A small Irish sport has become the latest battleground for female athletes protesting against their dress codes — in this case “skorts.”
Camogie, a female version of hurling, doesn’t allow players to wear shorts. But that rule is being challenged as outdated and the stakes were raised when the Cork and Waterford teams vowed to wear shorts in their Munster final Saturday.
"That is our choice," the teams said in a joint statement.
Players complain that “skorts” — shorts that have extra fabric to resemble skirts — are uncomfortable.
On Friday night, however, Munster Camogie postponed Saturday's final.
“As the current camogie rules of play are still in place and the players have indicated they would not be prepared to play the game in skorts, the decision has been made to defer the game in the best interests of all players and officials involved,” read the statement attributed to Munster Council chairperson Christine Ryan.
The disagreement had reached a tipping point last weekend when Dublin and Kilkenny players were required to change out of shorts into skorts to play in a semifinal game. Dublin captain Aisling Maher called it a “career low.”
Maher on Instagram criticized the postponement of the final: “The disrespect this shows for every player due to tog out tomorrow is beyond unacceptable.”
The campaign to amend the uniform regulations has made headlines across Ireland, whose prime minister has even voiced support for the athletes to have the right to wear shorts.
The governing Camogie Association has called a special congress on May 22 to discuss the issue, but last year the same body rejected two proposals that would have authorized shorts.
Earlier Friday, the Gaelic Players Association said it has asked Ireland’s sports minister to step in and ensure that weekend games are not canceled.
“Both the Waterford and Cork panels have stated clearly that they intend wearing shorts for their fixture," it said in a statement. "We have asked the minister to use his influence to call for an immediate, interim relaxation of the rule, allowing for choice until camogie special congress has an opportunity to change the rule.”
A traditional Irish sport, camogie is a 15-a-side game played with wooden sticks and a ball.
The players association said its recent poll of 650 players showed that 83% would prefer to wear shorts or have the option, and 70% reported feeling discomfort while wearing skorts. Skirts are also permitted, but most teams use skorts.
Shorts are allowed in women's Gaelic football.
Prime Minister Micheál Martin told reporters this week in Brussels, where he was meeting with European Union colleagues about tariffs, that players “should be allowed to wear shorts ... I hope that this can be resolved.”
Martin's deputy, Simon Harris — himself a former prime minister — called the dress code “archaic.”
The Camogie Association did not respond to a request for comment.
Women in other sports have also pushed for changes in uniforms and dress codes.
In 2023, the International Hockey Federation amended its rules to allow shorts after the England women’s team advocated for it citing discomfort playing in skorts.
Some women's soccer teams have done away with white shorts to address players’ concerns during menstrual cycles.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, German female gymnasts protesting the sexualization of the sport wore unitards that stretched to their ankles.
Maher, the Dublin captain who is also co-chair of the players association, aired her frustrations after being required to change into skorts at last Saturday's game.
“Career low for me today when 60+ players ready to play a championship game in shorts are told their match will be abandoned if every player doesn’t change into skorts,” Maher wrote on Instagram. "In no other facet of my life does someone dictate that I have to wear something resembling a skirt because I am a girl. Why is it happening in my sport?”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - President Joe Biden and Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar watch as girls play hurling during a youth Gaelic sports demonstration at Farmleigh House, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
