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48 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association GAA PLAYER CONFERENCE PEIL Spring | Issue No 1 | Volume 14 he LGFA and Camogie Association recently linked with the GAA on the first ever GAA Player Conference. The event was open to all adult players of Gaelic Games (Football, Hurling, Camogie, Ladies Football, Handball and Rounders). The theme of the conference was Prepare, Perform and Recover and was designed to engage, educate, support and inform adult club players on player welfare topics. Player Welfare is one of the LGFA and GAA core values and the association's invest considerable time, personnel, and finance in developing evidence-based programmes and resources. Research has identified the challenge for sports governing bodies in communicating player welfare messages to the playing population. To bridge this gap, the GAA provided the conference as a platform for adult club players to engage and be informed about the following player welfare areas: • Warm-up/Injury prevention/Strength & Conditioning • Technical demands of the game & skills acquisition • Mental preparation and performance skills • Nutrition for Performance/Supplements The conference addressed the above areas as well as other player welfare related topics including fixtures, concussion and gambling awareness. Special guests and speakers included: • Eamonn O'Shea (former Tipperary Hurling manager) • Cathal Cregg (Head Strength & Conditioning Oºcer) • Prof Niall Moyna (Head of the School of Health and Human Performance and Sigerson Manager - DCU) • Caroline Currid (Performance Coach - experience with multiple All-Ireland winning teams) • Dr. Crionna Tobin (Leading sports nutritionist) GAA Player Conference • Dr. Edwena O'Malley (Sports Physiotherapist) • Mark Roe (Researcher, GAA/UCD National Injury Surveillance Database) Lyn Savage, National Development Manager for LGFA, and Paul O'Donovan, Player Welfare Oºcer for the Camogie Association, delivered an interactive workshop for female players and the topics focused around issues club and county players are currently facing but from the club perspective. These topics included mental health, nutrition and hydration, concussion, dealing with injuries and understanding other commitments. This was a hugely informative session and the players in attendance shared invaluable information. Further details on the conference are available at www.gaa.ie, http://learning. gaa.ie/player and we look forward to the next event in 2019. T