The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Media
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

The Gap in the GAA Scoring Zone

6/6/2014

0 Comments

 
By John Considine
Tomorrow marks the begining of SKY Sports coverage of gaelic games (Kilkenny v Offaly).  When the GAA deal with SKY was announced it provoked much reaction.  One of the more humourous reaction came from the folks at TodayFM's Gift Grub.  Their initial audio offering is dubbed onto visual coverage from SKY's Soccer Saturday and can be viewed in an entertaining YouTube clip (here).  One of the funnier elements is seeing/hearing Phil Thompson struggle to understand the scoring system.

In his first intervention, Thompson calls a shot that goes over the crossbar "a miss" only to be surprised that the player is being congratulated by his teammates. He says "this is a bit queer".  In his second intervention, he struggles to combine the goals and points tally.  He says he is unsure who won the game as one team scored 6 goals and 17 points while the other team scored 3 goals and 23 points.
Picture
It is easy to laugh as Thomo comes to terms with a "foreign" game.  He became a Liverpool legend playing a game where the only scores were goals.  In gaelic games teams can score goals and points.  The GAA website gives the following definition of the scoring space.  "The scoring space is marked in the centre of each end line by two goalposts 6.5m apart, with a height of not less than 7m above ground level. A cross bar is fixed to the goal posts at a height of 2.5m above the ground."  If the ball crosses the end line between goalposts and below the crossbar then the team is awarded a goal.  If the ball crosses the end line between goal posts and above the crossbar the team scores a point.

A goal is worth three points.  Therefore, the team that scores 6-17 defeats a team that scores 3-23 despite the latter getting more scores.  It seems pretty straight forward to GAA people.

Picture
At least that is what I thought until Seamus Coffey a contrary, but intellectually stimulating, colleague asked me if it was fair.  I was stumped.  There were two reasons for my confusion.  First, Seamus has little time for economists who discuss the "fairness" of economic policy.  Yet, here he was raising an issue about the fairness of GAA scoring.  Second, he had presented a question about a scoring system I had happily operated under all my life without questioning.

Seamus wondered why a team would get three points (goal) for a shot 2.4m above the ground, one point for a shot 2.6m above the ground, but nothing for a shot 2.5m above the ground that hits the crossbar and rebounds into play.  He also wanted to know if the GAA was the only sport with such a system where a contestant does not get rewarded for hitting the 'middle' of the scoring zone.  He explained how Australian Rules football splits the scoring zone (see picture above left) but awards a score if the dividing post is hit.  I could only muster the game of darts as a possible comparison with gaelic games.

It seems there is a gap in the GAA scoring zone.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.