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Gaelic Football
Gaelic Football combines the skills of Soccer and Basketball, while bearing more than a passing resemblance to Australian Rules Football. It is played by two teams of fifteen (thirteen in North America), and the objective is to score points into the opposing team’s goalposts. The posts are a set of ‘H’ posts like in Rugby but with a net and goalkeeper on the bottom section like in Soccer. You score one point for getting the ball over the bar, three points for getting it under the bar and into the net.
Carrying the ball is permitted, but a set of rules combine to stop the player just tucking the ball under his arm and running with it. The ball is treated like a hot potato, and you have to be fast to maintain posession.
It can be carried only for three steps after which you have to do something with it. If you want to keep running with the ball then you have to bounce it (like in basketball) but you can’t bounce it twice in succession. If you want to keep on carrying after you have bounced the ball, you have to kick it back up into your hands, or ‘toe-tap’ it. This toe-to-hand action is unique to the game.
Physical contact is allowed shoulder-to-shoulder with the player who has possession. There is no padding.
Play is continuous, fast, and free-flowing. Unlike certain other sports like Soccer, scoring is frequent, stoppages typically last only a few seconds, and the rules are designed to keep the game moving, which is why there is no offside rule.