Introduction
Camogie is a stickhandling, high-velocity, multidirectional field sport which is native to Ireland. It is also played internationally in North America, Britain, continental Europe, Asia/Gulf region and Australia.1 It is the female version of hurling, one of the four sports of the Gaelic Athletic Association. There are a few rule differences between the two sports, but they are similar in terms of skill and physical demands. There are over 71 000 members of An Cumann Camógaíochta (The Camogie Association) in Ireland, making it the second largest women's sport in the country.2
Camogie, like hurling, is played on a rectangular grass pitch 130–145 m long and 80–90 m wide. Goal posts with a crossbar are located at either end of the field. Two teams of 14 outfield players and a goalkeeper compete against each other in a 60-min match, comprised of two 30-min periods. Five substitutions are permitted per team. Players attempt to play a hard leather ball (sliotar) through their opponent’s goalposts using a hurley made of ash timber, either below the crossbar for a goal (three points) or above the crossbar for a point. Players may strike, hand pass, solo or kick the sliotar and may block, flick or hook the opponent’s hurley when not in possession of the sliotar.3 The sliotar moves quickly and can reach speeds of up to 112 km/hour.4 Players accelerate, decelerate, jump, land and change direction while playing camogie, movements which put players at risk of injury to the lower limb.5 6 Injury can also occur due to direct force from another player, a hurley, the sliotar or the ground. Intercounty camogie is the highest level of competition, with the best players from club teams selected to represent their respective counties.
The camogie intercounty season includes the National Senior Camogie League from February until April, the Provincial Championships in May and the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship (the most prestigious competition) from June until September. Intercounty camogie teams usually have collective on-field 90 min training sessions two to three times per week and play a match at the weekend. Physical conditioning training varies between teams.
At present, there are no prospective data to indicate injury incidence in camogie at any level. A previous study focused on injuries presenting to a hospital emergency department,7 but this study dates back to 1989. There have since been changes in the rules of camogie, including the compulsory wearing of a helmet, changes to the competition structures as well as a change in training techniques and the general style of play, which may influence the incidence, nature and severity of injuries.3 Comprehensive studies have been carried out recently in camogie’s male equivalent game of hurling.8 9 These provide an excellent record of incidence, nature and mechanism of injury in senior intercounty hurling. However, differences exist in the rules and competition structures between camogie and hurling. There are differences in the incidence of injury in the male and female versions of Gaelic football10 and ice hockey,11 which may be due to rule differences in the respective games. The injury rate in male and female soccer is similar, but the nature of injury sustained by males and females differ somewhat.12 13 As the rules in soccer are the same for both males and females, this may be due to innate differences between the sexes.14 These discrepancies in injury incidence and nature between male and female versions of the same sport and the gap in injury epidemiology data in camogie warrant further investigation.
This study, the first of its kind, aims to establish the incidence, nature and severity of injury in intercounty camogie. Describing injury profile is important in all sports. It is the first step van Mechelen et al 15 used in their ‘sequence of prevention’ model of sports injuries.