football players.

Malone, S, Solan, B, Collins, KD, and Doran, DA. Positional match running performance in elite Gaelic football. J Strength Cond Res 30(8): 2292–2298, 2016—There is currently limited information available on match running performance in Gaelic football. The objective of the current study was to report on the match running profile of elite male Gaelic football and assess positional running performance. In this observational study, 50 elite male Gaelic football players wore 4-Hz global positioning systems units (VX Sports) across 30 competitive games with a total of 215 full game data sets collected. Activity was classed according to total distance, high-speed distance (≥17 km·h⁻¹), sprint distance (≥22 km·h⁻¹), mean velocity (km·h⁻¹), peak velocity (km·h⁻¹), and number of accelerations. The average match distance was 8,160 ± 1,482 m, reflective of a relative distance of 116 ± 21 m·min⁻¹, with 1,731 ± 659 m covered at high speed, which is reflective of a relative high-speed distance of 25 ± 9 m·min⁻¹. The observed sprint distance was 445 ± 169 m distributed across 44 sprint actions. The peak velocity was 30.3 ± 1.8 km·h⁻¹ with a mean velocity of 6.5 ± 1.2 km·h⁻¹. Players completed 184 ± 40 accelerations, which represent 2.6 ± 0.5 accelerations per minute. There were significant differences between positional groups for both total running distance, high-speed running distance, and sprint distance, with midfielders covering more total and high-speed running distance, compared with other positions (p < 0.001). There was a reduction in high-speed and sprint distance between the first and second half (p < 0.001). Reductions in running performance were position dependent with the middle 3 positions experiencing the highest decrement in performance. The current study is the first to communicate a detailed description of match running performance during competitive elite Gaelic football match play.

The two major sports indigenous to Ireland are Gaelic football and hurling. Both are 15‐a‐side field games played on a pitch 40% longer than a soccer field. They are firmly linked to a nationalist tradition and have by far the highest participation rates in sports in the country. Both games make multiple demands on participants due to their free‐flowing nature and quick movement of play from end to end of the pitch. Hurling calls for hand–eye coordination and skilled use of the hurling stick in hitting and blocking the ball. Fitness characteristics mirror game demands. Participants at elite level in both games display high aerobic power, the footballers tending to be stronger in the upper body and better in vertical jumping. Gaelic footballers in particular match the fitness characteristics of professional soccer players, except for sprinting speed. Less attention has been paid to female participants, especially in camogie, the female version of hurling. Despite their amateur status, and due to the popularity of the sports and the training regimens adopted by players, the games have garnered sports science support systems for elite performers. Support personnel benefit from a generic knowledge base as well as a burgeoning research agenda targeted at the Gaelic games.