Understanding Hurling

Legend has it no one fully understands hurling or why they do it, but it sure makes for a fantastic game to watch. If you have any Irish friends, or you’re heading to Ireland any time soon, then you should wise up about hurling.

Of ancient Gaelic and Irish origin, hurling is known to many as “the fastest game on grass,” and they’re not wrong. It combines a wide range of skills you might find in other games such as lacrosse, hockey and even baseball. Players battle it out on a grass field, armed with a wooden stick called a hurley (http://www.gaa.ie/the-gaa/rules-regulations/). They use this stick to hit a ball, known as a sliotar, toward and, ultimately, between the opponent’s goalposts in the shape of a big H. The H looks like rugby posts but with a goal net at the bottom guarded by a goalkeeper. If you get the sliotar over the crossbar and through the upper half of the H, then you get one point. If you get it past the goalkeeper and into the net, then you’ve got yourself three points.

First and foremost, you would need to get the ball near the opponent’s goal and to do you have a few options. You can run with the ball in your hand, but there’s a catch as you can only do this for four steps. For unlimited travel, you would need to balance the sliotar on the end of the hurley, which is not as easy as it sounds. For passing you can hit the ball in the air or on the ground, as well as kicking it or hitting it with an open hand, a frequently employed tactic.

Physical contact is not illegal in this game, and if the player has at least one foot on the ground, then that player may shoulder charge an opponent who is in possession of or in play with the ball, or both players are moving in the same direction toward the ball.