Initially introduced as a Covid safety measure before being retired this year, water breaks are set to return for this weekend’s games.
The breaks, roughly a minute or so in length midway through either half of club and inter-county fixtures allowed players to take on fluids from their own drinks bottles instead of sharing bottles on the field of play. Having run through the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the measure was dropped ahead of this year’s inter-county league campaigns.
With temperatures set to reach 30 degrees Celcius over the weekend, a number of county boards are reintroducing the breaks.
In Kilkenny, there’s a full slate of league games at senior, intermediate and junior level while in Carlow, Saturday sees the finals of the Senior Football League Division 4 and the Stryve U20A Hurling Championship at Netwatch Cullen Park.
A statement from Kilkenny GAA on Thursday evening reads “due to the current heatwave and on an exceptional basis, the CCC has decided that for all games being played this weekend there will be a water break (approx 1 minute) at or about the 15th minute of each half of a game”.
KCLR and Scoreline.ie will have live coverage this weekend of O’Loughlin Gaels v Dicksboro in the third round of the Kilkenny senior hurling league and full coverage of the Carlow Under 20 A hurling championship final between Bagenalstown Gaels and Mount Leinster Rangers.
