Shorts vote is a victory for camogie - Maher

Dublin camogie captain Aisling Maher says the Camogie Association’s decision to permit shorts to become part of the official kit is a victory for the sport.

Last night saw special congress delegates at Croke Park voting 98% in favour of the rule change which means that shorts can now be worn by camogie players during games.

Earlier this month, Dublin and Kilkenny wore shorts ahead of their Leinster senior championship semi-final meeting before being told by match officials to change into skorts or the game would not go ahead.

Maher described it as being a “career low” for her and, speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland after last night’s vote at headquarters, she said that player protests over the last few weeks have “escalated the speed of change".

"It’s a victory for players who are presently playing inter-county, it’s a victory for young players coming up who now have a choice about what they wear," the Dublin skipper stated.

"I don’t think something was going to happen without some form of extreme action. Unfortunately, the protests were probably warranted this time.

"Had we not got to this point where the introduction of shorts prior to championship was achieved, I think a huge amount of damage would have been done.”

Looking towards the future now, she added: "I hope we can learn from this going forward and not put ourselves in similar positions again, I hope this is something we can recover from.

"You have to see the positives in this. The beginning of the All-Ireland championship has never got as much attention or publicity. Hopefully some of that attention will stay with camogie in a more positive light."