Is the earlier Championship a success or failure?

[twohands!!!]

Inter county players are back with their clubs, finishing off league games and preparing for championship with their life long friends and family, what’s not to like about that?

Season done county boards aren’t spending fortunes on SC mind gurus dietitian's travel expenses coach hire and every other expense under the sun, another good reason

Club games getting National attention, non county players getting to play on tv, being talked about and maybe putting themselves in the shop window for their county selection, can complain about that

Club attendances possibly increasing..

Lads able to get a week’s holiday away to shake off the season rather than waiting till October

There are many more benefits, the only one that seems to be bad is for the broadcasters

Some good points, but the reality is a very large percentage of inter county players are not back with their clubs, preparing for club championships or finishing off league programmes.

Great opportunity for them, and US GAA has never had it so good, two benefits of the system, but on the back of how many went to the US, there is some room for the GAA to slightly tweak the intercounty schedule.

I was talking to someone from Kerry in Croke Park on Sunday and they were saying that the county leagues in Kerry are already finished - the final between Crokes and Dingle was on the previous Friday night. Club championship is starting in Kerry this weekend. If the All-Ireland winners can do that, other counties have no excuse at all.

Also they were saying that the change in the calendar gives the winning All-Ireland teams a lot longer to enjoy their win.

One thing with the previous September timetable is that it didn't give a lot of time for teams to enjoy the win - everything I've heard from players who won an All-Ireland was that the celebrations always felt rushed and fairly hectic because the league was only a few months away and intercounty training almost started up straight away, never mind club action. You had teams arriving off the plane from team holidays going straight back into action in pre-season games. The new split season should allow for a more relaxed celebration for the winners.

[Milltown Row2]

https://m.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/what-a-waste-after-the-feast-comes-famine-for-inter-county-followers-41870643.html

Breheny will have to go back to making out lists

Meanwhile a real GAA man speaks

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40927328.html

Its a feast of championship this weekend with Junior on Friday, Intermediate Sat and on Sunday Senior championship ... any amount of games to go to

[Captain Scarlet]

In Kildare, my club at least, the county boys were back on Tuesday after the Mayo game. They helped with promotion and already have a few weeks of training with the lads for championship.

In the past the usual craic was they would not darken the door of the club, then get one training session in before a prelim championship game in April. Maybe another league match and off they went till late August when they would drop in again.

How can anyone say it's not better. Lads (a tiny %) going to the USA is doomsday stuff seemingly. Lads not training all year round is a bad thing. Massive costs at inter-county being stopped...in previous years all the blowhards giving out now were up in arms over these things.

The lads in national media giving out don't want to do any work and just shite on. They might need some research for covering club games so they don't fancy it.

Like there are too many concerned with other sports and one of the reasons so many lads drop from club is being flogged. We are addressing that.

[shark]

In Kildare, my club at least, the county boys were back on Tuesday after the Mayo game. They helped with promotion and already have a few weeks of training with the lads for championship.

In the past the usual craic was they would not darken the door of the club, then get one training session in before a prelim championship game in April. Maybe another league match and off they went till late August when they would drop in again.

How can anyone say it's not better. Lads (a tiny %) going to the USA is doomsday stuff seemingly. Lads not training all year round is a bad thing. Massive costs at inter-county being stopped...in previous years all the blowhards giving out now were up in arms over these things.

The lads in national media giving out don't want to do any work and just shite on. They might need some research for covering club games so they don't fancy it.

Like there are too many concerned with other sports and one of the reasons so many lads drop from club is being flogged. We are addressing that.

But but but Marketing. Or something.

You’re 100% spot on. Playing 2 rounds of club championship in April and then pausing for 3 or 4 months was utterly disrespectful to players. Hopefully we will never see it again.

[Franko]

In Kildare, my club at least, the county boys were back on Tuesday after the Mayo game. They helped with promotion and already have a few weeks of training with the lads for championship.

In the past the usual craic was they would not darken the door of the club, then get one training session in before a prelim championship game in April. Maybe another league match and off they went till late August when they would drop in again.

How can anyone say it's not better. Lads (a tiny %) going to the USA is doomsday stuff seemingly. Lads not training all year round is a bad thing. Massive costs at inter-county being stopped...in previous years all the blowhards giving out now were up in arms over these things.

The lads in national media giving out don't want to do any work and just shite on. They might need some research for covering club games so they don't fancy it.

Like there are too many concerned with other sports and one of the reasons so many lads drop from club is being flogged. We are addressing that.

But but but Marketing. Or something.

You’re 100% spot on. Playing 2 rounds of club championship in April and then pausing for 3 or 4 months was utterly disrespectful to players. Hopefully we will never see it again.

+1

Also utterly unsurprising that the balloon mentioning marketing and money as the reason to shaft the masses of club players was a FG TD

[johnnycool]

i like seeing game under the lights on a cold  feburary saturday night  gaa is not just a summer sport.

The national league it is then.

[twohands!!!]

The group stages in the Sam Maguire and the Tailteann Cup next year, will mean that a lot more counties will be playing a bit longer compared to this year and will reduce the scope for intercounty players to head to the US.

Also at the other end of the calendar the plan is that the provincials club games will be moved earlier in the calendar forcing county boards to start county championships earlier if they are going to be finished in time for the provincials.

Given all this I would expect the number of intercounty players going to the US to drop a fair bit compared to this year.

Also I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a lot of the clubs in the US are aware of this and this summer was a bit of a last blowout in terms of recruiting intercounty players.

[Cunny Funt]

The group stages in the Sam Maguire and the Tailteann Cup next year, will mean that a lot more counties will be playing a bit longer compared to this year and will reduce the scope for intercounty players to head to the US.

Also at the other end of the calendar the plan is that the provincials club games will be moved earlier in the calendar forcing county boards to start county championships earlier if they are going to be finished in time for the provincials.

Given all this I would expect the number of intercounty players going to the US to drop a fair bit compared to this year.

Also I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a lot of the clubs in the US are aware of this and this summer was a bit of a last blowout in terms of recruiting intercounty players.

One way to do that is to schedule the All-Ireland club semi finals and finals for December instead of January

[Rossfan]

And have all Co Finals decided by 1st weekend October.

[twohands!!!]

The group stages in the Sam Maguire and the Tailteann Cup next year, will mean that a lot more counties will be playing a bit longer compared to this year and will reduce the scope for intercounty players to head to the US.

Also at the other end of the calendar the plan is that the provincials club games will be moved earlier in the calendar forcing county boards to start county championships earlier if they are going to be finished in time for the provincials.

Given all this I would expect the number of intercounty players going to the US to drop a fair bit compared to this year.

Also I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a lot of the clubs in the US are aware of this and this summer was a bit of a last blowout in terms of recruiting intercounty players.

One way to do that is to schedule the All-Ireland club semi finals and finals for December instead of January

That's the plan.

It's in the Calendar Task Force report.

[seafoid]

And have all Co Finals decided by 1st weekend October.

In time for the Horse Fair

[Eire90]

could they put the club finals on a st stephens day and make it an annual thing like the premier league does games on st stephens day or the saturday before christmas

[seafoid]

Presumably the shorter championship was designed to reduce the strain on players and keep county costs down but ending it in July feels like choc ices have been banned for the next 2 months

[marty34]

Need to give it a couple of years before a judgement can be made.

Club championship hasn't even started in a lot of counties yet.

Let the players, county and club, be the judge of how good/bad/indifferent it is...in a few years.

[Rossfan]

It was to ensure that adult (and indeed Minor) club championships would have a slot of their own with no County games taking place at the same time.
Also to enable Counties which reached AI Finals to have the same time for Club Championships as the rest.
And enable most Club Championship games to be on good pitches.
Better all round for players, managers, County Boards etc.
Not so good maybe for the GAA journalists.
The armchair fan can still watch the big games in June and July. The casual County follower can still go to his 2 or 3 games a year.
And Seaf can still have a choc ice while watching salthill v Tuam Stars or whoever in August.