Albany Rebels Add Hurling Team
The Albany Rebels announced earlier today that it will be offering the sport of Hurling, in addition to Gaelic Football, in 2021. An Albany Hurling team and the Albany Rebels Gaelic Athletic Association have merged to integrate the Football club with a group of individuals who have taken the initiative to teach themselves the sport of Hurling over the past number of years.
“We are delighted to welcome these hurlers into our club and to continue to grow Irish sport and culture in this area,” said Rebels chairman Cillian Flavin. “We hope to create a Hurling 7's team to compete in exhibition tournaments over the next year or so and to field a full team as soon as possible.”
The new hurlers and existing football players began training together earlier this spring.
“We are excited to join the Albany Rebels GAA club and take Hurling in the Albany area from a hobby team to an official GAA club,” said Justin Finning, who founded the former Hurling team.
“I believe this is a great opportunity for both teams and we will make a strong Irish sports base in the Capital Region,” Finning continued. “Our immediate goal is to play exhibition games around the New York and New England area to gain field experience in 2021. The long term goal is to build a full Hurling team that can compete in the Midwest GAA Division.”
Please join us for this exciting new addition to the Albany GAA community! If you are interested, please send an email to albanyrebelsgfc@gmail.com.
What is Hurling?
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic and Irish origin. The game has prehistoric origins, and has been played for 3,000 years.
The objective of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley to hit a small ball called a sliotar between the opponent’s goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points.
The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked, or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick, and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession.