Welcome St. Jarlath’s families (returning, new, and prospective families) to the 2016 Season!
This letter is to welcome you and provide a little information about the club. Once you register with the club, providing your email address, you will receive communications via email.

Team details
Our club is divided into age-specific teams: under 18 (u18), under 16 (u16), under 14 (u14), under 12 (u12), under 10 (u10), and under 8 (u8). Teams are usually co-ed up to and including u12, but we also field a girls-only team when numbers permit.
We will have girls-only teams at all ages for both Chicago city games and travel teams.
If you have a young lady interested in Gaelic games, please contact us and we can send you particulars for girls teams.

We do encourage kids of all ages to try our sports….there is no age where you have missed the boat!

Our teams are coached and compete in Gaelic football and hurling, and we have all levels of skills and abilitieson our teams. Brand-new players are always welcome at any age.
All of our coaches have completed coaching courses presented by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and are certified by the GAA as coaches. Background checks as mandated by our governing body have been completed by all St. Jarlath’s coaches.

Under 6 Program
We also run a free and fun summer session for under 6 kiddos (u6), starting in early June. Please register your U6s online for this free camp. Training will be Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30. Parents are requested to stay fortraining at assist their own kids with non-sport related issues (i.e.water bottles, laces staying tied and bathroom usage).

RegistrationRegistrationopens March 1st and continues throughout the summer season. Registration may be done online The membership fee is $75 per player, with $150 maximum cap per family. New players/family registrations receive FREE membership(must be first time registration with St. Jarlath's Youth).
There is a fundraising obligation for ALL families to sell ten $10 lottery tickets. More details will follow upon distribution of the tickets. Of course, if you are able to sell more, that is always encouraged and appreciated. To finalize the registration process, your child’s picture will be taken at training for purposed of entering in the North American Youth Gaelic Gamesdatabase. We will need a copy of your child(ren)’s birth certificate(s), per the rules of our association.

Practices and Games
Practices (training) take place Mondays and Wednesdays at Gaelic Park (the far southeast fields),
6:30-8:00. In the event of practice being canceled for inclement weather, we blast out emails, texts, tweets, and Facebook/Instagram posts. Please be sure to enter your cell phone when registering to receive timely information.
City Games are scheduled for Saturday evenings and/or Sunday afternoons and are usually held at either Gaelic Park (Sundays) or Maryville Academy in Des Plaines (Saturdays). We compete locally against two other north-side youth clubs. We also host or participate in blitzes (tournaments) throughout the summer.
The Summer Schedule will be announced this week.

For games, please ensure that all players have a water bottle and mouth guard/gum shields. Players without mouth guards will not be allowed to compete at CYC.

CUL Summer Camp
St. Jarlath’s also hosts a Gaelic Games “CUL” camp at Gaelic Parkin the summer time. The cost of the camp is only $25 per player for three days of camp ($50 cap per family). This camp has always been a lot of fun in the past. All kids ages 6 to 14(as of 1/1/16) are eligible to attend.
Please have kids bring a lunch, water, sunscreen and all those goodies.
More details will follow as we get closer.

Continental Youth Competition
Our biggest competition for the year is the Continental Youth Competition (CYC) . St. Jarlath’s competes every summer in all ages of hurling and football in Continental Youth Competition. Participation is not mandatory, but as the families who have traveled can attest to, it is a great time for both kids and parents, alike. Our kids compete in hurling and football at all age levels against teams from across the United States and Canada. Last year, the competition was held in San Francisco. All of our teams competed over four days and did a spectacular job. Our under 8 team came away with a North American cup and medals.

There are North American teams for our older kids to try out for: U16 Ladies, U16 Boys Hurling and Gaelic Football, and U18 Hurling and Gaelic Football. These teams are comprised of kids from all cities across America, and trials are held here for our Chicago kids by our games development officer, Colm Egan ()

We are honored and pleased to be helping to host the 2016 CYC competition here in Chicago, July 28-July 31. More information is available at If you have not participated in this competition before and are interested, please speak with a coach or a board member. We would be happy to provide you with more information andshare past experiences.
Just to note for future years when the CYC will be held in other cities, families do pay for their own travel and accommodations, with the club disbursing a stipend to every traveling family. The stipend varies based on the fundraising success of the club, but it is distributed equally.

More Competition
After CYC, our summer season continues with an intra-club competition for u8 and u10. It is usually ran 5 or 7 a side. Everyone gets a lot of playing time and the kids love it.
We cap the summer season off with a club picnic for players and their families.

Off-Season Fun and Activities
We stay busy in the off-season, too, running indoor training sessions in the early spring at Bo Jackson Dome. We also host some fun events, including our annual Christmas party for the kids and families and the Dancing for our Stars Fundraiser, which is always a phenomenal success and a great night out for the adults! Dancing for our Stars will be held on Saturday, February 13, at Gaelic Park. Please see the website for additional information on tickets.

Stay up-to-date
Our website, is a valuable resource to plan your schedule for games, practices and camps.
Also, you can stay up-to-date on breaking news or events, by joining us on Facebook(Chicago St. Jarlath’s Youth GAA) and following us on Twitter (@St.JarlathsChgo) and Instagram (chicagostjarlaths).
Please encourage your kids to follow us on Instagram. We’d love for them to start sharing pictures of their experiences with St. Jarlath’s. It’s also a great way for them to connect with each other and other kids they’ll meet from all over the United States at the CYC!

Thanks for your interest in our proud, energetic and exciting club! We appreciate you giving us the opportunity to share with your children our love of the Gaelic games. We hope you will enjoy the experience as much as we are confident your children will!

Please encourage your cousins, your classmates, all your friends to come and try Gaelic Games.
We are as strong as you work to make us!

Should you have any questions, comments, or concerned, please contact any board officer or coach listed on the website.
Here’s to a fun and successful season!
Chicago St. Jarlath’s Youth GAA

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