For the Cornish sport, see Hurling the Silver Ball.

Irish postage stamp which portrays hurling

Hurling (Irish, Iomáint) is an outdoor team sport of Celtic origin, played with sticks and a ball. The game, played primarily in Ireland, is arguably the world's fastest field team sport in terms of game play (however the ball travels faster in other field games such as hockey). It resembles the games of shinty that is played primarily in Scotland, cammag on the Isle of Man and bandy that was played formerly in England and Wales. Hurling played by women is also known as camogie. Hurling is one of Ireland's native sports.

Game

The objective of this field game is for one of two teams to score more goals and points, during a match, than the other. A team comprises 15 players.

The stick, which is known as a hurley or camán, is made traditionally from the root of the Ash tree and is generally 25–38 inches (64–97 cm) in length with a flat face opposite its handle called a bas. The ball, which is known as a sliotar, is made of leather and is 2.55 inches (65 mm) in diameter. The goalkeeper's hurley has a bas twice the size of other players' hurleys to provide some advantage for the fast moving sliotar. A good strike with a stick can propel the ball up to 93 mph (150 km per hour) in speed and 262 feet (80 m) in distance.

During a match, players attack their opposing goal and protect their own. When the ball is on the ground, it must be played by striking or lifting it off the ground with the hurley into the air where it may be struck again or placed into the hand for four seconds or four steps, whichever comes first. If the ball is caught, the catching player may not throw it or carry it for the shorter of four paces or four seconds, but is allowed to strike the ball with a stick or hand, or by kicking. The hurley's bas may be used to carry the ball while a player controls it.

Accidental collisions between players and equipment do occur and so a plastic protective helmet with faceguard is recommended (mandatory for players under 21 years of age).

Rules

Playing Field

The pitch is of grass and rectangular, stretching 150 metres long and 80–90 metres wide. There are H-shaped goalposts at each end with a net on the bottom section. The same pitch is used for Gaelic football; the GAA, which organises both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. Lines are marked at 13m, 20m and 65m from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by under-13s and younger.

Teams

File:GAA Pitch Positions.jpg

The player positions of a hurling team.

Teams consist of fifteen players (a goalkeeper, two corner backs, a full back, three half backs, two midfielders, three half forwards, two corner forwards and a full forward) plus up to fifteen substitutes, of which five may be used. Each player is numbered 1-15, starting with the goalkeeper, who must wear a different coloured jersey.

Timekeeping

Senior inter-county matches last 70 minutes (35 minutes a half). All other matches last 60 minutes (30 minutes a half). For age groups of under-13 or lower, games may be shortened to 50 minutes. Timekeeping is at the discretion of the referee who adds on stoppage time at the end of each half.

If a knockout game finishes in a draw, a replay is played. If a replay finishes in a draw, 20 minutes (10 minutes a side) extra time is played. If the game is still tied, another replay is played.

In club competitions replays are increasingly not used due to the fixture backlogs caused. Instead, extra time is played after a draw, and if the game is still level after that it will go to a replay.

Technical Fouls

The following are considered technical fouls ("fouling the ball"):

Picking the ball directly off the ground
Throwing the ball
Going five steps with the ball in the hand. It may be bounced or carried on the hurley though.
Catching the ball three times in a row without it touching the ground (touching the hurley does not count)
Putting the ball from one hand to the other
Handpassing a goal or point
Dropping or throwing the hurley
Square ball, an often controversial rule: If, at the moment the ball enters the small rectangle, there is already an attacking player inside the small rectangle, a free out is awarded.

Scoring

Scoring is achieved by sending the sliotar (ball) between the opposition's goal posts. The posts, which are at each end of the field, are "H" posts as in rugby football but with a net under the crossbar as in soccer. The posts are seven yards (6.37 m) apart and the crossbar is seven feet (2.12 m) above the ground.

If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format {goal total} - {point total}. For example, the 1995 All-Ireland final finished: Clare 1-13 Offaly 2-8. Thus Clare won "one thirteen to two eight" (16 to 14). 0-11 is referred to as "eleven points", never "zero eleven". 2-0 is referred to as "two goals", never "two zero". 0-0 is said "no score".

Tackling

Players may be tackled but not struck with a stick. Jersey-pulling, wrestling, pushing and tripping are all forbidden. There are several forms of acceptable tackling, the most popular being:

the block, where one player attempts to smother an opposing players strike by trapping the ball between his hurley and the opponent's swinging hurley;
the hook, where a player approaches another player from a rear angle and attempts to catch the opponent's hurley with his own at the top of the swing; and
the side pull, where two players running together for the sliotar will collide at the shoulders and swing together to win the tackle.

Restarting play

The match begins with the referee throwing the sliotar in between the four midfielders on the halfway line.
After an attacker has scored or put the ball wide of the goals, the goalkeeper may take a puckout from the hand at the edge of the small square. All players must be beyond the 20m line.
After a defender has put the ball wide of the goals, an attacker may take a "65" from the ground on the 65m line level with where the ball went wide.
After a player has put the ball over the sideline, the other team may take a sideline puck at the point where the ball left the pitch. It must be taken from the ground.
After a player has committed a foul, the other team may take a free at the point where the foul was committed. It must be taken by lifting and striking.
After a defender has committed a foul inside the large rectangle, the other team may take a penalty from the ground from the centre of the 20m line. Only the goalkeeper and two defenders may guard the goals.
If many players are struggling for the ball and it is not clear who was fouled first, the referee may choose to throw the ball in between two opposing players.

Officials

A hurling match is watched over by 8 officials:

The referee
Two linesmen
Sideline Official/Standby Linesman (inter-county games only)
Four umpires (two at each end)

The referee is responsible for starting and stopping play, recording the score, awarding frees and booking and sending off players.
Linesmen are responsible for indicating the direction of line balls to the referee.
The fourth official is responsible for overseeing substitutions, and also indicating the amount of stoppage time (signalled to him by the referee) and the players substituted using an electronic board.
The umpires are responsible for judging the scoring. They indicate to the referee whether a shot was: wide (spread both arms), a 65m puck (raise one arm), a point (wave white flag), or a goal (wave green flag).
All officials are also supposed to indicate to the referee anything he may have missed, although this is a rare occurrence. The referee can over-rule any decision by a linesman or umpire.

History

Hurling was first mentioned in a description of the 14th century BC Battle of Moytura where the Tuatha Dé Danann defeated the Fir Bolg in a match and, later, in a battle. Hurling has also been mentioned in several other old Irish sources since and the game has enjoyed popularity through the ages.

The strongest hurling teams have come from the counties of Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary but teams such as Clare, Galway, Limerick, Offaly, Waterford and Wexford have become prominent or re-emerged since the 1980s. County Antrim in northeast Ireland is considered an isolated "hurling county" but has never won the Liam McCarthy Cup.

Significant hurling matches are those between the counties of Ireland in each of the four national provinces. Up to the end of the 1990s, the provincial champions played-off in the semi-finals for the right to compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final that takes place annually in September at Croke Park in Dublin. In recent times the championship has opened up to include a group stage and quarter-finals.

Since 1884, hurling has been governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The most important match is the GAA All-Ireland Intercounty Championship which takes place annually in a modified knock-out format. The final matches are played at Croke Park and regularly attract attendances of up to 83,000 people.

National and international

Although many hurling clubs exist worldwide, only Ireland has a national team. It and the Scotland shinty team have played for many years with modified match rules. The match is the only such international competition. However, competition at club level in growing in Europe with teams

Today hurling remains an entirely amateur sport. None of the players or managers are paid.

Major hurling competitions

Famous players

Hurling in North America

In North America there are leagues in many cities. The oldest and largest league is the Milwaukee Hurling Club, but leagues can be found across the entire continent. The North American Gaelic Athletic Association helps promote hurling in North America, arrange matches between leagues and helps people start or locate a hurling club.