Hurling on ThingLInk.
If you’ve never watched the ancient Irish game of hurling, it can be a lot to take in. It’s described as the fastest moving field game in all sports. That might just be the Irish saying so, but still … catch a game, and you’d be hard-pressed to argue.
At its simplest, hurling is about using a flat-bladed bat (the hurley) to slam a small ball called a sliotar (pronounced “slitter”) past a goaltender. But of course, it’s never that simple.
To get to the point where you can actually attempt a goal, you just might need to run at breakneck speed down the field, balancing the ball on the end of the bat, through heavy traffic, and trying not to allow your hurley-slinging opponents to confuse your head with the ball. Think Harry Potter’s quidditch, but without the brooms.
So we could keep on telling you, but we thought it would be better to just break down and show you. Roll your cursor over the interactive photo below, and you’ll see what we’re talking about. And thanks to the Na Tóraidhe Hurling Club for posing.
