3,000-year-old sport gains new popularity in Charleston

May. 30, 2012 • Ryan Shrum

It's fast moving, hard hitting and requires good hand eye coordination. The sport is called hurling. It was created in Ireland about 3,000 years ago and it's the newest field sport in the Holy City.

"You got football the physicality, the checking, baseball the hand eye coordination and basketball the speed and cuts that you use. It's different but I feel like I'm adjusting pretty good," said Charleston Hurling club member Mickey Mcdermott.

Club founders Brendan Dagg and Ryan Shrum formed the group online after months of trying to find other interested hurling players in the low country.

"This is as much as a social club and it is an athletic club, we get together on weekends. We go out after practice. It's about having fun and trying something new," said Shrum.

Hurling is a 70 minute game broken into two 35 minute half's. There are 15 players on each side including a goalie. Each team is broken down into six defenders, two mid-fielders and six attackers.

"Most of the game is played one on one so you have defender who is assigned to guard an attacker in the game beside that person trying to stop them scoring," said Dagg.

Dagg said the ball is called a sliotar and the bat a hurl or hurley. Players can run all over the field there is no out of bounds.

"How you can score is by either shooting the ball over the post which is an up rise like football you get one point if you do that or if you score in between the goal itself and you get three points similar like soccer," said Dagg.

The club holds open practice every Wednesday from 6pm-8pm at Hampton Park.

Originally posted by Ava Wilhite on Live 5 News