Sport in Ireland Report

[alonso]

SR I'd have inferred the opposite. I'd say people going to the gym as individuals training for rugby would count as "gym" not "rugby". It's a fair point though langer and should be clarified. Also is Golf is seen as "individual"? That's slightly misleading as most of us play in 3-balls/4-balls and may descend en masse to a public course in a group of 6-8.

And as much as this report reveals a stagnation in the native games, it's not exactly screaming greatness for soccer and rugby either as individualism in all it's forms starts to leak into one of THE most important social things we do from an early age - play.

[meriwether]

SR I'd have inferred the opposite. I'd say people going to the gym as individuals training for rugby would count as "gym" not "rugby". It's a fair point though langer and should be clarified. Also is Golf is seen as "individual"? That's slightly misleading as most of us play in 3-balls/4-balls and may descend en masse to a public course in a group of 6-8.

And as much as this report reveals a stagnation in the native games, it's not exactly screaming greatness for soccer and rugby either as individualism in all it's forms starts to leak into one of THE most important social things we do from an early age - play.

People dont have time for organised games anymore.
You exercixe when you can.

[alonso]

yep meri. bad planning, sprawl, communities and uses built for cars, long distance commuting, traffic nightmares, lack of childcare, lack of open spaces, flight from the city to exurbs, no football,GAA or Rugby clubs - all of this adds up to a disintegration in 'community'. It's a damning damning indictment of our political masters who have allowed this to happen.

Bowling alone indeed.

[popper]

I'd imagine langerboy does have a point regarding gym use by people playing team sports. Lots of clubs hire gym time for this during the year and a huge number of club members would use gyms as part of their overall training as individuals. Maybe the ESRI could recommend that all clubs get grants to build their own gyms

[Roger]

I wonder how many of these soccer players are gaelic footballers or hurliers staying fit over the winter. As for "participation levels", what is meant by "participation"? Does it mean merely playing a game every Saturday forenoon and putting nothing more into the sport? And should it be only players who are considered participants. Spectating is also participating - especially where it involves travelling to see a team's away matches. And, of course, the real "participants" are those chaps who spend a big part of their lives managing amateur teams - the type whose body language, even at a distance of more than 100 metres, can tell how often "his" team has won during the last month.