Player Welfare
The player is central to the GAA and all of its’ activities. The skill and dedication of our players at all levels have captured the imagination of the public since the founding of the GAA and have been fundamental to the on-going success of the Association.
The welfare of players is therefore of paramount importance to the GAA. During the development of the GAA’s Strategic Plan 2015-2017 a key objective was to raise awareness of Association policy concerning all our players within the Association.
St Colmcilles GAA East Meath takes the welfare of its’ players extremely seriously and is working towards establishing best practices in all facets of player welfare in accordance with Association policy.
A number of best practices are in place already including, AED availability at Piltown and numerous people within the club trained in first aid and AED use.
For more on the associations policies please read here
To read / download the GAA Player Welfare Booklet please click here
What is the GAA Injury Benefit Fund?
The GAA has operated an Injury fund in one way or another since 1929. Through a process of constant review, the Association continues to exercise concern for the welfare of registered members involved in our national games in various capacities. The mandatory benefit fund provides benefits to registered members playing the national games of Hurling, Gaelic Football, Handball and Rounders’ whose clubs are registered with the fund. The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is a Self-funded benefit fund funded entirely from GAA funds with no outside involvement.
In effect it is a benefit fund funded by members for the members. The Injury Fund is not an Insurance Scheme and is therefore, not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. As payments from the fund come directly from GAA funds, there is no Insurer involved with the fund. There is no legal obligation on the GAA to provide such a fund. Risk is an inherent factor in sport, as in life. When members voluntarily take part in Club activities, they accept the risks that such participation may bring. Legal representation is not required and therefore, there is strictly no legal expenses cover amongst the benefits provided.
Each player needs to ensure that they have adequate cover in place to meet their own individual needs and personal circumstances. The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is only in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere and is a benefit cover only. The GAA Injury Benefit Fund does not seek to compensate fully for Injuries sustained but to supplement other Schemes such as Personal Accident or Health Insurance.
The playing of Gaelic Football, Hurling, Handball and Rounders’ involves the risk of Injury and it is each individual registered player’s responsibility to familiarise themselves with the terms and benefits of the GAA Injury Benefit Fund. The Injury Benefit Fund only provides cover for unrecoverable losses up to the limits specified. In summary, the GAA Injury Benefit Fund is in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere.
Therefore, if a claimant is seeking to claim benefit from the fund, they must exhaust all other avenues before making a claim under the GAA Injury Benefit Fund. Furthermore, the Injury Benefit Fund should not be used as a guarantee for the payment of expenses. Ultimately, the responsibility to ensure that adequate cover is in place lies with the individual member, commensurate with his \ her specific needs and members should not use the fund as their only recourse or be dependent on the fund to compensate them fully for any losses associated with the injury sustained
Below is a form which is emailed to the Club Insurance Officer when completed. All injuries must be logged within 60 days of the event & it’s the sole responsibility of the player/member to properly advise Team Management and the Club Insurance Officer within this period (there are no exceptions to this timeline).
Injury Report Form
LGFA Injury Fund
What is the Injury Fund?
The LGFA Injury Fund is an injury fund, set up to assist members with some reimbursement for medical expenses incurred due to an injury sustained during ladies gaelic football. It is NOT an insurance policy. There is no insurance company involved in any way with the Fund and therefore there is no insurance policy number associated with the LGFA Injury Fund.
There is no legal obligation on the LGFA to administer such a Fund. It is the responsibility of all members to ensure that they have sufficient financial resources for any treatment they wish to pursue due to an injury. If a player is covered under another source, they must claim through that source first – i.e., private medical insurance (VHI, LAYA, Irish Life) or School Insurance.
The terms of the LGFA Injury Fund are included in the LGFA Injury Fund Guide. This guide is downloadable from this page (see attachments on right-hand-side). It is the players responsibility to ensure they are aware of and follow the terms of the LGFA Injury Fund. If the terms of the LGFA Injury Fund, any treatment they undertake may not be covered for reimbursement by the LGFA Injury Fund.