gaa membership

Your fee covers the insurance for on the side of the pitch. Ours is alot higher and so is our kids.!!

Where do you stop with "free" membership, might as well give it to committee members, players, etc they all give there time also.

It could be a slippery slope but I would stop with coaches.

Player's benefit from coaching, facilities, equipement etc. I don't think there's a realistic argument to be had for free membership there. Some clubs do struggle with Committees but they are generally older people / aren't paying for several children's membership on top. Having been both a coach and committee member, the coaching took up way more time.

Not saying it's entirely fair, that others wouldn't be as deserving, or that it's a must. I just that I think it would be a nice gesture as a token of appreciation for doing a very important role in the club.

Depends on how well the club is financed also. If the club can afford to cover the mentors that is fair enough, but membership only covers 50% of the costs for our club.

Some clubs have close to 200 coaches and 20-30 "backend" people, who help administrate the club (often these are coaches also)

You simply cannot provide "free" membership to all of those people unless the club is in a really strong financial position.

I am not sure if EVERY club requires that coaches are full GAA members - I don't believe that they do. The Parent/Guardian isn't classed as a Full membership (it's classed as a social membership with the GAA themselves). A full member has full voting rights and usually ends up in draws for tickets assigned to the club although I know of some clubs that also include parents/guardians in this type of thing.

The facilities that many clubs have costs money to develop and maintain, insurance for facilities, player injury funds, affiliation fees, assorted training gear (balls,sliotars, clothes), electricity bills as well as various bits and pieces that come up regularily all add up.

There's very little funding coming from the top (GAA) down, so membership fees are a key component of a clubs income. The club doesnt exist or thrive without them.

There's no individual making money within the club out of the club. Many roles are far more time consuming than coaching and are done on a volunteer basis also but coaches are the core of the club - unfortunately they need to contribute financially also.

I would assume other sports are similiar at the grassroots levels.

It covers the coach for insurance also

They need to be on Foireann to apply for vetting.

Yeah and they need to be a member tk be on Foireann.

I'm on about coaches.

So am I.

The post I quoted was about parents and guardians.

Must be a big urban club so, Dublin?

There's a few clubs down the country in or around big population centres that would have those kind of numbers.

Re insurance-

Essentially you cannot sue you're own club. As coaching is going to be more physically active than a parent then it makes sense.

I've no issue paying my own membership but I think you're point is a fair one.

As suggested above, as a member you are entitled to attend the AGM and bring forward a motion. e.g. A minimum fee for membership set at the equivalent of one full adult and one juvenile member.

or Introduce a "Underage coach" membership role where if someone has completed Foundation Training and helped with 20 sessions throughout the previous year they can avail of that.

Absolutely shocking some of the numbers thrown around for GAA club memberships. It's starting to go like rugby to keep the lads from the council estates out.

I wonder how many of these clubs charging ridiculous amounts of money are also paying a lad ridiculous "travel expenses" to train the senior teams.

My reward as a coach is seeing a player who 3 weeks ago couldn't rise the ball, now smile proudly when they show me how they can now do it. That alone is worth the 60 euro non playing member fee I pay.

Absolutely but I remember a similar discussion on Reddit about GAA club member fees and it's was absolutely crazy the money some clubs are expecting for kids to play our national games.

The major worry I would have about this is that there should be no cost barrier for any child wishing to play our national sports.

I know back when my young fella started it was 30 quid to play and a few quid of each one went into a fund to cover the cost for those who couldn't pay it.

We do not want to end up like the Rugby Crowd as the GAA is not and should never be an elitest organisation

My local GAA kids membership is €20 for the season.

Rugby Club €80

Soccer Club €40 + 2 lotto envelopes per week so €4 per week on top.

Yes

It's the biggest challenge. Nearly every drill we do with them in Football and Camogie is take four steps, regardless of what we want them to actually learn in the drill.

Rise the ball - take 4 steps, take the handpass, take 4 steps etc.

The hardest are those who will actually take a step backwards after catching the ball