Diary of a Gen Z Student: Skorts are sexist, stop forcing female athletes to wear them

I remember being a self-conscious teenage girl. If I had been told that I had to wear an uncomfortable skort to take part in my sport, it would have been a barrier

Dublin's Aisling Maher. Kilkenny and Dublin camogie players attempted to play their Leinster semi-final in shorts last weekend, and were told they would have to forfeit the match if they didn’t change into skorts. Picture: INPHO/Ben Brady

I remember being about 10 years old in primary school when a teacher decided to declare to the class that I wasn’t good at sports. Definitely an unnecessary comment for that teacher to make, but she wasn’t wrong. In spite of my lack of athletic talent, I was taking part in plenty of sports outside of school at the time - basketball, athletics, swimming, and badminton. 

Basketball was the sport I enjoyed most and continued to play until I was about 17. I knew I wasn’t the most talented player on the team, but that wasn’t why I was playing. For me, it was all about enjoyment. I liked going down to see my friends at training every week. Sure, it was nice if the team won a match. But for most of us, having fun was really the only reason we were there.