The best equipped of 'em all

If you¹re a club treasurer puzzled by the lack of companies who provide GAA goods then this article will be of particular interest to you. PF Sports Equipment in Galway may have the solution to all your club¹s problems.

GAA committees nationwide are continuously faced with dilemmas regarding the upkeep of their ground and facilities not to mention the problem of providing equipment and gear for all the teams in their club. These concerns are commonplace in every club yet there is still only a handful of companies in Ireland willing to deal in this specialised market. Strange, isn’t it?

Before any GAA match takes place, the pitch has to be properly marked out with flags aligning both sidelines, nets must be hanging from the goals while an official match ball approved by Croke Park must be used. As well as this, the goalposts, barrier nets, jerseys, first aid kits and even referees’ whistles must be in order yet these fundamentals are taken for granted by the players whose primary concern is the game in progress. So, who does all the work behind the scenes? I see few hands raised.

PF Fleming Sports Equipment is a company that specialises in GAA products. Founded by Pat Fleming and his brother Paul in May of ‘98, they have an extensive range of products ideal for GAA clubs, ranging from pitch markers to goalposts to club sportswear and the service they provide is both personal and informative.

“The reason we got into this business was because we saw an opening in the market,” Pat Fleming of PF Sports Equipment reveals. “My father is the chairman of the Cortoon club in Galway and a few years back he asked me to help him find a company who provided GAA equipment to clubs. I made a few phone calls and discovered that it was a very specialised market and to get something like a pitch marker took a tremendous amount of work. With this in mind, we decided to set up our own business that catered for the needs of GAA clubs throughout the country.”

The first product Pat explored was in fact the pitch marker. Under the new GAA directives lime is banned from being used to line out a pitch so he began promoting a safer, more effective pitch marker.
“A lot of people don’t know this but lime is actually prohibited on GAA pitches. This ban was never strictly enforced so some clubs still use the substance but we’re trying to increase awareness and inform clubs that there is an alternative to lime. If a player gets cut and lime enters the wound then there’s a possibility that they can get blood poisoning so it’s in the best interest of players and committee members to ensure that it’s not on their pitch.

“Our alternative to lime is an oil based paint that doesn’t wash off in the rain. We spent several months testing it and discovered that it’s a far better, safer and cleaner alternative to lime. With the climate we have here in Ireland it was important that we designed a product that would last longer and after a prolonged series of tests we are now confident that this paint will last up to three weeks without being washed away. As well as that, it also looks well on the pitch so it makes sense to use it,” Pat insists.
In keeping with their concern for the players’ welfare, PF Sports Equipment is also promoting safer, more flexible flags to line out pitches.

“The old wooden flag is a hazard on a GAA pitch,” Pat points out. “A player could get seriously injured if he falls on it - it could even impale him. We are selling plastic flags over four foot tall which will bend if a player lands on it. These are a lot safer and will help avoid injuries.”

As well as providing nets for the actual playing goals, the company also supply barrier nets behind the goals which prevent the ball from travelling a good distance and delaying the game. There are two types of barrier nets, the permanent one and the curtain style net that can be pulled over and back when needed.

“Croke Park will only insure a club if they have a curtain style net,” Pat explains. “This is because of the risk involved with permanent nets of kids climbing up them whereas the curtain style nets can be brought over just before a game starts. As with the nets we provide for the goals, polyetheline is used instead of nylon which is much better quality and lasts longer.”

PF Sports Equipment has an impressive list of products on offer. The company provides goal posts, water bottles, training balls, match balls, sliotars, whistles, first aid equipment, cones, training bibs, sportswear, bags, pumps, gym equipment and all other GAA accessories. Pat cites the shortage of these goods in the average sports shop as his reason to sell them.

“The needs of the club are neglected by local sports shops who have a wider range of clients to cater for. We focus on the club and on the GAA in general so we understand that secretaries and treasurers have full time jobs and don’t need the added responsibility of having to search at length for something as simple as a training bib.”

The most remarkable aspect of Pat’s business is that his company reps call directly to individual clubs and show them the products they have for sale at first hand. He has four reps on the road at the moment and they gets lists of club secretaries from the county boards before calling on them to reveal what goods are on offer. Backing up the reps on the road are Regina and Trish who arrange all the appointments and handle the orders.

“Previously, companies just sent brochures out to clubs with pictures of the products they were selling without the person getting a chance to sample them. We prefer instead to call directly to individual members of a club to allow them the opportunity to test a product out. If they want to bring it to a committee meeting they can, that’s not a problem and once they make an order we guarantee to have the goods at their doorstep within 24 hours,” he promises.

Can’t argue with that. In fact, such is PF Sports Equipment’s range of services that they also sell tracksuits, training tops, sweat shirts, t-shirts, club jumpers, polo shirts and beany hats.

“We go into great detail with all of the clothes we sell to the clubs. We can embroider club crests onto the polo shirts or jumpers and they are made with real high quality material. Clubs have become more progressive in their outlook in recent years and they demand the best. Our aim is to make sure they get just that while we can offer them advice on what product would be most suitable for their club. We’ve learned a lot in the short time we’ve been on the go and I firmly believe in developing personal relationships with each club. Because at the end of the day if we look after them, they’ll look after us,” he concludes.