Sports equipment is always developing and the GAA has launched a Smart Sliotar which will be used in the upcoming U20 Hurling championships.
An important element of the project has been to ensure the use of officially sanctioned sliotars that are made in line with ethical production and supply chain issues as determined by the World Federation of the Sports Goods Industry (WFSGI).
A chip is embedded in the core of the Smart Sliotar which can be read by an app on a mobile phone and can be verified as being an official match ball.
Detailed specifications for the new ball were put together by a special Work Group established by Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy in 2021 and chaired by Ned Quinn. This group met on 22 occasions since July and oversaw testing with a number of Senior inter-county players.
Their proposal was accepted at last month’s GAA Congress in Castlebar.
“I want to acknowledge and thank the Work Group for their detailed and evidenced-based work which we believe will lead to improvements in sliotar production and performance and I look forward to seeing how the Smart Sliotar performs in next month’s U20 Championships.”
Wouldn’t that make for an opportunity to introduce a technology sector sponsor of the Championships to replace Bord Gais Energy who ended their 12-year association with the age grade Championship last summer?
