BUILD it and they will come and play – that’s the approach Bandon Camogie Club has taken as it reintroduced its junior team this season.
The club has gone from strength to strength at underage level since it reformed in 2017, initially with U8, U10 and U12 teams. Since then it has added more underage sides.
Going back further, Bandon also had a foray into camogie in 1989 before it fell away in 2007 with junior head coach Leighanne Tobin being a member of the original club.
Camogie has now set down roots locally and the success of the club is evidenced by five Bandon players currently being involved in Cork development squads – Rhea Burns and Isabelle Harrington (U14), Julie Fleming (U15), Breffini Kelly (U16) and Clodagh Barry (U17).
Now the club has revived its adult team again, aware of the need to provide an outlet for its players who are coming through its underage section.
The newly-formed Bandon Camogie Club will compete in the junior C championship, though the focus is currently on their junior league campaign with two games played to date.
‘The hope for this year is to play the junior league and championship, fulfilling all our matches. Hopefully win a couple of games along the way and keep all the girls that are there,’ camogie PRO Sarah McCarthy told The Southern Star.
‘Keeping the team growing is the aim. This year is about starting it up. Every year from here, hopefully it grows. You are looking at five years before you know if you have an established adult team.
‘Starting something is one thing, but keeping it going is a different story.’
Flying the Bandon camogie flag with Cork are Breffini Kelly (U16B) and Clodagh Barry (U17).
The key reason Bandon Camogie Club has revived its adult team is if they don’t get it up and running, the club will lose players who are too old for underage.
Those players have two choices: join another camogie club or hang up their boots. The Bandon club wants to give its underage players an outlet to continue playing at adult level.
‘We did try and start a junior team in 2021 when they were U16 but it was more a fun and fitness kind of thing. It fell away in 2022. This year, those girls are in the older part of minor/U18,’ McCarthy explained.
‘We had five girls aging out of the club this year if we had no junior team for them. They would have either given up camogie or they would have gone to another club if there was nothing there for them. For any club, you want an adult team but it is just imperative this year.
‘We’ll have another five aging out next year, the following year we’ll have seven. That’s where the club is at.
‘It’s been successful since we started up and we are now bringing people through to the adult level.’
Bandon Camogie Club has over 200 girls registered and are looking for more members. Numbers and interest have grown through its underage journey and success, and having an adult team is the next natural step.
‘You need to keep working at it at the same time. When you’re living in a town, you are competing with an awful lot of sports, looking for their attention and trying to get them signed up,’ McCarthy said.
‘Our youngest girls would start out at U5 and U6 in the GAA nursery programme. From about U7s, U8s we try to lead them into the camogie and try to get them signed up.
‘We have the five girls who would have graduated from minor last year. We also have 14 girls signed up (for the junior team).
‘All of them have played camogie before. A lot of them hadn’t picked up a hurley in three or four years. They gave up at U16 with us.
‘I think there were originally eight of them who would have played with Bandon camogie and have resigned with us. We have another six who would have played with other clubs such as Ballinascarthy and Newcestown. They are all Bandon girls.’
While the new junior team lost to Carrigtwohill in their first game, 1-7 to 1-5, they beat Fermoy in their second game.Next up they face St Colum’s away on Monday, 21st.
