Tipperary GAA’s County Convention takes place this afternoon.
All motions put forward from clubs around the county will be voted on by club delegates and officials.
Motions being put forward this year include ones in relation to age grades and parish rule.
Nenagh Éire Óg have put forward a motion to try eliminate the throwing of the ball in hurling.
Speaking on Across The Line, Nenagh Éire Óg club man Conor O’Donovan says ball throwing must be eradicated from the game:
“This matter needs to be resolved.
“Ball throwing is not part of hurling. Not only is it against the spirit of hurling but it’s also actually against the rules of hurling.
“Unfortunately, ball throwing today from what I can see, it is becoming the foundation from which the modern game is built.”
The rule being put forward by the North Tipperary club suggests that a player should not be able to handpass the sliothar with the same hand they are holding it in.
This means players would have to throw the ball up with one hand and make contact with the ball with their other hand in order to perform a legal handpass.
O’Donovan says the introduction of this rule would even improve the life of referees.
“The introduction of this rule would make it more clear cut for the referees and make their lives an awful lot easier. We hear Tim Floyd commenting in his report about the abuse that’s being directed at the referees, and this is one source of the abuse, you know whether the referee penalises or not, if the ball is thrown and he doesn’t penalises it, there’s a shout from the sidelines, the stands, or the other players. The introduction of this rule would straught away eliminate that issue for referees. ”
The Tipperary GAA Convention gets underway in the Done in Thurles at 3pm today.
