It's only one year on the go, but San Antonio's Gaelic football team will be traveling to Philadelphia in September for the 2012 North American Gaelic Athletics Association Football championships.
San Antonio will be following in the cleat-steps of teams from Austin and Dallas who competed in the 2011 championships. And these three teams now have company in the Lone Star State in the shape of new teams just being formed in Houston and Corpus Christi.
Said San Antonio chairman Tyler Michael Tully: "In 2011, leaders from Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio met in Austin to create a Texas Development Committee for the following aims: to encourage communication between the existing and future Gaelic Athletic Clubs of Texas, to facilitate well coordinated competition, and to develop the Gaelic Games in and around Texas.
Meanwhile, San Antonio played Houston april 14 in Austin as part of the newly inaugurated Texas Cup Tournament. The tournament is to be held once a month in each 2011 member city (Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Ft. Worth) over a period of four months starting in April and ending in July.
Each football team, according to Tully, will play each other one time before the final in July, with the winner of each game taking three points, a tie taking one point, and a loss taking zero points. The top two teams with the most points after the first three games will play each other for the coveted Texas Cup!
"We are also very excited to announce, that in addition to competition between "A" teams and "B" on each side, there will also be a seven versus seven women's football game at each venue, as well as a hurling game. The Texas development league is hoping to build on the momentum of last year's historic divisional champions, a combination team of Austin/ Dallas GAA hurlers, who won their cup in last year's national tournament," Tully added.
Upcoming Texas Cup Tournament fixtures: May 5: San Antonio vs. Dallas Fionn Mac Cumhaill in Houston; June 16; San Antonio vs. Austin Celtic Cowboys in San Antonio; July 21: Texas Cup Finals, in Dallas/Ft. Worth. All times to be arranged.
