STARTING A CLUB.

You can bring hurling, camogie and Gaelic football to your area by starting your own club

Checklist for Starting a Gaelic Football or Hurling Club


 

Consult the USGAA New Club Plan – This document outlines a development pathway for new USGAA clubs, along with the assistance (financial and otherwise) that can be provided by USGAA.

Choose a name – Think about this as it is important to your club identity and marketing. If you are the first club in a city e.g. Las Vegas, by all means use Las Vegas in your club name. However, in a city with multiple clubs try to identify with a locale to bolster local support e.g. instead of San Francisco, use Daly City. Lastly, there are far too many ‘Gaels’ around. Be original, choose something that resonates with the audience you want to attract and can use in your branding or choose no suffix at all if easier. Daly City Hurling Club or Daly City Danger is a better choice than San Francisco Gaels.

Make contact with us by contacting the national secretary at: secretary.usa@gaa.ie. The secretary will assist with getting your club aligned with the correct division and the contacts for that division, as well as information about registration.

Make contact with the Public Relations Officer at: pro.usa@gaa.ie. The PRO will be able to assist you in developing promotional materials and possibly connect you with a local GAA club that can assist you in your endeavors to establish a club.

Have an official GAA e-mail account set-up for your club. Contact the USGAA secretary to complete this.

Create recruitment posters/fliers and put them up on local college campuses, Irish Center (if your city/town has one), and pubs

Create business cards which include a contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and web site.

Create a brochure which explains both your club and the sport (see sample attached) and distribute this to local Irish organizations, local sports clubs, colleges, and at any event such as a local Irish festival, St. Patrick’s Day parade, etc.

Once you have recruited players/members, organize a committee to run your club. Create the following positions: chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, registrar, PRO, and youth development officer. This group will act as your board of officers and help to organize fundraisers, club events, training sessions, etc. Be sure to accept anyone who is willing to volunteer their time, even if they are not an officer and it is advisable to create a committee of volunteers to organize fundraising/sponsorship and recruitment.

Needs: field for training and playing games, club bank account, playing/training equipment, sponsor, and jerseys.

 

Important links to reference

Check out the player, coach and admin resources at the Gaa educational portal at http://learning.gaa.ie

What people expect when joining a club

  • Safety
  • Fun, an environment where adults/parents and children make friends
  • Qualified Coaches/Background checked
  • Proper Equipment
  • Information

 

Financial Support from USGAA:

USGAA provides a number of Grant Opportunities to new and developing clubs:

 

Other Information

E-Mail: the USGAA uses the official GAA e-mail system as its official means of communicating with divisions and clubs. In order for a new club to have a GAA e-mail account created for their club secretary, the following must be submitted to the USGAA Secretary:

Name of club, address/location of club, contact person & details.

 

Games: It is the responsibility of each division to provide an adequate amount of games for every club during the course of the playing season. Clubs are encouraged to work with their divisional boards to ensure they are getting enough matches prior to the staging of the USGAA Playoffs.

USGAA Finals: The Finals are the national championships of the USGAA. Teams earn a spot in the Finals by playing in their divisional championship during the summer and securing a divisional championship within their respective code/grade/level. The USGAA Finals alternate between various cities throughout the country, and the 2022 Finals will be hosted by Chicago GAA in Gaelic Park.

Games Development: Courses for coaching and refereeing are available to all clubs. Please contact the USGAA Games Development Coordinator to arrange for a course. E-mail: gdo.usa@gaa.ie

Sponsorship/Fundraising/PR: Please refer to the club checklist for advice on securing sponsorship and fundraising ideas. Furthermore, tips for promoting the GAA can also be found in this document located at the top of this page.

Registration Info: Everything you need to know about registering/transferring/important dates etc.

Guidelines to registering as a Non-profit 501c3 club.

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