The Continental Youth Championships (CYC) is an annual weekend tournament of

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

, and

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) 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 of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is contested by teams from the US and Canada, and is a separate competition from the existing youth championships in the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Canadian, and NACB areas. It began in 2004, and its location rotates around various cities from year to year. The age of players ranges from Under 8 to Under 18. Hosts: * 2004 – New York GAA * 2005 – San Francisco GAA * 2006 –

Boston GAA The Northeast Divisional Board is a division of the United States GAA (USGAA) covering the Boston Metropolitan Area. It is the largest division of the USGAA, which in turn is affiliated to the Gaelic Athletic Association in Dublin, the governing bo ...

* 2007 –

Chicago GAA The Central Divisional Board of the North American GAA is the governing body of hurling, camogie, and gaelic football in an area centered on Chicago. It is affiliated to the North American Board, and its territory was expanded in 2006 to include ...

* 2008 –

Philadelphia GAA The Philadelphia Divisional Board of the North American GAA is the governing body of hurling, camogie, and Gaelic football in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is affiliated to the North American Board. Its headquarters are at the Limerick ...

* 2009 – San Francisco GAA * 2010 – New York GAA * 2011 –

* 2012 –

* 2013 –

* 2014 – New York GAA * 2015 – San Francisco GAA * 2016 –

* 2017 –

Buffalo GAA Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

* 2018 –

* 2019 –

Growth

The CYC has grown at a rapid rate since its inception. In 2006 it consisted of over 200 games played in three days. In 2014, 640 games were played in the four days. Reasons given for its popularity compared to the existing youth tournaments are: * Scheduling games at a time when children are not at school and when it is convenient and economical for kids and parents to travel * The whole weekend is focussed exclusively on the children rather than youth games being played alongside adult games that draw more attention * The atmosphere is a lot different from events such as the NACB play-offs because of the focus on underage games The popularity of the CYC led to a decline in the number of teams participating in the North American Youth playoffs that used to run alongside the NACB adult play-offs on the

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend. Teams from the US and Canada take part, and British teams used to compete before the British GAA formed their own competition.

Management

The CYC was developed by the GAA's Overseas Development Committee under Gene Duffy, and is managed directly from

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

by the CYC Steering Committee that consists of officials at Croke Park as well as members of the GAA in North America. At local level, the event is planned by the CYC Hosting Committee whose membership changes from year to year as the tournament moves from city to city.

International Play

The tournament used to be highlighted by international games which took place before the rest of the tournament. This showcase highlighted the USGAA team (formerly the NACB team), the London All-Stars, and the New York All-Stars representing the NYGAA.

References

{{Reflist

Growth

Management

International Play

References

External links