We went to
Suwon last weekend, a city just south of Seoul, for the
Asian Gaelic Games. During the summer, a group of Irish came together to form a team of Gaelic Footballers. They accumulated more members (of various nationalities) over the next few months, training every Saturday. We had a mini-tournament in August with the other teams in Korea, but on October 15th, we participated in the largest Gaelic football tournament in Asia, with teams from 14 different countries like Qatar, Singapore, Mongolia, Taiwan and Japan. Busan team didn't have high expectations, as we were newly formed and most of us were still learning the basic skills... and rules of the game. But we made it to the QUARTER FINALS! And the men's team went to the semi's! It was a great weekend, but after 5 games we were exhausted.
We owe our 3/5 wins to Jackie, the only one among us who has any idea what she's doing - but more than that, she played in the senior county league back in Ireland. She's
good (see above, the blond amazon annihilating everyone in her path). She has coached and encouraged us the whole way and we can only hope she comes back next year to do it again!
For those who are curious: In a nutshell, Gaelic football is rugby and soccer with a bit of basketball and volleyball thrown in. We score points in and over a goal and between rugby posts and the ball is moved around with our fists or feet. Here's a good
clip to see it in action. We've had so much fun training and I've met the best group of women. I can't wait to start again next spring!
*First two photos taken by Kyle Schmitz, our faithful football photographer.
