Feile under threat clubs too competitive.

spud65

http://www.hoganstand.com/Galway/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=186574

remove the competitive element from Feile? try an tell u14's not to be competitive, hard enough with go games for 11/12 year olds

Hammer Archer

Whatever about the warm weather training, what's the problem in teams staying in accommodation, especially if they've a long way to travel?
Making the Féile non competitive would almost certainly be the end of it.

Drummerboy2

The club that went abroad had booked their holiday before they had even won the Dublin Feile. The also went the year after the Feile. Ridiculous accusations which sound like sour grapes to me.

The particular team that went away go away every year, thanks to the hard work of the mentors, players and parents who raise the money for trips. Its the only holiday some of these kids ever get.

munchkin_utd

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Whatever about the warm weather training, what's the problem in teams staying in accommodation, especially if they've a long way to travel?
Making the Féile non competitive would almost certainly be the end of it.

for teams travelling a long distance (i.e. Kerry->Derry for this years football feile!) you'd need to stay a night or 2

Nevertheless, by having it all played off on 1 day or even trying to have it starting late morning to allow folks to travel from nearer places (or streamlining the timetable so that only local teams are scheduled to play earlier in the morning) you can eliminate the need for overnight stays for many if not most participants.

celt262

munchkin_utd wrote: »

for teams travelling a long distance (i.e. Kerry->Derry for this years football feile!) you'd need to stay a night or 2

Nevertheless, by having it all played off on 1 day or even trying to have it starting late morning to allow folks to travel from nearer places (or streamlining the timetable so that only local teams are scheduled to play earlier in the morning) you can eliminate the need for overnight stays for many if not most participants.

A lot of the fun of feile is staying with a host family and making new friends.

keane2097

I also note with half-amusement, half-despair that the idea that player recovery should be on a club's agenda is met with suspicion if not outright scorn by GAA officials as always.

It's no wonder we're seeing so many awful injuries in the last few years when the notion that responsibly guiding young players through getting their bodies back in decent shape after training is frowned up from on high.

nice_guy80

Feile is not fit for the modern GAA

It needs to be re-structured.
A lot of clubs don't bother entering teams at county level as they know they will get hammered by the stronger clubs who put huge resources into these under 14 teams when they know they can make the national finals

The the whole 'host family' thing is under threat with garda vetting and parents being uptight about letting kids stay in unfamiliar houses and other clubs deciding the host families are not adequate

It is a knockout competition therefore only giving games to the elite selection of clubs

qwerty93

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Feile is not fit for the modern GAA

It needs to be re-structured.
A lot of clubs don't bother entering teams at county level as they know they will get hammered by the stronger clubs who put huge resources into these under 14 teams when they know they can make the national finals

The the whole 'host family' thing is under threat with garda vetting and parents being uptight about letting kids stay in unfamiliar houses and other clubs deciding the host families are not adequate

It is a knockout competition therefore only giving games to the elite selection of clubs

Correct me if Im wrong but is the Feile not have 3 matches minimum in he groups? I really dont see what the problem is if that format is still being used as it does suffice I think. As regards the elite selection of clubs I feel that you are right in that you would probably ge the same 2 or 3 clubs representing a county each year. Perhaps a structure where 1 club from each divison in a county gets picked? It would be a huge shame to see such an excellent competition go away.

nice_guy80

qwerty93 wrote: »

Correct me if Im wrong but is the Feile not have 3 matches minimum in he groups? I really dont see what the problem is if that format is still being used as it does suffice I think. As regards the elite selection of clubs I feel that you are right in that you would probably ge the same 2 or 3 clubs representing a county each year. Perhaps a structure where 1 club from each divison in a county gets picked? It would be a huge shame to see such an excellent competition go away.

In the county competitions it is a straight knockout to determine who goes to Feile
I've no problem with the Feile, just that the format of it is completely wrong and elitist

qwerty93

ah right, sorry I misunderstood you.

willietherock

nice_guy80 wrote: »

In the county competitions it is a straight knockout to determine who goes to Feile
I've no problem with the Feile, just that the format of it is completely wrong and elitist

Sport is elitist. Shock horror. In hurling most counties have two tier competitions to cater for "weaker" teams in the feile.

The real problem with the feile is that it has been such an outstanding success story and jealously rears its ugly head.
The competition has huge status amoung the players and helps in a small way in the battle for harts and minds v soccer/rugby. The irony is it more feiles/more competitive games that are badly need at this level in the GAA.

nice_guy80

willietherock wrote: »

Sport is elitist. Shock horror. In hurling most counties have two tier competitions to cater for "weaker" teams in the feile.

The real problem with the feile is that it has been such an outstanding success story and jealously rears its ugly head.
The competition has huge status amoung the players and helps in a small way in the battle for harts and minds v soccer/rugby. The irony is it more feiles/more competitive games that are badly need at this level in the GAA.

exactly my point.
the format is completely wrong if the GAA see it as a competition to get/keep under 14 players playing GAA sports.

the current format gives more games to a tiny minority of clubs.
what is needed is a bigger edition of Feile in each county that would give more games to all clubs.

and many counties only have one division in Feile, played as a knockout over 4/5 weeks. the winners of which go through to the finals weekend. that is it.

spud65

nice_guy80 wrote: »

exactly my point.
the format is completely wrong if the GAA see it as a competition to get/keep under 14 players playing GAA sports.

the current format gives more games to a tiny minority of clubs.
what is needed is a bigger edition of Feile in each county that would give more games to all clubs.

and many counties only have one division in Feile, played as a knockout over 4/5 weeks. the winners of which go through to the finals weekend. that is it.

format in galway this year:

A. 16 of the elite teams in 4 groups of 4 group games played over 2 days winners of each group into semi's,final, winners represents county

B. next best 16 teams same format as above. winners go into B in the feile

C. next 12 teams: 4 groups of 3 think they just play for a sheild not 100%

all teams in A & B get at least 3 games.

think teams are seeded by how they finished in their groups in U13 competitions

Smith614

A lot of the clubs from the home county only become canon fodder for the strong teams up to knockout stage. My nephews club in cork which would be a middle of road A grade football team were put in the top grade of feile football and were annihilated by A champions from other counties.
There are too many clubs from host county involved, it brings an unwanted expense on a lot of clubs.

DARK-KNIGHT

played in a feile years ago.. fantastic is all i can say COMMUNITY..... GAA.....

TRADITION IN A WAY TOO....

hope they dont ruin it tbh

GeneralSherman

Lads there are always going to be eejits !
From my experience as both a Feile host and being hosted I think the Feile is a wonderful experience. I think the competition whilst not perfect isn't the problem. It is the attitudes of some of the participants where the ethos of the Feile is ignored.
As far back as the mid 1980s there were rumours of clubs not allowing their teams to parade as they would be too tired for the final/semi-final the next day. A whole other team was shipped in to take their place while the "stars" rested.
A lot of what's been said here about teams getting hammered etc may be true but sure there has to be a winner at the end of the day. Teams need to be graded according to their abilities. Last year my club were hosting. We are small rural club from a weakish football county and we managed to hold our own with the Kerry champs last year. What a great oppurtunity for our club to play the big boys and one which is remembered with fondness.
Keep the Feile! The benefits which accrue to the many far outweigh the negatives.