aidan walsh - treated fairly?

[theticklemister]

Thats a pile of shite screen. Maye just maybe he loves to play football, or would that just be daft?

Im doing my third course in uni at the minute and played football in first two years, what happens if I wamt to play this year. Im useless so no one is gonna give a shit thays why.

[NAG1]

I think he's being harshly treated. I know 2 lads that are in their 2nd course this year and are being allowed play, but as they aren't big intercounty names and the colleges involved aren't big Sigerson Cup strongholds like CIT or DCU, nobody's kicking up a fuss about their eligibility.
The rule should either apply to everyone or nobody, not just marquee names.

Boo feckin hoo! The lad playes Club Hurling/Football and County Football. Why should the Sigerson be important to him?

At a guess  there would be no funding for an athlete who is not able to represent the college? So the living costs/ course costs would not be covered.

[thewobbler]

I don't know about an under 24s rule. It's a bit punitive on people who take up college a few years late, and also brings in the horrible (but necessary) line in the sand that if you're born on one day, you're not eligible, but if born the next day, you are.

I'd introduce the system that applies US Colleges, where you can play up to four seasons of inter-collegiate sport.

These don't have to be consecutive seasons - and if you opt out for a year, or injury rules you out for a year, it doesn't count against your four year allowance.

But kick a ball for any college, at any level, in any season, and that's one of your seasons used up.


I know full well there are courses in medicine and architecture that go beyond four years, and when combined with masters degrees and doctorates, can extend you as long a decade in college. But really, if you're good enough to be in demand for longer than four years, you really should be concentrating your sporting efforts on county football - and actually using the rest of your time for study. 

[deiseach]

I don't know about an under 24s rule. It's a bit punitive on people who take up college a few years late, and also brings in the horrible (but necessary) line in the sand that if you're born on one day, you're not eligible, but if born the next day, you are.

I'd introduce the system that applies US Colleges, where you can play up to four seasons of inter-collegiate sport.

These don't have to be consecutive seasons - and if you opt out for a year, or injury rules you out for a year, it doesn't count against your four year allowance.

But kick a ball for any college, at any level, in any season, and that's one of your seasons used up.


I know full well there are courses in medicine and architecture that go beyond four years, and when combined with masters degrees and doctorates, can extend you as long a decade in college. But really, if you're good enough to be in demand for longer than four years, you really should be concentrating your sporting efforts on county football - and actually using the rest of your time for study.

All very reasonable, but you can be sure if they introduced such a rule someone would complain when their Johnny fell foul of it. It only applies to other people, you see.

[thewobbler]

Agreed Deiseach.

But it's a very simple rule to understand, and a very simple rule to police. There's no ambiguity, no need for adjudication or appeals. If you play 1 minute of an official colleges game at any level, it counts as a season. Snapping a cruciate in that 1 minute is unfortunate, but competition rules are created to serve the majority, not to cater for exceptional cases.

With it in place, you wouldn't need any other eligibility criteria in place, other than you must be registered with the College who you play for.

[Syferus]

The move to limiting the years you can play is a good thing. Colleges should be able turnover and new players (whatever their ages) getting a chance. After six years you should have plenty of Sigerson/third-level experience to do you a lifetime, it is only ever going to be the second, third or fourth tier of football for players after all.

Particularly an inter-county player should be very glad not being ran into the ground mid-week with college games on top of club and county commitments. That is unless he's getting a sports scholarship dependent on playing but if a college was trying to get away with that then more's the fool them.