Clubs have their say

Tipperary GAA hosted an Club Forum at the Anner Hotel in Thurles last Tuesday week at which over 100 club representatives were present to debate pressing issues in the county.

Clubs were invited to send two representatives to the meeting which was moderated by County Chairman John Devane, focusing on six key topics, including competition structures and the impact of club games in April, as well as the benefits or otherwise of changing the age grade of minor to under 17 and impacting on age grades below that also.

Following that years rather fiery build-up to the November county board meeting which annually decides the format for competition structures for the following year, the meeting was an attempt to find consensus in the coming weeks about what can and can't work for the 2019 season.

 

The structure of they current County Championships tying in with the existing Inter-County championship system

This topic generated mixed views in the first year in which there were no club senior and intermediate championship games played once the inter-county championship started.

Mullinahone's Jackie Bolger said in his 46 years involved with his club, this year was the most difficult in terms of keeping players together but the new format wasn't completely to blame as the GAA still remains one of the few sporting organisations in the world that can put a fixtures plan together for its players.

On the flip side, Holycross/Ballycahill's Eoin Hassett said views of over 50 players and club members were gauged ahead of the meeting, and they feel the current system is workable and led to good games, but could improve if a proper schedule was put in place.

In terms of Gaelic football, Derek Williams of Clonmel Commercials, said this years county senior and new intermediate championship formats have worked well, despite the link being broken between the divisional and county championships in that code this year, an aspect agreed with by Aherlow's Pat Moroney.

 

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