Traditional Games Games covered in Eirball include Card Games, Board Games, Children’s Games, Table Games (Table Football, RPGs and LARPS), Computer Games (Capture the Flag, Robot Football, Console Sports, Fantasy Sports and Simulated Sports), and Party Games

Computer Sports include Capture the Flag (an Ethical Hacking Computer Sport), Robot Football (teams of motorized robots shunt a ball around an Arena towards goals at either end). Console Games (X-Box and Playstation Sports games such as Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer). Fantasy Sports (where players draft real players in a League, and score points based on how well they perform in real matches). Simulation games (where the information for players is inputted into a computer and then a Computer User v Computer User Simulation takes place).

Contests include Quizzes and Mind-Games such as the Maths Olympiad and Spelling Bees; Musical Sports and Games such as The Eurovision Song Contest; Fiddle Contests, Duelling Banjos, Battle of the Bands, Rap Contests; Dance & Cheer Sports such as Ballroom Dancing, Breakdancing and Cheer Sport; TV Sports such as American Ninja; Gladiators; The Crystal Maze; Debating Contests; Talent Contests such as The Rose of Tralee, X-Factor and Ireland’s Got Talent and Body-Building and Beauty Contests.

The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only

Roller Derby

Roller Derby, usually only played by Women, is a sport played on Roller Skates, where two teams (called Leagues in Roller Derby), race around an oval track. The object is to score points by overtaking opposition skaters and blocking them also.

Irish Leagues (teams) in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast have been members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association over the past four years. The WFTDA is a Worldwide Governing Body for the sport and organises tournaments worldwide,  with Weighed Rankings kept, and the top Leagues competing in end-of-year tournaments.

Below you will find links to various WFTDA Rankings and Tournaments

Jugger

Jugger is like a cross between American Football and Medieval Combat. It is a team Sport where the objective is to get a skull from the middle of the field into a zone at the opposing teams end. There are five players on each team, four of whom are paired off fightning each other with padded weapons such as swords.

When a player is ‘killed’ in these fights he has to kneel down and is out of the game for that particular round. The Fifth person is the Qwick. His job is to get the skull from the middle of the field past the opposing Qwick into a zone at their opponents endzone. He can only advance the skull once the other teams fighters are all dead. The team which scores the most skull touchdowns is the winner.

Below you will find links to Tournaments involving Irish Teams

Paintball

Paintball and Airsoft are Team Combat sports where pellet guns are used to ‘kill’ an opponent. There are usually a number of objectives to be met i each game, which can score points for the team completing the objective. The sport is usually played in a number of scenarios such as World War II Village, Desert Town, Woodlands, Wild West etc.

The main difference in the guns used are paint guns for Paintball and Woodsball, and hard pellets for Airsoft. Paintball was invented in New England, USA and Airsoft in Japan. Below you will find links to various tournaments and leagues in these sports

Laser Tag (Quasar)

Laser Tag games were invented in Texas, USA, and the most recognizable to Irish readers would be Quasar. The sport is one where two teams engage each other in combat in an indoor arena using Laser Guns. Points are scored for ‘killing’ an opponent and meeting objectives such as capturing bases.

Below you will find links to various Tournaments held in Ireland, or involving Irish Teams and Players

Table Football (Subbuteo)

Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag is Information Security Competitions, a kind of Sport for Computer Combat. There are three common types of CTF Competitions: Jeopardy, Attack-Defense, and Mixed

Jeopardy Competitions have a number of Tasks (questions) such as Web, Forensic, Crypto or Binary. Teams gain points for completed tasks, the harder the task, the more points.

Attack-Defense is another scenario, whereby teams have their own network (or only one host) with vulnerable services. Teams have a time limit for developing services and developing exploits. Then the organisers connect the competitors and the Wargame starts. Points are gained for Defense (protecting own services) and Attack (hacking opponents services).

Mixed employ both Jeopardy and Attack-Defense scenarios.

Capture the Flag games touch on a number of different aspects of information security, such as Cryptography, Stego, Binary Analysis, Reverse Engineering and Mobile Security.

Track & Field

Athletics has a long and distinguished presence in Ireland, with numerous Summer Olympics Medal winners. It is also known as Track & Field.

Orienteering

Orienteering combines running with the discipline of Map Reading, whereby teams of players must find pre-set stations around a course, usually in an Outdoors Area, and return home in the quickest time. Penalties occur when a station is not reached in the correct order.

Orienteering Ireland organises Leagues in Leinster, Munster, the South East, Dublin and Kerry.

Mountain Running

Bouldering

There are two main types of Competitive Mountaineering in Ireland: Hill Running and Bouldering. The Irish Bouldering League is under Mountaineering Ireland and is run over 5 Competitions each year, with 30 problems to be solved in each competition. Points are scored from 10 Points to 1 depending on which attempt a climber solves a problem (10 Pts for 1st Attempt, 7 Pts for 2nd Attempt etc) [See Articles for References]

Strength

The Irish Strength Association runs Strongman and Strongwoman competitions in Ireland, as well as sending representatives to the Ultimate Strength World Championships and other Strength Competitions Worldwide.

Gymnastics

Gymastics Ireland is the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport in Ireland. It is a member of the Federation of International Gymnastics.

Cheer Sport

Dance and Cheer Sport includes Ballroom Dancing, Irish Dancing and Cheerleading (Cheer Sport).

Fitness

Cross-Fit Games (Fitness), Ireland’s Fittest Family are examples of Fitness Sports.

Boxing and Fighting

Variations on Boxing include Olympic / Professional Boxing, Bare-Knuckle Boxing (currently not sanctioned), UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Kickboxing

Boxing

Variations on Boxing include Olympic / Professional Boxing, Bare-Knuckle Boxing (currently not sanctioned), UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Kickboxing

Ultimate Fighting

Ultimate Fighting is a modern take on Boxing and other fighting games that originated in USA.

Modified Rules Boxing-Ultimate Fighting

The first Modified Rules Boxing-Ultimate Fighting fight took place between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor, with two events – one Boxing and one Ultimate Fighting taking place in the fight, held on different nights. It follows the Irish tradition of Compromise Rules between Gaelic Athletic Association sports and other sports such as Australian Football, Shinty, Pelota, Baseball & Softball, Lacrosse and Golf.

Kickboxing

Kickboxing originated in Thailand. Kicks as well as punches are allowed, as are a variety of weapons.

Wrestling and Sumo

Competitive Wresling dates back to at least the Original Olympic Games in Athens, Ancient Greece. Another Ancient versions of Wrestling is Sumo (Japan). Modern versions include Olympic (Greco-Roman), WWE (American), Lucha Libre (Mexico), and indeed also Mud Wrestling (England) and Jelly Wrestling (Ireland).

Olympic Wrestling (Greco-Roman)

Olympic Wrestling is the version which dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome and the original Olympic Games. It is the version in the Modern Olympics also.

WWE Wrestling (USA)

World Wrestling Entertainment is the Modern American made-for-TV version of wrestling.

Lucha Libre (Mexico)

Mexican version of WWE Wrestling

Sumo (Japan)

John Gunning was the first Irishman to compete in the Sumo World Championships for Ireland

Mud Wrestling

Professional Mud Wrestling started in Akron, Ohio on 7 January 1938 when Miss Leona Gordon and Miss Mildred Burke competed in the first ever fight. Professional Mud Wrestling, like World Wrestling Entertainment is more for show or spectacle with the contestants not seriously trying to harm, injure or fight each other. [References: 1]

Martial Arts

There are a number of different Martial Arts in Ireland, the most popular of which are Karate, Judo & Taekwondo.

Karate

Taekwon-Do

Fencing & Sword-Fighting

Fencing is a renaissance sword-fighting sport. Gladiating is the ancient version revived for TV in Gladiators and Armoured Combat is the medieval version of sword-fighting.

Fencing

Fencing is a renaissance sword-fighting sport. Fencing Ireland organises a number of tournaments per year.

Medieval Armoured Combat

Armoured Combat is the medieval version of sword-fighting.

Gladiating

Gladiating is a fun version of the ancient Roman military combat as was seen on US and British TV Programs from the 1990s onwards. Various types of combat or adventure-like tasks are engaged in by teams of players.

Archery

An ancient sport, with clubs in Ireland promoting Archery and Crossbow.

Darts

Darts has a 500-year history in Ireland. A small dart is thrown at a target which has 20 numbers segments (scoring 1-20), with double and triple points scored for hitting smaller zones in each segment nearer the centre of the Dart board. The centre (the Bull’s Eye) scores 50. players must finish on a double. Points are scored downwards from 501 to zero.

There is a League in most counties with pubs entering teams. There is also a Pro Circuit in Britain which Irish players can enter.

Target Shooting

A small number of Olympic Target Shooting Clubs exist in Ireland. Pistols, Rifles, and Crossbows are among the weapons used. It is governed by Target Shooting Ireland, and is the Olympic Sport.

Below you will find the Results and Tables of various competitions in Ireland

Contests

Contests include Quizzes and Mind-Games such as the Maths Olympiad and Spelling Bees; Musical Sports and Games such as The Eurovision Song Contest; Fiddle Contests, Duelling Banjos, Battle of the Bands, Rap Contests; Dance & Cheer Sports such as Ballroom Dancing, Breakdancing and Cheer Sport; TV Sports & Games such as American Ninja; Gladiators; The Crystal Maze; Debating Contests; Talent Contests such as The Rose of Tralee, X-Factor and Ireland’s Got Talent and Body-Building and Beauty Contests.

Quizzes & Mind Games

Games

Traditional Games Games covered in Eirball include Card Games, Board Games, Children’s Games, Table Games (Table Football, RPGs and LARPS), Computer Games (Capture the Flag, Robot Football, Console Sports, Fantasy Sports and Simulated Sports), and Party Games

Computer Sports include Capture the Flag (an Ethical Hacking Computer Sport), Robot Football (teams of motorized robots shunt a ball around an Arena towards goals at either end). Console Games (X-Box and Playstation Sports games such as Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer). Fantasy Sports (where players draft real players in a League, and score points based on how well they perform in real matches). Simulation games (where the information for players is inputted into a computer and then a Computer User v Computer User Simulation takes place).

Contests include Quizzes and Mind-Games such as the Maths Olympiad and Spelling Bees; Musical Sports and Games such as The Eurovision Song Contest; Fiddle Contests, Duelling Banjos, Battle of the Bands, Rap Contests; Dance & Cheer Sports such as Ballroom Dancing, Breakdancing and Cheer Sport; TV Sports such as American Ninja; Gladiators; The Crystal Maze; Debating Contests; Talent Contests such as The Rose of Tralee, X-Factor and Ireland’s Got Talent and Body-Building and Beauty Contests.

Card Games

Card Games played competitively include Poker and Bridge. Bridge is a Card Game popular with older people.

Board Games

Board Games include Chess, Draughts, Mancala. The Irish Chess Union governs Chess in Ireland.

Table Games

Children’s Games

Capture the Flag and Computer Sports

Computer Sports include Capture the Flag (an Ethical Hacking Computer Sport), Robot Football (teams of motorized robots shunt a ball around an Arena towards goals at either end). Console Games (X-Box and Playstation Sports games such as Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer). Fantasy Sports (where players draft real players in a League, and score points based on how well they perform in real matches). Simulation games (where the information for players is inputted into a computer and then a Computer User v Computer User Simulation takes place).

Console Sports

Fantasy Sports

Fantasy Leagues started in Baseball in USA. They were popularised in Britain & Ireland by David Baddiel & David Skinner in their Channel 4 Comedy Programme, Fantasy Football, during the European Championships of 1996, which England hosted.

They all follow a format whereby players pick a squad from real-life players and are awarded points for how those players do in real life matches (i.e. points are awarded for Goals & Assists in Soccer, as well as points deducted for the defensive players letting in goals.)

As well as numerous online Fantasy Leagues run by the Major League sporting organisations and Big English Sports Leagues, Newspapers run their own Fantasy Competitions ranging from Football to Golf.

Below you will find links to the Results of various Fantasy Leagues in Ireland: