Questions Wanted for Europe GAA-In Focus...

Folks,

The second segment of our In Focus... Section will see us pose questions to Tony Bass, the Secretary of the European County Board following contact via Twitter. We are hot on the heels of Limerick successfully hosting the European GAA Championships and we are now requesting your questions on all things GAA in the Eurpean mainland.

This is to go along with our new site name Global GAA and we are going to focus our second forum interview on the Overseas GAA in Europe.

Here's some info for you all to look at before posing you questions -

Competition Format

With Europe County comprising all of continental Europe with great distances between each team, the County Board adopted a system of rounds in the form of tournaments so that every team has the same chance to win the championship. Every year six to eight rounds are played to determine the new champion. A tournament is competed in a single day with pool stages or in a round-robin format leading to a final. Semi-finals and ranking matches can be played if needed to determine a ranking of every team present on the day. Each team gains a number of points depending on its ranking at each tournament (25 points for the winner, 20 points for the runner-up, etc.). After each tournament points gained are added to determine the championship winner at the end of the season.

Since 2006, the Men's competition has been played on a regional basis. County Europe is divided into 5 regions: Benelux, East and Central, Iberia, North West and Scandinavia. From February to August, each team plays in its regional competition with the top two teams qualifying for the European Championship. All other teams go on to play the European Shield. Championship and Shield are competed from September to November.

recent years
In recent years the development of Gaelic Games in Europe stepped up a pace with new clubs being set up in Maastricht , Budapest , Copenhagen , Gothenburg, Pamplona , Valencia and Vienna along with clubs in Lyon and other locations in Brittany in France . The success of these clubs is proven by the fact that since 2006:

•Men’s football has been organised on a regional basis in twelve locations initially and then over four pan-European Championship & Shield rounds to facilitate additional teams,

•The hurling Championship now extends over four rounds and an inter-county invitational event;

•A Camogie championship will continue in 2009; and,

•Seven venues will host Ladies Football European Championship rounds.

The European GAA is renowned for its forward thinking when it comes to ensuring that there is the opportunity for Gaelic games to be played in Europe and has clubs from all reaches of the continent, including teams in France with no Irish members at all.

As before, please PM me your questions for Tony Bass, remember you can ask as many questions as you like! There is no such thing as a silly question and as long as they are relevant i will pass them on upon approval.

This is your chance to find out things about the GAA outside Ireland and the UK and is an interview conducted by you, the posters. No other GAA forum has had the opportunity to undertake anything like this so please think of some questions we can ask. This is an amazing chance to grow the forum, its member base and our reputation in the GAA world.

All questions will be credited to the poster/s that asked them, I will be closing the opportunity to ask questions on Monday 21st November at 6-00pm so please get them in before then.

Here is a list of GAA clubs per country in the mainland (website in brackets) -

• Austria: Vienna Gaels ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

• Belgium: Belgium GAA asbl ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (ex Brussels GAA), EC Gaelic Club of Brussels ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

• Denmark: Copenhagen GFC

• Finland: Northern Gaels HC

• France: Paris Gaels (Paris), Lutetia Celtiques (Paris), Ar Gwazi Gouez (Rennes), Entente gaélique de Haute-Bretagne (Liffré), Gaelic Football Bro-Leon (Brest), NEC Football Gaélique (Nantes), Gwenrann football gaélique (Guérande), Gwened Football Gaélique (Vannes), Dogues Gaelic Football Club (Saint-Malo), Gaelic football Bro Sant-Brieg (St Brieuc), Tolosa Despòrt Gaelic (Toulouse), Lugdunum CLG (Lyon), Dragons Eire'Lempdais (Clermont-Ferrand), Gaelic Football Club Niort, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand

• Guernsey/Jersey: Guernsey Gaels, Jersey GAA

• Germany:Frankfurt Sarsfields ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Na Fianna (Bremen), München Colmcilles, Nordrhein Westfalen Exiles, St. Kilians (Würzburg)

• Hungary: Budapest Rangers

• Luxembourg: Luxembourg Gaelic Sports Club ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

• Netherlands: Amsterdam GAC ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Den Haag GAA ([1]), St. Martin's (Groningen), Maastricht Gaels

• Norway: Oslo ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

• Spain: Barcelona Gaels, Costa Gaels (Marbella), Éire Óg Sevilla, Madrid Harps, Naomh Fermin (Pamplona), Valencia GAA, A Coruña Fillos de Breogán

• Sweden: Gothenburg, Malmö, Sweden

• Switzerland: Inneoin Zurich HC

Another great idea - fair play to you Bald Eagle. Global GAA is suddenly a very apt name for this site which could become the forum for the GAA internationally!

Don't forget this folks, PM any questions you have for Tony Bass on the GAA in Europe to me. Don't miss out this time round on being a part of this section!

OK folks, this has been posted for a day and still no questions for me. This segment has the potiential to be a great addition to the forum and we should take advantage of it, after all, no other GAA forum is offering it's posters the opportunity for a Q&A session with GAA clubs, boards and personalities (which is where we want this to go).

Will definitely send you on one or two over the next day or two BE. Excellent feature - and idea.

bald eagle wrote:OK folks, this has been posted for a day and still no questions for me. This segment has the potiential to be a great addition to the forum and we should take advantage of it, after all, no other GAA forum is offering it's posters the opportunity for a Q&A session with GAA clubs, boards and personalities (which is where we want this to go).

i'll try and get a look at this later BE - sorry but i havent a minute these days

I have sent a PM BE, but rather than clog up your PM box will you affirm to Mr.Bass that the Fenagh St.Caillins club from Leitrim would be prepared to undertake an exhibition tour of the Eastern German region in early June of 2012.
We are barely Intermediate, but have an experienced panel of warriors, many with breathtaking orginasational skills.

The club members feel that they should forego the "warm weather conditioning" week in Tenerife in the interest of broadening the appeal of the game amongst our European brethern.

All, the questions are coming in thick and fast with some very interesting ones too! Keep 'em coming!

Good to see that the European GAA Twitter feed is promoting this site and this section in particular!

Bumpety bump! Keep the questions coming folks, it'd be great if all the posters on over the weekend could PM me at least 1 question each! Some cracking ones coming in!

Due to a hectic day at work i will now be collating all the questions tomorrow and emailing them shortly after that so you have a last chance to PM me a question for Tony Bass.

Questions have been emailed to Tony Bass and we are awaiting his reply, gladly all questions were of a great quality and all were included, many thanks to all that participated.

This thread is now closed and keep an eye out for the "In Focus...Europe GAA" thread coming soon!

any sign of this Bal Deagle?

Podger wrote:any sign of this Bal Deagle?

Nothing as yet, will have it posted as soon as i get it back.

Podger wrote:any sign of this Bal Deagle?

Podger instigating a move to retitle our overseas correspondent...[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.].
I suppose we will have Beagle confirmed by the weekend.....

Beagle might be annoyed by it though...

Update for you all, I've just had an email from Tony Bass there.

The European GAA convention is on this weekend so understandably he has been busy and has said the questions will be ready for next week.

Hope this is ok for you all but after looking at the questions again, i think it'll be worth the wait.

Grand job thanx Balde Agle

Update on this folks. I have emailed our contact today regarding the questions posed by our posters and am awaiting a reply, will keep you posted but i don't want to sicken the man.

Podger wrote:Grand job thanx Balde Agle

Podger at it again here. How often have I told you it's Beagle.....

Any sign?

You have beat me to it, i was just about to post this notice regarding this.

Unfortunately our contact at Europe GAA has not returned the questions posed by our forum members despite several attempts at contact being made by myself via Twitter and email. I am however in contact with the Euro PRO and will be contacting him to see if we can get the section completed and have not given up hope of the "In Focus...Europe GAA" being completed in the future.

This is sad however it is the nature of the beast, when you email questions you are then at the mercy of the subject to respond. Hopefully this has not annoyed our members who asked some brilliant questions that i was really looking forward to seeing the answers to.

It has not put me off however and i will be posting details of our latest "In Focus..." subject as soon as i have collated some information and have it given the OK from him. Stay posted......