Eight more sliotar manufacturers recently passed testing to satisfy the requirements for official GAA sliotars.
By John Harrington
16 sliotar suppliers are now compliant with the specifications for official GAA sliotars.
That’s from a total of 30 suppliers who made expressions of interest to become licensed GAA sliotar suppliers.
22 of those suppliers failed initial tests for the following reasons.
15 failed the Coefficient of Restitution test, which basically tests the ‘liveliness’ of the ball and goes a long way to determining how far it can be struck. 11 were too high and 4 were too low.
11 failed the rim (rib/ridge) height test – 11 were too low.
Three had failed the Sliotar mass/weight test – two were too low and one was too high.
Two Sliotars had failed the Sliotar diameter test – Two were too low.
Since the initial test results were issued in July, 10 suppliers resubmitted Sliotars for testing. Eight of them passed and two failed the mass/weight test with one too high and one too low.
New specifications for the sliotar were passed at GAA Congress 2022 and are as follows:
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.
Kilkenny goalkeeper Aidan Tallis at the Smart Sliotar container before the start of the second half of the 2022 oneills.com Leinster GAA Hurling U20 Championship Final match between Wexford and Kilkenny at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow.
Where the GAA Sliotar Specification is not adhered to, problems have arisen around how far Sliotar is travelling, and this has implications for the integrity of the game as a contest and a spectacle.
A Sliotar Work Group (SWG) was established in June 2021 with a view to ensuring that all matters pertaining to the use of approved match Sliotars, and the licensing of the GAA Sliotars suppliers, are regulated in the most effective manner possible.
Since then, the SWG has met 37 times and engaged in an extensive process of consultation with sliotar suppliers, overseen a comprehensive programme of field tests, engaged in an ongoing process of consultation with GAA units at all levels, and prepared that motion on the modernisation of the sliotar specification at GAA Congress 2022.
Also, to address the problems associated with sliotar counterfeiting and non-compliance with the official GAA Sliotar specification, the 'Smart Sliotar' was developed and introduced by the SWG this year.
In an effective regulatory context, it addressed the 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.
The Smart Sliotar was used in the All-Ireland U-20 A and B Championships this year, and next year will be used at senior inter-county level also.
All GAA approved Sliotar suppliers were invited to produce Smart Sliotars with the embedded chip, but so far only two have done so, O’Neills and Greenfields (PDMR).
The hope is that other Sliotar manufacturers will opt to do so in the future.
High visibility (yellow) sliotars will be used at all inter-county levels – senior, U-20, and U-17 – in 2023, and then at all levels throughout the Association from 2024.
Companies seeking approved supplier status are requested to contact Pat Daly in Croke Park.
His contact information is as follows: pat.daly@gaa.ie