Offaly camogie star named on new player welfare committee

Offaly camogie Elaine Dermody has been named on the Camogie Association"s first Player Welfare Committee. The committee, headed up by Stellah Sinnott manager of the 2007 senior All Ireland winning Wexford team, will comprise eight current inter-county players and Paula Rankin, Head of Sports Science in Carlow Institute of Technology. The eight players are Sally O"Grady (Waterford, Physiotherapist), Jane Adams (Antrim, All-Ireland winning senior club captain), Aoife Lane (Galway, undertaking related research in WIT), Rena Buckley (Cork, Physiotherapist, All Ireland winning dual player), Susan O"Carroll (Kildare, UCD Ashbourne Cup captain 2008), Elaine Dermody (Offaly, All-Ireland junior finalists 2008), Aileen Donnelly (All-Ireland winning Division 4 Meath captain, Physiotherapist), Aine O"Mahony (Laois, member of Harps three-in-row All Ireland junior club champions, undertaking related research in UCD). The establishment of the committee was announced by Camogie Association President Joan O"Flynn said.'As the national governing body of camogie, it is important that we exercise an active interest in and support for the health, safety and welfare of our players. The establishment of a Player Welfare Committee, headed up by Stellah Sinnott, is a very significant demonstration of this,' said Ms O"Flynn. She continued: 'Player welfare is a shared responsibility between players, coaches, mentors and administrators. There are now more camogie players, more camogie clubs and more camogie competitions than ever before. This means that there are more girls and women playing and undergoing intensive training for camogie. 'Camogie players, as female athletes, have specific issues and experiences, different to their male counterparts. As sporting equals, it is really important that we provide good guidance and best practice on health and well-being issues in recognition of this.'