The split season

Sunny Disposition

To me this has worked brilliantly. After around 25 years of serious fixture issues, clubs finally got certainty about their championships, a huge thing for everyone involved. Clare were in the All Ireland final this year, but by the end of the first week in September three rounds of club championship will have been played just as autumn begins. There were no postponements or uncertainty due to the county team.

As far as I can see it has been an unqualified success, the best piece of administration I can ever remember in the GAA. Yet you still have an awful lot of media whinging about it.

I'm not generally given to conspiracy theories, but I really do wonder if the commentariat have found their season of relevance dramatically shortened, and as such are negative towards it.

Quite honestly, there are far more articles that are negative in tone compared to those that acknowledge the huge benefits to clubs that have accrued from the split season.

HurlingBoy

It might be great for the club player and club manager to have certainty around fixtures but ultimately the promotion of the games is suffering and I fear that the long term impacts of the split season will be detrimental to the GAA. Reducing the exposure on TV and in the media will lead to less kids staying playing the sport. Can you imagine the buzz in primary schools this week if Cork and Clare was on next Sunday? Man U v Liverpool will be on TV screens in every house on Sun rather than the hurling final. It's a blinkered short term view from the GAA. Promotion at nation level leads to club participation. We are living in a multicultural society now and attracting kids from non GAA backgrounds will get more difficult as a result. It should be possibly for both club and county to co exist and provide certainty to the club player i.e club months, county month. All Ireland series only impacts a few counties generally from year to year.

Stationmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122558539#Comment_122558539

How can club and county co exist without clubs suffering from not having their county players? The gaa is a very unique organisation in that even the best of their players still play with their clubs and that has to be sacrosanct. There was plenty of buzz around in the summer in the competing counties and I don't think kids missed out on any of it just because they weren't in school. They are now in the envious position of seeing their county hero's up close and personal on club pitches every weekend up and down the country. 95% of players in the gaa don't play inter county and they now, finally, have more structured games and fixtures.

HurlingBoy

I dont think there was much wrong with the pre Covid years system of April as a club month where counties got a few round of their championships played. Maybe this could be expanded to 6 weeks. Intercounty Provincials from mid May to end of early July. All Series from July to early Sept(AI series only impacting 6 counties in hurling). All other counties can get their championship played from July on. The club player always had uncertainty to deal with but you knew not book holidays in Aug\Sept\Oct for fear of missing a knockout match. The average club player will possibly play 10-12 years at adult club level, but will be a lifelong fan. It's a short period to put up with abit of uncertainty. The child from a non GAA backround won't be taken to club matches, won't know the AI is on mid summer and will never take up the game with the current system. Rural clubs need all kids playing to survive.

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122558951#Comment_122558951

Intercounty managers control would ensure your idea wouldn't be a runner.

rpurfield

I don't buy this thing of the All Ireland being on earlier is not encouraging kids to play. Outside of the counties involved kids wouldn't have an interest. I'm around a good few club games and I see things going on like getting the u8 or u10 teams from the clubs playing an adult match to play at half time or organizing the kids to go watch the games and that keeps them interested too. The kids will see a lad they'll probably bump into at the shop or next time they are training and it also keeps them going. The most important thing is the players themselves like it https://www.irishnews.com/gaa/players-want-split-season-to-stay-and-no-extension-of-inter-county-season-parsons-AFKNM6C6WZF63OJEAQO6VEPCGQ/

Sunny Disposition

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560098#Comment_122560098

There are more county games on now than ever with how the structures have changed over the last decade, none of the criticism adds up.

More inter county, certainty for clubs and no sudden postponements to facilitate county teams. The GAA finally dealt with the fixtures issue and it worked. Obviously it doesn’t suit GAA media, but it’s bizarre how one sided it’s coverage of the move has been.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122558951#Comment_122558951

First and foremost that April club month thing was a total disaster, club players had to get up to championship speed for one or maybe 2 games then nothing for maybe 4 months it was crazy

As for growing the game, the games of hurling or football are played in every school in the country at national schools level, from under 6 level up that's the introduction, and even if the child comes from a non gaa family it won't take him too long the town or parish he comes from has a team, especially when that team reaches a final

The argument that kids will stop playing because of the lack of coverage of inter county games is nothing but nonsense of the highest order

When I was growing up in the early 90s the gaa allowed only a handful of gaa games to be televised a year, so it wouldn't affect attendances at matches , there was nothing but soccer and rugby live on TV on a weekly basis , and on rte let alone sky, If it had no affect back then how is it a problem now

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122560907#Comment_122560907

a lot of people in the media are against it , it puts them out of work , your man fogerty was still going on about clare cheating cork in the examiner 4 weeks after the event ,

and most cork people wouldn't have passed a blind bit of notice , everyone knows we were lucky with the robbie o'flynn incident ,but some of the stuff fogerty pulled out of his hat was ridiculous

mooz

Pundits missing their dosh is really the problem

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572467#Comment_122572467

donal og 100% against pat spillane basically retired because of it and has put up some nonsensical ideas of having a collage game day type build up for all ireland finals or rasing the player profile of players to market them on the same level of professional athletes

that's not what the gaa is about , we dont need to suck up to other codes or sports , just looking at clubber alone the attendances at say the kilkenny or tipp hurling championships the cork hurling or football championships or even the kerry football championship are greater then most league of ireland premier division games and some would run the likes of connacht rugby close

what's needed now is a tuesday pull out on one of the newspapers like the star used to do for the leinster senior league in soccer to highlight the club game across the country and give an in depth review of each championship

mooz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572499#Comment_122572499

Spot on. Was at a few club games over the weekend. Isn't it brilliant to attend in great heat, fast ball into forwards towards heavy ground and miserable conditions in November and attendances reflect that

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572506#Comment_122572506

or if your team was knocked out of the championship and as i often did , attend a club game the same time as an all ireland semi final or even final

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572499#Comment_122572499

Alot of it is actually getting comical, my favourite is still Spillane suggesting 6 months of the year to Intercounty football and club hurling and the other 6 months vice versa and swap each every year so for example Intercounty football would be Jan-Jun in 2024 and July-Dec in 2025, he seemed to forget dual players at club level is still pretty common ( its far more common than single code players here in Wexford) and his idea would lead to 12 months of non stop intercounty football followed by 12 months of intercounty hurling.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122558951#Comment_122558951

The April window was a disaster. Most counties played absolutely no championship. In Limerick there was two round of hurling and football championship. If your county player had any sort of niggle he was unavailable especially if you were playing at a lower level. Hurlers weren't allowed/discouraged from playing football.

County managers were organising warm weather training towards the end of the window as well. It did not work before it will not work now.

There may be a possibility to allow the intercounty season to extend into early August. However it would mean all county club competitions would have to standardise nationwide, for instance Kerry woukd need to get rid of there county championship structure.

In Limerick 4 round of the football championship and three round of the hurling championship have been played, the fourth round of the hurling is next weekend so after that one round of each before the QF are played

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572546#Comment_122572546

i didn't even thing about the last one , i still don't like what waterford and wexford are doing in terms of a full hurling championship first , although looking at the highlights of last weekend and even this weekend in wexford the standard looks really good, what hampers a teams progress is surly waiting 8 or 9 weeks for a leinster club game ,

i watched a few waterford games especially the games between , mount sion v de la salle , mount sion v abbeyside, ballyguner v passage or de la salle the standard was really good in them games , but asking ballygunner to go from that to waiting 6 or 8 weeks for there next game is a slight flaw ,

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572558#Comment_122572558

They got rid of that in Wexford this year, it's still the set up in Waterford and Carlow. It was only brought in 2020 when the window to play the games was small due to Covid lockdowns and obviously training time was less so seemed to suit well and was retained in 21 for the same reason. After 2 successful seasons the vote to retain for 2022 was about 80-20 when it went to the clubs, when things settled after Covid it was a big discussion point only a single vote kept it for 2023 and eventually the vote this year was to bin it.

The only benefit I could see was alot of clubs who had a decent preference for 1 code seemed to improve a good bit in their secondary code as they could dedicate more time to it rather than juggling both, personally I prefer the set up this year, I think it's more forgiving for injuries in that for example a 4 week hamstring injury at the wrong time could rule you out of a QF,SF and final in 1 code previously now it's spread out more across both.

The_Kew_Tour

Im only going on local clubs back in my home county and they are struggling field teams as young lads off to States or Oz for summer.

I appreciatee why it was done but the marketing of game and imo its made it worse

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573106#Comment_122573106

But we don't market the games. At all.

We could have a 7 best goals/7 best points/7 best saves/7 best pieces of skill flooding social media every round of the league/championship from January to the QF's. But we don't.

We could get managers and one player to have an actual press conference before every league final, provincial final, and each knockout round from the QF's onwards, instead of the usual media bans. But we don't.

We could own the weekends in terms of screen time, early games at 12:45 and 3:00 on a Saturday, give GAAgo the 5:15 and 7:30 slots, have two games on a Sunday at 2:00 and 4:15, and allow a deferred game in full at 7:00 on a Sunday on whatever channel. But we don't.

We could insist as part of a TV package, a light-hearted magazine show that offer brief highlights, chats and tongue-in-cheek view of the GAA. But we don't.

We could have a structure that works in both codes that doesn't have people, usually the same media people lamenting non-promotion of the games, write off a significant part of the season as irrelevant. But we don't.

We could have 2/3 softball "get to know you and have a laugh" type interviews plastered all over social media making start of the players. But we don't.

And instead of hammering the split-season, why not, you know, promote the county championships? If the games are what sells the GAA, why not promote games when they're on regardless of whether they're club or county?

Surely they would go a long way to promoting the games as well instead of just the hammering the split season by those with a vested interest in extending the inter-county season by those who make their money off it. What's to lose by actually trying to promote the games beyond show two matches on the Sunday game during in the championship?

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573106#Comment_122573106

Lads going to the states for the summer has always happened as long as I remember regardless of the structure of the season. Split season isn't the reason people are going to Australia, it's a societal thing at the moment due to crazy cost of living in this country and bit of a FOMO effect, once young lads see the nice weather etc. from their friends on social media they fancy giving it a try too.

The_Kew_Tour

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573521#Comment_122573521

Oh I know they always went be its had knock on effect on playing numbers here

Sunny Disposition

Isn't it bizarre that for so long there was no proper schedule for clubs, if the county went out early championship would happen, if they didn't it wouldn't. If your county was in an All Ireland it'd be mid to late September before it even began.

On Sunday evening the entire group stage of the Clare hurling championship will have been played, despite having been in the All Ireland. And there's still a stretch in the evening.

Why aren't the pundits able to acknowledge very clear positives? Maybe they feel it's reducing their own relevance?

Tommybojangles

Glad to see online and in "the real world" people are seeing the media narrative about the split season for what is. Imo the change has been one of the best things the GAA have ever done. You're straight into the county season in February and it's full on, growing in intensity until July. The leagues have even less relevance now which is a pity, but a necessary evil of the expanded championship

Anyone who was a club player during the "club month" knows it was an absolute disaster. You wouldn't lay eyes on your county players for the 4 weeks bar maybe if there was 2 rounds of championship on they might play one. You then sat on your hole for who knows how long after getting up to championship pace for 3 weeks.

This giving over time to other sports idea is complete drivel. Kids still watched soccer when the all Irelands were in September. What you ahve now is the peak of the hurling season (in terms of number games) in April. 2 games on telly every weekend and more available to watch but no point getting in to the GAAGo debate now. It is frustrating that you come out of that and suddenly there is only 5 games left int he year, but that's just a consequence of the number of teams you're dealing with. The current system imo does a great job of getting the most out of a sport where there are only 9/10 teams, while also giving the opportunity for the teams on the periphery to develop.

I will say the promotion of games thing is an interesting question. Obviously you have the nonsense from places like "You wouldn't even know there is a match on this weekend" or "hurling is dying" and this needs to be ignored. But more content during the week leading up to or after games is something that most fans would welcome. Like Buff Egan but much better I suppose is what I mean. The only problem is getting together a good quality product that people will watch. GaaGo launched an analysis show this year that i don't think got much traction. Maybe the market isn't there? Remember shows like breaking ball and park live, they didn't last

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122566501#Comment_122566501

Rugby has exploded in popularity since the early '90s. Now presumably some other reason will be suggested but rugby being televised a lot certainly coincided with increased interest. It's mad to say TV exposure makes no difference. As for GAA attendances, KK v Galway 2023 in Nowlan Park attracting 11k?

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122579254#Comment_122579254

There was a sold out Croke Park this year too for an All Ireland semi final.

HurlingBoy

Yes, I agree. TV and media exposure does impact kids. The bottom line is that with the current structure the most Intercounty GAA championship matches are played in April\May when there is also alot of Rugby and Soccer competing for TV and media exposure. July and August are fallow months and now August has very little sport on TV apart from the resumption of the Premiership. As a former club player and now involved in coaching and administration of juvenile teams I would have loved to have had the certainty around fixture when I was playing. Now getting kids excited about playing GAA has become a bigger challenge when they don't see it on TV for 9 months of the year, there is no talk about it in schools or the general public. Clubs are very important but the inter county scene is the biggest promotional opportunity and shop window for the GAA and reducing your shop window can only lead to reduced sales or playing numbers in this case.

Sunny Disposition

was at a club match last night, played in warm and sunny conditions. It was the THIRD round of group matches.
Large groups of kids, who are apparently being lost to the game due to the split season, were pucking on the sidelines.
You’d have to wonder why for so many years club championship wasn’t played in the summer in so many counties.
A pox on those who want to go back.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591257#Comment_122591257

If club championships weren't played in some counties in summer in the past it was ultimately because those counties chose that. There was nothing ever stopping club matches being played in summer and some counties pressed on with their championship. Most county teams were out of the All-Ireland championship before August under the old system. Usually there was minimum of 24 of the 32 counties with all the time they wanted to play club matches by late July and often considerably earlier.

And I say that as someone who thinks the All Ireland final should be in June with the League abolished.

But let's not pretend that kids did not "puck around" in the summer months before now. And of course September is not summer either. It was always the end of the inter-county hurling season. I always assumed the pleasure people derived from the split season from the club standpoint was that their dates were now set in stone rather than because there was no hurling at all in the summer before now.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122579254#Comment_122579254

Rugby went professional in the mid 90's that is not an option open to inter county GAA. This is what exploded it's popularity. But club rugby is dead. When is the last time you saw a club rugby game on TV. Now the clubs are underage nurseries for the profession system.

I was talking to a lad that I coached for under age GAA. He played under age Rugby abd went into development squad I think it was from U16 up. He made the Munster development squads all the way to about 18 years if age. He struggled at GAA from about 18 on to bulky and too slow

He said looking back he regrets the time he put into rugby. He would probably have made the club senior football team if he stay at it. He has no team sport now. He developed at physically at a young age but was not physically big. I doubt his children will play rugby and it will ve interesting to see what will happen over the next 20 years regarding rugby and head injuries.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122592819#Comment_122592819

Ypu are incorrect. Up untill the end of the split season club championships especially in the weaker county discipline was treated as fetvit out of the way fast. County players would definitely not play the weaker code.

Most county championships consisted of winners and losers groups with a lotbof club teams o ly having three championship games and there season was ended. The split season was horrendous clubs in the Limerick county championship. Two rounds of hurling and football played in April. If your county player had a sniffle or a sore finger he would not ve allowed to play by the county managment I even saw this happen in underage competitions we lost a couple U21 games over it.

The costs were horrendous for clubs, players were back training 2nd weeknight Jamuary. You were hiri g all weather's pitches and faulities once irvtwice a week and if often had to play friendlies on these pitches as well. The team trainers had to be paid all summer long.

Now it starts in March and you can train in normal pitches.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593026#Comment_122593026

Plenty of GAA clubs in various counties play three championship games and are out of the championship still and are still training for months on end without meaningful games. One of the sellers of the split season was that this wouldn't happen. The training/games split is still disastrous. It's a good idea in principle but the inter-county championships go on far too long and late. Serious end of the club scene is a winter game still. Everything has changed but nothing has changed. Big club games are being played on boggy pitches in winter weather while players train for months on end with no championship games April to August. And clubs are still out selling lotto tickets to line the pockets of a trainer who can keep it going for months on end from Feb/March even if the team doesn't have a meaningful game with something at stake until autumn.

On the rugby example - like the GAA club finals, the rugby club finals are on TV at the end of the season. There's a reason that there's 45k at the Munster inter-county hurling final and 2k at the club final. People want to watch higher standard sport. Same applies in rugby. As with soccer too. You'd have people here who'd not know there was a LOI game going in but would crawl across broken glass to watch "United" on TV. Doesn't mean the club game is broken in Ireland. Plenty of people beavering away in the background. You just don't see them on the telly.

It is a reality that there are people aware of rugby, following rugby, supporting and participating in rugby whose equivalent 20 years wouldn't have watched rugby. This of course is a function of the success of the Irish team and the provinces. That's a great thing of course. Frankly, your anecdote of an individual who didn't make it in rugby was a strange counter to the claim that rugby has exploded in popularity. The guy who didn't quite make it in his chosen sport is a common enough figure. Wouldn't go reading too much into it.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593791#Comment_122593791

At present in Limerick at the round robin stage if the County hurling and football champioships from Senior, Premier Intermediate, Intermediate and Junior A, there will be four rounds played.

There is still another round of Hurli g and football round robin to players QF,SF and County Finals.

Dual players in dual clubs will have played 8 games and are guaranteed 10. Most will have another two on top of that. Single code players minimum 5 and usually 6

The teams getting to the final will play minimum 7 and at least one team in that code will have played 8 games as group winners go straight to SF whoke 2nd and 3rd play a QF.

The leagues are played off during the summer without county players teams will play a other half dozen games there

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593973#Comment_122593973

I'm very familiar with Limerick GAA as it happens. But it's hard to imagine any other sport where so much time is spent preparing/training for so few matches in the premier competition.

rrs

Gealic Players Association (GPA) chief executive Tom Parsons sees November becoming a “zero contact” month at inter-county level following the decision to suspend pre-season competitions next year.

Despite 60% of counties supporting their retention in recent feedback, Central Council on Saturday voted to disband the 2025 January competitions on the grounds of player welfare and cost savings.

The GPA have long advocated for the pre-season matches to be axed. They had previously argued successfully for a six-week pre-season block for players to be ready for those competitions but Parsons now envisages collective training commencing in December.

https://t.co/5jy7BPrHi4

blowitupref

Player welfare and burn out among the reasons for getting rid of pre season competitions. Only the McKenna cup was taken somewhat serious over the last few years and elsewhere counties fielded 3rd strength teams or development teams while 1st choice panels was playing challenges elsewhere.

I think NFL will likely start mid Jan and finished in March giving every team a few weeks prep time before the provincial championship start

HurlingBoy

With most county championships down the semi final stages how do people about the split season at the this time of the year. For me it seems that the club championship is over in the blink of an eye - 6/7 weeks for alot of clubs if they don't make the knockout stages. I know the weather has been quite dry with pitches in good condition so it still feels like clubs should be playing but evenings are gone for training. It's great in one way to have the certainty around fixtures and no replays dragging things out but it seems a very short window of matches for all the training.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704675#Comment_122704675

It depends on the county. Limerick clubs will have played 5 rounds of county championship in both hurling and football. Teams that qualified for playoffs had QF in hurling last weekend football the week before. Dual players will have played a minimum of 10 championship matches. Non county club players will also have played league while rhe inter county championship was being played. They woukd be 5ish rounds in both codes. So a dual club player will have played 20 matches without getting to a playoff. I cannot see much room for more matches

The county finals and semi finals will take up another four weekend then it the provincial and AI club championships.

windy shepard henderson

in clare we need the split season because we play two codes , but i would be interested in how 1 code counties are affected

HurlingBoy

There is no room for more matches and with replays everything is getting played with no delays which is a good thing. However how does the club player feel about such a short window of championship matches. Is there a risk that players will start playing other sports e.g I am only going to have important games in August\Sept and possibly October, I will play soccer and Rugby also as this will run to Sept to May.

Bot1

I love it!

Gives a set period for the club championships where you can really get invested with intercounty stars can line out for their clubs.

The kids love it too!

Those complaining about the intercounty championship being over should head along to a club championship match.

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122717951#Comment_122717951

I'm 35 and lads playing Hurling, Football and Soccer has always been very common in my neck of the woods for as long as I remember.

HurlingBoy

At what level and in what county? Very difficult to combine these sports particularly at senior level in the top counties. I would say that that split season will also lead to a decline in dual players. In Limerick for example players would have had championship games every weekend for the last 10/11 weeks. A sure way to burn out players and lead to more injuries.

joebloggs32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122718740#Comment_122718740

You hit the nail on the head. Its the certainty it brings to club players that's most important.

In my playing days we had to get ready to play a round or possibly two at the end of April or start of May. We then had an indefinite period to wait for our next fixture. It was madness.

The point made elsewhere about the costs of training teams should not be underestimated either. There is a circuit of gravy train merchants going from club to club. Even now, they often get squads back before the end of January. No expenses if the car is parked up at home.

I believe, like the intercounty scene, there should be a defined closed season to stop collective club training until mid February or 1st of March. At the moment few club chairman have the balls to stop the gravy train starting up in January as they would fear being called miserly. However, if insurance was withdrawn from the teams it would be much easier to put the foot down.

Billy Ocean

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122745550#Comment_122745550

I know players in Wexford who have finals in both codes over the next 2 weekends and will go back to soccer once the GAA commitments for the year is over.

crusd

Before the split season you saw Club championship finals being played mid to late October in storms and now you see club championship finals being played in mid to late October in storms. You see swathes of young lads heading over to america and no meaningful club action for months.

My proposed Calender:

Jan: Intercounty Pre-season

Feb: I/C League

March: I/C League,

Club Pre-season

April: Club Championship group stages - min 2 rounds. If not completed county champions do not get to compete in All Ireland Club championships. If county management pull club players for club the games still go ahead but the county manager must stand up in front of club delegates and manager from each impacted club to justify

May: I/C Provincial Championships, Club League

June: I/C Weeks 1&2 - Provincial Finals, Week 3&4 - Hurling Preliminaries and Football group stage Rd 1 depending on weekend of provicial final - eg. Finalist who played week 1 play wee k3 and week 2 play week 4

July: I/C Week 1: Football groups rd 2, Week 2 Football group rd 3, Week 3 - Hurling QF, Week 4 Football QF

Club - league to completion

August: I/C Week 1 - Hurling Semis, Week 2 - Football Semis Week 2, Week 4 - Hurling Final

Club: All counties without a semi-finalist complete club Quarter-finals by end of month. All counties with a semi finalist complete group stages by end of month. If not completed county champions do not get to compete in All Ireland Club championships. Only counties with exemption not to play any Club championship in August are those with an All-Ireland Finalist.

September: I/C Week 1 - All Ireland Football Final.

Club: Semi finals and Finals in counties eliminated in QF or earlier, Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals in counties eliminated in SF or earlier, Last group stage game and QF in counties in AIF. If not completed county champions do not get to compete in All Ireland Club championships

October: All remaining Club Championship games completed weeks 1-3.

October Bank holiday - All star weekend and Interpro-series.

Where possible Senior club championship is 4 x 4 team groups with QF, SF and final - none of this sh*te with the 3rd placed team making a preliminary quarter final. Same with the I/C championship. If there are less than 16 senior teams in a county they can have 3x4 team or 2x4 team groups. If there are more than 16 either drop to 16 teams and let the excess drop to intermediate with the knock on effect down to Junior, Junior B etc or if you really want you can have your fake Senior B championship so clubs not good enough for senior can play in the "Utterly Butterly I cant believe its not Intermediate" championship

November: Provincial Club championships, Sigerson/ Fitzgibbon

December: All Ireland club championships, Sigerson/ Fitzgibbon

Sunny Disposition

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122746050#Comment_122746050

It was ridiculous that no one knew when championship would be played. And it went on for years and years with very little media focus on the issue, which makes it very hard to listen to the critics of the split season now.

randd1

There's nothing wrong with the split season.

The problem isn't the clubs. It never has been.

The problem is the run-away train that is the inter-county season, that for a long time now has been adding more and more games, has been ramping up the cost of preparing teams so the GAA needs more match-day revenue to cover that massive increase in expense, and managers were asking for club games to be postponed in order to prepare properly, which county boards usually acquiesced to.

The club was being squeezed out completely because of it.

People saying "we used to have club games during the summer", we did. But we also has less games, county players weren't doing 30+ hours of training/prep work a week with various members of backroom team bigger than the playing panel and the cost of it, and the time required for it.

The split season is a solution to a problem created by the unreasonable demands of the inter-county scene on the club players. The clubs had to be protected, because with them there is no GAA. They were being cast aside, training for the hope of a match, not being able to do simple thing in life like a holiday or major things like weddings, not knowing when or if they were going to be playing.

They have what they have now, which is 3-4 months of time where they can run off games, and the clubs manage to do that, even in dual counties where they can't run the two codes on the same weekend to help dual players. Counties have had to change formats for the compressed schedule, and the Club AI's, the biggest day for any club whatever their level, is played in the muck and sh!t of winter to facilitate the inter-county scene. They've given up plenty. And they've left the inter-county season with 6 months between January and July where the codes are not stopped being run alongside each other until the AIQF's in June.

I mean if Cork can organize competitions for what, 230 club teams (or however many clubs are in Cork), for a 3-4 month period with time set aside for both codes to be played on separate weekends, then surely the intercounty scene can arrange competition structures for 66 county teams (or whatever the number is) across both codes that can be played on the same weekends as each other over a 6 month period.

The split-season provides certainty to club player that the inter-county behemoth isn't going to keep swallowing up it's time.

The alternative is to keep letting the inter-county season expand and chip away at the club scene, which will eventually mean either a split between inter-county and the club, or the decline of the club, and with it the GAA, as who'll want to play a sport where the attitude is that you're to fcuk off until the big lads tell you you're allowed to play, if the want that.

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122747305#Comment_122747305

Begs the question, why haven't the GAA developed a social/5-a-side version of the codes? Football is the obvious one. No hand passing (slap or fist the ball first time is allowed), a small but wide goal similar to Aussie Rules, play on astroturf.

One thing I used to love about playing soccer years ago, was when I couldn't play it anymore (bad knees, broken ankle), once I got somewhat right in my early 30's, I used to just meet up with the local lads for a 7-a side game on a Thursday. No mad training, no fitness work, just go out and play the sport for the fun of it.

The GAA really need to be planning to make the sports more accessible to people who are big fans of the codes but that maybe don't want to have to put in a massive effort in training a few times a week just to maybe play a match a couple of times a year, who mightn't be part of a club, but still want to play the sport in some way. For some lads an hour a week for a kick about/tip around might be all they can afford in terms of time. In particular, it should be considered given the growing lack of space in growing urban area for new club pitches to start having a format that can be played on a very small pitch.

The other thing is, if we had something like that, we'd have something for the club players as well. For the most part, the club player finished in October theses days and probably doesn't start getting going again until March. That's a hell of a gap, so if it could be filled with a take-it-easy format, or the GAA version of a pub league, would that be the worst thing?

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122747789#Comment_122747789

The reason for that was not the calendar, it was county boards beholden to county managers. Define the club calendar alongside inter county, and ensure it happens by having consequences for counties who dont follow it.

Bot1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122747853#Comment_122747853

Love this idea!

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122747894#Comment_122747894

How do enforce those consequences though? Pull funding? That will affect the clubs, not the county team who'll get money anyway due to the demands of the inter-county scene.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122747853#Comment_122747853

You should check out "half paced hurling"