Perform under the new rules.
The 2026 season will reward players who prepare. Pick your position to see what changes for you.
What's changed
The LGFA passed 12 rule changes at Special Congress this April. Six are pulled straight from the men's game and six are new, written specifically for the women's game by a workgroup that included Mick Bohan, Caroline O'Hanlon and Danielle Caldwell. They all land for the 2026 championship.
When it lands
The new rules apply to every adult club championship in 2026, including yours. This isn't a trial and it isn't being phased in. From your first round to the county final, you're playing under the new rules.
What it means for you
The tackle has changed. There's a two-pointer from outside the 40m arc. Tactical fouls cost 50 metres now. Dissent from the sideline costs your team a free at the 13m line. The way you played last summer is not the way you'll be playing this summer, and if your training hasn't moved with the rules, your performance won't either.
What's in the guide
All 12 rules in plain English
What every rule actually means in plain language. No jargon, no LGFA-speak, just what changes and how it affects the game you're going to play.
What the men's 2025 season showed
One year of these rules in the men's championship gives us a preview. We pull out what actually changed, scoring patterns, defensive shapes, discipline, and which lessons carry into the women's game.
How your training needs to change
The conditioning, contact work and skills the new rules now demand. So your training in May and June actually maps to the championship you'll play in July.
Where to focus first for your position
The rules don't hit every position the same way. Half-backs and midfielders carry more running. Forwards live in the new tackle and scoring zones. Goalkeepers have a kick-out mark to play around.
The rules don't hit every position the same way
A half-back covering ground from the half-back line into the new tackle zone has a different job to a corner-forward setting up for a two-point shot from the arc. The 3v3 structure changes where you can sweep from. The 50-metre advance changes what you do when you're beaten. The kick-out mark changes what your goalkeeper is looking for and what your midfielders are running onto.
Find the rules that hit your position hardest
Six questions, about 30 seconds. You'll get your personalised guide as soon as you finish.
The coaches behind Femily
Lucy Rock
Junior All-Ireland winner with Wicklow before captaining Ireland Women's 7s Rugby for ten years and competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Lucy coaches performance and mindset at Femily, the work that connects what a player does on the pitch with how she thinks about herself off it.
Orlaith Curran
PhD in Strength and Conditioning. Currently delivering S&C to inter-county GAA teams, with previous senior roles at Ireland Women's 7s Rugby, Ireland Women's 15s Rugby and Irish Hockey. Orlaith plays camogie at club level with Kilmacud.
We built this guide because no one else had. A 12-rule package landed in April with a one-page LGFA summary and almost no club-level translation. There was no breakdown of what changes, what it means for the way you train, or where to start by position. That gap is what Femily exists to close. Your guide is waiting on the other side of the quiz.
Ready to start?
Six questions. Your personalised guide on the other side. The 2026 championship doesn't wait for you to figure it out.
A note on your club championship.
The exact rules running in your county championship come down to what your county board has ratified. Check with them if you're not sure.