The GAA need to step up and officially recognise their over 40’s

It's a wonderful thing sport is.

Whether you're big or small, fat or skinny, fast or slow there is a sport for you. There's a position for everyone, too. But with more and more demands on players than ever before it is a serious commitment. Between the training and the gym sessions, the diets and the drinking bans it takes its toll. Everyone has to hang up their boots at some point, it's hard to physically keep up with the flying fit young fellas and put the body through all that training. However, the GAA career shouldn't finish there just because of your age. A Masters team is one way to continue and keep on playing. In the GAA, counties bring back their golden oldies to compete against each other. It's a great idea for those that love the game and want to continue their career for a couple of years without putting their body through torture. The only problem is that it's not officially recognised by the GAA and when that happens it doesn't get the support or profile it needs to flourish. On the latest episode of the GAA Hour Colm Parkinson was speaking about the Masters and how he would like to get involved:

“I got a text a couple of months ago from Dannie Doogue," Parkinson said. "Dannie Doogue was a great Laois minor back in ’95 when I was gracing the minor fields but the text was ‘Wooly, make sure you’re ready for next year, we’ll all be 40. The 96’ minors we’re going to in for this Masters thing’. "So, I was thinking that’d be nice to get back with all the lads to play in this and then you kind of read this that it’s just a bit of a farce of a competition that the GAA don’t even recognise it even though they’re bringing hurling teams over to Fenway Park for a bastardised hurling game and they’re doing the same bringing it to Australia. "They won’t sanction an over 40’s competition with players that have represented their counties with distinction and when you hit 40 to be able to almost have a reunion with all the lads you played with and go one more time against over 40’s, I think it’s a beautiful thing."

(Feature image credit: Mayo Gaelic Masters)  https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/zach-tuohy-david-breen-interviews-denis-bastic-love-gpa-wages