U14 Feile

[Too many steps]

Everyone knows the top teams have been removed from the main feile. That didn't just happen this year.

When did it happen before?

Didn't happen last year - Dublin county Feile winner won Div 1.

Has never happened in Down to my knowledge (that winners of the county Feile were entered to a regional Feile instead of the main tournament).

I bet if I go back and research I'll find Dublin/Kerry/Kildare/Donegal teams contesting the final for the past 10 years at least - all of whom would have won their respective county Feile competitions.

There have been plenty of regional Feile competitions before, but these tended to be for runners up or beaten semi finalists of county competitions.

[screenexile]

Yes I did hear that this was the case, but the authorities don't seem to have a problem with putting a  teams in divisions for which they are too strong a la New York.

It's not that NY were too strong. They just removed all the teams that would have provided them competition and put them in Sligo. Maybe they knew NY would be too strong for the rest and are trying to give GAA a boost across the pond.

Who are 'they'?

[Hound]

From a Dublin perspective, last year Castleknock won Dublin Div 1 and played National Div 1 Feile and won.

This year, Skerries Harps won Dublin Division 1, and they (along with runners-up Na Fianna) played in the Premier Regional Feile in Sligo, rather than the National Division 1. Apparently the 10 teams in this "Premier" competition were from counties that competed in the Div 1 National Feile last year. So looks like they are rotating it.

Down Feile winners went to Div 3 last year (I think) - and lost every match (I think - definitely did't come back with a trophy).

So why were Burren excluded?

I believe your wrong about Down being in Division 3 last year.

Ballyholland Harps represented Down at Divison 1 Feile last year. I presume they won the Down Feile?

The counties who were in Division 1 Feile 2016 were: Kerry, Dublin, Cork, Down, Derry, Donegal, Kildare and New York.

This year when Skerries Harps won Dublin and asked why they were going to the Premier rather than Division 1, they were told that teams from counties who competed in Division 1 in 2016 have to compete in the Premier competition in 2017. (New York must be an exception to that rule, which is probably reasonable enough, but still I presume the 2017 Division 1 was made up of Division 1 county champions in various other counties).

I presume they'll switch it again next year.
Note, 2016 was the first year they have implemented this new regime - as Zulu said, for a good few years they deliberately didnt have the top teams in it, but that's changed now.

[you take er!]

You take er! If it makes you feel any better, the same team lost out on a place in the Féile two years ago on a coin toss! Of course I was taking them at the time!

Certainly doesn't make me feel any better, That would be almost as hard to take! Tossing a coin to decide anything in sport is a disgrace. (bar what end you are playing from)

[johnneycool]

Everyone knows the top teams have been removed from the main feile. That didn't just happen this year.

It happened in the Hurling Feile when Ulster hosted it and was the right decision IMO.

The feile winners from the top hurling counties (and Dublin  ) played out a day blitz in thurles whilst various other teams who were hosted by clubs in Ulster for the weekend.

The hurling reverted back this year in Kilkenny/Wexford/Carlow with the big teams back in.

[rosnarun]

i think posters have to remember you talking about  U-14 and the feile is not meant to be all about winning , I cant see anything wrong with shaking things up every few years to stop a super 8 situation arising at such a young age

[clonadmad]

Everyone knows the top teams have been removed from the main feile. That didn't just happen this year.

It happened in the Hurling Feile when Ulster hosted it and was the right decision IMO.

The feile winners from the top hurling counties (and Dublin  ) played out a day blitz in thurles whilst various other teams who were hosted by clubs in Ulster for the weekend.

The hurling reverted back this year in Kilkenny/Wexford/Carlow with the big teams back in.

And rightly so

Either it's a feile taking in all counties and all teams which is the correct thing to do or the GAA is upfront about and clear about it and has a 2 tier feile,which goes against the ethos of feile in the first place

[Too many steps]

i think posters have to remember you talking about  U-14 and the feile is not meant to be all about winning , I cant see anything wrong with shaking things up every few years to stop a super 8 situation arising at such a young age

I'm not worried about winning the thing. As I said in an earlier post my son was more disappointed about missing the experience and getting away for a weekend with his mates than anything else.

Been At 3 county feile watched everyone else who won get to the main event. This is his last year and it gets taken away. Not very fair.

[you take er!]

i think posters have to remember you talking about  U-14 and the feile is not meant to be all about winning , I cant see anything wrong with shaking things up every few years to stop a super 8 situation arising at such a young age

I'm not worried about winning the thing. As I said in an earlier post my son was more disappointed about missing the experience and getting away for a weekend with his mates than anything else.

Been At 3 county feile watched everyone else who won get to the main event. This is his last year and it gets taken away. Not very fair.

I absolutely concur 100% with this& it was my point as well

[nrico2006]

Can someone summarise the situation in one post then? By the sounds of it, the feile has just became another competition in the GAA where teams are treated unfairly. I went to two feiles in a row as we were county championship and it was only the 32 teams plus hosts and UK sides. Simplest and fairest way to run it.

[Zulu]

How is it unfair? Too many teams were starting to treat feile like a club All Ireland title. It's a wonderful tournament now with far more teams able to experience the weekend than was the case years ago. You can't please everyone all the time.

[Too many steps]

How is it unfair? Too many teams were starting to treat feile like a club All Ireland title. It's a wonderful tournament now with far more teams able to experience the weekend than was the case years ago. You can't please everyone all the time.

If you're going to give out a trophy at the end and have a team stand behind a big banner proclaiming them All Ireland Div 1 Feile winners, then it will be taken seriously.

If you want it to be a festival of football - remove the trophy have every team in each division play each other once - have a group photo at the end and go home. (Like go games)

The boys will know who 'won' in their own heads - boys being boys will build their own mental league table.

It is sport after all and if there's a competition and a trophy there has to be a winner. If there has to be a winner teams will train for it.

And by the sound of some of the sit down protests etc. reported last weekend in Cavan - things were taken way more seriously at the main Feile than at the so called 'elite' feile in Sligo.

The unfairness comes from the sudden change of entry rules - as I said my son has been aware of Feile and what an event it is (outside of the football element) for several years and knew that his team had a good chance of qualifying (under the rules that existed in our county for the past several years). Then when they did they were told that they were not being entered.

Put yourself in his position and tell me that you would not perceive that situation to be unfair.

[Zulu]

Your son got to go to the regional feile didn't he? By all means make that a weekend event with host families too but the current feile is a wonderful experience and many many more kids get to experience it than happened years ago.

[rosnarun]

i think posters have to remember you talking about  U-14 and the feile is not meant to be all about winning , I cant see anything wrong with shaking things up every few years to stop a super 8 situation arising at such a young age

I'm not worried about winning the thing. As I said in an earlier post my son was more disappointed about missing the experience and getting away for a weekend with his mates than anything else.

Been At 3 county feile watched everyone else who won get to the main event. This is his last year and it gets taken away. Not very fair.

I absolutely concur 100% with this& it was my point as well

its a feile (Festival) not a championship its aim is not to find the best u-14s in the country this was lost for a few years but they are trying to reclaim it .
from GAA.ie
A core aim of Féile is to promote a philosophy whereby every player has the opportunity to participate and play in their respective Féile tournament at a level commensurate to their age, skills and strengths.

Teams participating at the National Finals of John West Féile na nGael and John West Féile Peil na nÓg will be nominated by their County Bord na nÓg to represent their respective Counties.  Both Féile na nGael and Féile Peil na nÓg offer every team at the Under 14 age group an opportunity to participate in these festivals of Gaelic Games whether at County, Provincial, Regional or National level.