Today the GAA launched the new GAA Smart Sliotar, which will be used in this years Under 20 hurling championship. The aim of the smart sliotar is to ensure consistency in performance, compliance with specifications, and to ensure it meets ethical standards of manufacture. In attendance at the launch are, from left, former Galway hurler Eoin McDonagh, Camogie Association Technical Development and Participation Manager Louise Conlon, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Larry McCarthy, former Tipperary hurler Brendan Cummins and Chairman of the Smart Sliotar Work Group Ned Quinn at Croke Park in Dublin.
The GAA has today launched a Smart Sliotar which will be used in the upcoming U20 Hurling championships.
The Smart Sliotar is the result of a detailed review and analysis carried out by a special Work Group established by Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy in 2021 and chaired by Ned Quinn.
The Smart Sliotar project aims to ensure that approved Sliotar suppliers adhere to the Sliotar specification set out in the GAA Official Guide and that approved Sliotars perform on a consistent basis.
In an effective regulatory context, it seeks to address illegal use of the official GAA logo and meets ethical production and supply chain practices as determined by the World Federation of the Sports Goods Industry (WFSGI).
A tag or chip is embedded in the core of the Smart Sliotar which can be read by an app on a mobile phone and can be verified as being an official match ball.
Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy said: “I want to acknowledge and thank the Work Group for their detailed and evidenced based work which we believe will lead to improvements in sliotar production and performance and I look forward to seeing how the Smart Sliotar performs in next month’s U.20 championships.”
The new GAA Smart Sliotar pictured at Croke Park.
The Work Group met on a total of 22 occasions since last July, as well as conducting two field test sessions. These involved a cross-section of Senior Inter-County players and were augmented by a series of laboratory tests, which testified to the durability of the chip/tag.
The Smart Sliotar will be used in the U.20 Hurling championships which begins in Leinster on April 2 and in Munster on April 6 with a further review planned after the U20 All-Ireland hurling final.
Specifications for the sliotar were passed at GAA Congress last month.
The diameter of the Sliotar - not including the rim (rib) - shall be between 69mm and 72mm.
The mass of the Sliotar shall be between 110 and 116 grams.
The rim (rib) height shall be between 1.8mm and 2.6mm
The rim (rib) width shall be between 3.6 mm and 5.4mm.
The thickness of the leather **(chrome or synthetic)**cover shall be between 1.8mm. and 2.7mm. and shall not be laminated with a coating greater than 0.15mm.
Sliotars will only be approved for use based on compliance with standards and tests as set out by Central Council.
The members of the Sliotar Workgroup are:
Ned Quinn (Kilkenny) Chair
Louise Conlon (Camogie Association Technical Development and Participation Manager)
Brendan Cummins (Tipperary)
Eoin McDonagh (Galway)
Bob Ryan (Cork)
Terry Reilly (Antrim)
Declan Fitzgerald (DMF Technology)
Professor Kieran Moran (DCU)
Pat Daly (Páirc an Chrócaigh)