Club Championships finding their true level - Floyd
The Tipperary Club Championships have found their true level according to county board secretary Tim Floyd.
In his report to County Convention, he said the change in structures have given rise to passionate debates in recent years, in both hurling and football over the number of clubs in each grade and he feels the decisions made in recent years, while “frustrating and testing” but the result is “most rewarding.”
“With all teams now playing at their own level, this should lead to more competitive games resulting in higher standards in our own county,” he said.
“Every team will play the three games in the group for either qualification or survival. Our county quarter finals should be between the best eight teams and with the advent of streaming and live TV we should be proud to present our GAA product in the best possible light from our Field of Legends in Semple Stadium with every opportunity we can.”
Reflecting on the decision to rebrand the Seamus O Riain Cup from a Senior ‘B’ competition to a Premier Intermediate Championship for 2022, Floyd, whose own club Newport have been caught up in the wash of the change, feels there will be a two-fold benefit “with the possibility of qualifying from ones divisional championship at your own level, this strengthening the divisional link, plus the carrot of a Munster Club qualification at the other end if you win the county.”
He added: “Despite views to the contrary, I have always been in favour of preserving the link once it was at a level the club is graded. I also believe this will make the divisional championships even more competitive as the risk of one-sided games is greatly reduced.”
Relegation is seen as a dreaded word for most clubs and for those that have endured it over the years, the loss of status, particularly senior, is a tough one to swallow but Tim Floyd feels you have to earn the right to have that status, rather than creating an environment to allow as many to call themselves senior as possible.
“To earn the right to be called a senior club in Tipperary we must play in the Dan Breen Cup which means we must be in the top 16 in the county. This means we must be capable of competing with the sixteen best teams in the county and earn the right only by winning our tier 2 hurling competition – the Premier Intermediate Championship and the Seamus O Riain Cup.”
Indeed, Floyd feels with the advent of the split season that the club championships in all grades in the county can flourish further from 2022 onwards.
“When we look back in years to come, we will realise how ridiculous it was trying to play club and inter-county at the same time, leading to frustration and chaos.
“Apart from this, the change has reduced costs for County Boards and improved the standards of our club championships. I look forward to even better club competition in 2022 as our new structures continue to bed in, especially with the incentive of Munster Club now added to our Seamus O Riain and raising it to championship status.”
Loughmore’s double delight
Reflecting on the County Championships gone-by, they were dominated by the remarkable feats of Loughmore/Castleiney who went on a thirteen-game unbeaten run to win the county senior hurling and football titles, in a nineteen-week run of matches.
“Being a dual club, they accepted these games week after week with little complaint,” Floyd said.
“Even after the drawn County Hurling final, there was a call to play the replay the following weekend and defer the football final by one week, but not from Loughmore. Maybe the football game was the psychology they needed before the replay,” he posed.