“Our games are not about being Irish, or being winners, it’s about welcoming everybody, from every race, every ethnicity, every level…”
Those were the words of Joe Trolan, chairman of the Asian county board as he summed up the success of the Asian Youth Championships which took place in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
Gaelic games have been growing right across Asia for a number of years, and there are currently 20+ clubs spread across 13 countries, thanks to the tireless work going on within the Asian County Board.
However, due to the transient nature of the Irish adult population abroad, the county board relies heavily on a strong and dynamic youth set-up so that Gaelic games can become sustainable across the continent.
Speaking at the launch of the games during the summer, Joe Trolan spoke about the process behind creating the games.
“In 2015 I started planning to have a stand alone tournament for the kids (boys and girls) and in 2016 we had our first Asian Youth Championships in Hanoi, Vietnam with over 160 kids and many local Vietnamese. We had teams from Shanghai (all Chinese) and Seoul (all Korean). The teams in Asia really embraced the idea, with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur already having big numbers training”.
Last weekend teams from Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Malaysia took part in the event which proved to be very successful. Having so many teams fly from all over Asia proves just how important the GAA is to some people, and the lengths they will go to in order to promote our games.
The beauty of the games is that for many kids, it is their first ever taste of Gaelic games. No one was able to sum this feeling up better than young Xavier Cowain from Australia who spoke so passionately about how much he loved his first ever try at GAA.
“It’s amazing! I love how fast-paced it is and how easy the ball is to kick.”
When asked if he would like to return next year the young Australian replied simply; “Yes, yes, yes!”
It’s true, our games are not about winning.
They are about everything else; family, friendship, community, heart, spirit, and if the Asian Youth Championships teaches us anything, it’s that GAA is for everyone!
