The county board have issued a further letter of clarification re the new rules regarding helmets and the issue of injuries incurred should a proper helmet not be worn.

The full text of the letter reads:

A Chara,

I refer to the current situation re the compulsory wearing of helmets and the helmets that are approved and wish to advise the following:

As from my previous correspondence the only approved helmets at this time are Marc, Mycro &  Azzuiri and should a player receive an injury who was wearing an unapproved helmet they will NOT be covered by the Injury Scheme. There are new Injury Forms coming out and there will be a section for completion re the helmet should the injury be head or facial. I have been advised by Croke Park, who have received legal advice on the matter, that should any player, adult or underage, receive an injury whilst wearing an unapproved helmet resulting in a law case, the case will be proven negligent on the part of the player.

It is vital that all players and parents of your underage players are clearly informed of this situation so as to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding should an incident occur down the line.

Whilst I appreciate the following may be time consuming and cause some inconvenience I feel it must be done.

Each player should be given a letter advising them and the parents of underage players of the situation and on receipt of this letter getting them to sign a form confirming that they have been given the correct information and clearly understand the situation. The onus should then removed from the club the officers & mentors of teams should an injury occur.

This is important and something that must be followed up.

Mairead Ui Dhuill

Runai Chondae

The original post is available here.