GPA to present 'contact hours' initiative to GAA

THE Gaelic Players Association is set to present its contact hours policy initiative to the GAA's sports science group later this afternoon.

The GPA wants the contact hours template, which draws from sports science data, to become the northern star for regulating training sessions and establishing the optimum number of sessions allowable for all players on inter-county squads for various junctures during the season.

The players group wants the document to be signed off by all parties and monitored by the GAA to ensure county boards and managers stick to the policy guidelines.

This would be instead of the maximum of four sessions per week at 65 cents per mile mechanism that Croke Park has proposed and received full backing from county boards on.

The GPA says its template would essentially mean that all squad members would be recompensed for every session they participate in – at the 65c per mile rate.

Their Player Engagement Manager Colm Begley will present on the matter to the GAA’s Gaelic Games Sports Science Working Group at 4pm.

Last January, separate to the charter negotiations, Begley discussed a working document with this working group which analysed the area of contact hours.

Within the document, recommendations are made on the required number of sessions a player would train at each stage of the season.

For instance, the working document outlines situations where five sessions a week might be needed in pre-season. During the playing season and a de-load week, sports science indicates three sessions a week is adequate for performance.

Separately, the GPA will continue to push for all parties, players, managers, and county boards, to agree to this contact hours policy.

Meanwhile, RTÉ Sport has established that at the end of