Hurling in the context of "Glossary of Gaelic games terms"

The hectare (/ˈhɛktɛər, -tɑːr/; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm), that is, 10,000 square metres (10,000 m), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectares and thus one hectare is about 2.47 acres.

In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as 100 square metres, or one square decametre, and the hectare ("hecto-" + "are") was thus 100 ares or ⁠1/100⁠ km (10000 square metres). When the metric system was further rationalised in 1960, resulting in the International System of Units (SI), the are was not included as a recognised unit. The hectare, however, remains as a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI and whose use is "expected to continue indefinitely". Though the dekare/decare daa (1000 m) and are (100 m) are not officially "accepted for use", they are still used in some contexts.

Hockey is a family of stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, and playing surface. Hockey includes both summer and winter variations that may be played on an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or an indoor gymnasium. Some forms of hockey require skates, either inline, roller or ice, while others do not. The various games are usually distinguished by proceeding the word hockey with a qualifier, as in field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, rink hockey, or floor hockey.In each of these sports, two teams play against each other by trying to manoeuvre the object of play, either a type of ball or a disk (such as a puck), into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick. Two notable exceptions use a straight stick and an open disk (still referred to as a puck) with a hole in the center instead. The first case is a style of floor hockey whose rules were codified in 1936 during the Great Depression by Canada's Sam Jacks. The second case involves a variant which was later modified in roughly the 1970s to make a related game that would be considered suitable for inclusion as a team sport in the newly emerging Special Olympics. The floor game of gym ringette, though related to floor hockey, is not a true variant because it was designed in the 1990s and modelled on the Canadian ice skating team sport of ringette, which was invented in Canada in 1963. Ringette was also invented by Sam Jacks, the same Canadian who codified the rules for the open disk style of floor hockey in 1936.Certain sports which share general characteristics with the forms of hockey, but are not generally referred to as hockey include lacrosse, hurling, camogie, and shinty.

Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games (including Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball), association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.

In terms of participation, association football (soccer) is the most popular team pursuit for males at 8.8% with Gaelic football attracting 3.4%. Personal exercise (at 13.4%) and running (8.9%) are the most popular individual male activities. Traditionally, team sports do not figure highly amongst females, with a greater percentage of post-school-age women choosing individual sports and fitness activities. As of 2018, additional funding and focus was afforded to females in sport, with a number of successes in women's international sporting competitions. Association football (soccer) is the most played team sport in Ireland. Gaelic football, hurling, golf, aerobics, cycling, swimming and billiards/snooker are the other sporting activities with the highest levels of participation in the Republic of Ireland.

The following are the positions in the Gaelic sports of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie.

Each team consists of one goalkeeper (who wears a different colour jersey), six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards: 15 players in all. Some under-age games are played 13-a-side (in which case the full-back and full-forward positions are removed) or 11-a-side (in which case the full-back, centre back, centre forward and full-forward positions are removed).

In Gaelic games, the goalkeeper (Irish: cúl báire, báireoir) is the player responsible for defending the goal — the area between the goalposts and below the crossbar. Conceding a goal results in the attacking team being awarded three points, in contrast to the single point awarded for a score over the crossbar. The position exists in Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie, though its responsibilities and rules differ between the codes.

Originally similar in function to goalkeepers in other sports such as association football and hockey, the Gaelic games goalkeeper has, in recent years, become a more versatile and tactically significant role. Goalkeepers are now often expected to contribute to both defensive and attacking phases of play. The position is also governed by a set of rules distinct from those that apply to outfield players.

Camogie (/kəˈmoʊɡi/ kə-MOH-ghee; Irish: camógaíocht [kəˈmˠoːɡiːxt̪ˠ]) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.

A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised by the Dublin-based Camogie Association (An Cumann Camógaíochta). The annual All Ireland Camogie Championship has a record attendance of 33,154, while average attendances in recent years are in the range of 15,000 to 18,000. The final is broadcast live, with a TV audience of as many as over 300,000.

Gaelic games (Irish: Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the sports, are both organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Women's versions of hurling and football are also played: camogie, organised by the Camogie Association of Ireland, and ladies' Gaelic football, organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. While women's versions are not organised by the GAA (with the exception of handball, where men's and women's handball competitions are both organised by the GAA Handball organisation), they are closely associated with it but are still separate organisations.

Gaelic games clubs exist all over the world. They are Ireland's most popular sports, ahead of rugby union and association football. Almost a million people (977,723) attended 45 GAA senior championships games in 2017 (up 29% in hurling and 22% in football on 2016 figures) combined with attendances at other championship and league games generating gate receipts of €34,391,635.

A hurley or hurl or hurling stick (Irish: camán) is a wooden stick used in the Irish sports of hurling and camogie. It typically measures between 45 and 96 cm (18 and 38 in) long with a flattened, curved bas ([bˠasˠ] BOSS, "palm of hand") at the end. The bas is used to strike a leather sliotar ball. GAA Rule 4.5 specifies that the bas should be no more than 13 cm at its widest point, but in practice this rule is "ignored completely", with most hurleys having a bas in the region of 15.24 to 17 cm.