Book early for Cúl Camps, urges county board

A total of 1,700 places filled up as of this afternoon

Cavan county board have urged parents to book as soon as possible if they wish for their children to secure a place on this year’s GAA Cúl Camps.

In all, 22 camps will take place in Cavan this summer, beginning on July 20. Demand has been very high since the dates were announced two days ago and county secretary Liam McCabe stated that parents should be advised to book as soon as possible.

“It opened on Tuesday evening and to date we have had nearly 1700 kids booked in,” he told The Anglo-Celt.

“How does this compare to other years? Well, one year we had 3,200, Cúl Camp numbers have been going up steadily for the last number of years but this year we have to cap it and the numbers are already very high. I would estimate we might have in the region of 2,200 children at this year’s camps.”

Rules regarding the number of coaches have seen places limited. The ratio of coaches to players is one to eight whereas in previous years it was one to 20 which is limiting capacity across the country. The guideline was in place in the past but is being strictly adhered to nationwide this year.

“There is great interest in it. Some of the camps are sold out already, although there will be some parents who are reluctant to send their children due to the ongoing health situation.

"We have received some calls from people saying areas were booked out but unfortunately we don’t have any hand in it, we just put up the camps and the booking is done centrally, it’s just like going to buy a ticket for a concert really.

"I would say to parents to book as soon as possible."

Places can be booked via cavangaa.ie.

Meanwhile, the fixtures for this year’s All-Ireland football and hurling championships are set to be revealed at an event in Croke Park tomorrow morning. Speculation is rife that the GAA will opt for a knock-out championship with no back door but Cavan county board have received no communication on the matter.

“It’s an ever-evolving situation and we won’t know until tomorrow what the plan is, the same as everyone else,” stated the secretary.