Championship structures - the never ending saga?

[Esmarelda]

Ok here's one:

NFL changes to three divisions of ten, ten and twelve.
Each Division is then split, i.e. 1A & 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A & 3B.
That means that Divisions 1 and 2 have four league games each and Division 3 has five games.
The winner of A plays the winner of B in the final (because you always need a final in GAA).
In 2016, the first round of Division 3 games would start on 31 January with the other two divisions starting the following week.
Play five weeks in a row and the final the week after. Maybe have a one week break after four in case of postponed games.
League finished on the weekend of 14th March.

The next nine weeks should be dedicated to club leauge games, up to and including the weekend of 15th May. Have your league finished by that weekend or end up playing it in the winter.

Two weeks later (29th May) all preliminary rounds in provincial championships are played.
June 5th - All Quarter Finals are played
June 19th - All Semi-Finals are played
July 3rd - All Finals are played.

I would then skip to what Rossfan proposed, or what he proposed last year:
July 10th -First found of AI Championship - Eight Division 4 teams v Division 3 teams
July 17th - Eight winners of Round 1 play v Eight Division 2 teams
July 24th - Eight Winners of Round 2 play v Eight Provincial finalists*
July 31st - Quarter Finals - Open Draw?
Aug 14th - Two All-Ireland Semi Finals
Sept 4th - All-Ireland Final

Obviously counties can begin their club championships whenever they're knocked out of the AI series and the provincial finalists can play some club championships in the knowledge that they won't be playing until July 24th.

Club players know when their league campaign starts and finishes.

*Assumes that eight provincial finalists are from Division 1. If this is not the case then the seeding for when the various Divisions enter the championship is adjusted by pushing a Division 1 team that doesn't reach the provincial final down a level.

Could people tell me where my proposal falls down?

[blewuporstuffed]

Its not bad actually.
I prefer it to the gaa proposal

Are there 3 divisions or 4 though?

[Esmarelda]

Its not bad actually.
I prefer it to the gaa proposal

Are there 3 divisions or 4 though?

Shit
Well you can still rank teams accordingly.
Substitute "Bottom 8 ranked league teams" for "Division 4 teams" and so on.

[five points]

The next nine weeks should be dedicated to club leauge games, up to and including the weekend of 15th May. Have your league finished by that weekend or end up playing it in the winter.

The problem with this is that you'll have county panels bursting themselves at training several times a week with no match for 9 weeks. Managers will fill the void with meaningless challenge matches which will in turn disrupt club fixtures.

Also a 4 or 5 game league is way too short. I'd actually have a longer league and play it every second weekend from the start of February to the end of May with every other weekend dedicated to club games.

By the end of May, every club team would have played 8 or 9 league games.

Abandon the concept of league finals and start the championship with a rash of games on the June weekend, with the provincials finishing by mid-July.

Plenty of time from there on to play qualifiers, club championships and All Ireland series.

[OgraAnDun]

Ok here's one:

NFL changes to three divisions of ten, ten and twelve.
Each Division is then split, i.e. 1A & 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A & 3B.
That means that Divisions 1 and 2 have four league games each and Division 3 has five games.
The winner of A plays the winner of B in the final (because you always need a final in GAA).
In 2016, the first round of Division 3 games would start on 31 January with the other two divisions starting the following week.
Play five weeks in a row and the final the week after. Maybe have a one week break after four in case of postponed games.
League finished on the weekend of 14th March.

The next nine weeks should be dedicated to club leauge games, up to and including the weekend of 15th May. Have your league finished by that weekend or end up playing it in the winter.

Two weeks later (29th May) all preliminary rounds in provincial championships are played.
June 5th - All Quarter Finals are played
June 19th - All Semi-Finals are played
July 3rd - All Finals are played.

I would then skip to what Rossfan proposed, or what he proposed last year:
July 10th -First found of AI Championship - Eight Division 4 teams v Division 3 teams
July 17th - Eight winners of Round 1 play v Eight Division 2 teams
July 24th - Eight Winners of Round 2 play v Eight Provincial finalists*
July 31st - Quarter Finals - Open Draw?
Aug 14th - Two All-Ireland Semi Finals
Sept 4th - All-Ireland Final

Obviously counties can begin their club championships whenever they're knocked out of the AI series and the provincial finalists can play some club championships in the knowledge that they won't be playing until July 24th.

Club players know when their league campaign starts and finishes.

*Assumes that eight provincial finalists are from Division 1. If this is not the case then the seeding for when the various Divisions enter the championship is adjusted by pushing a Division 1 team that doesn't reach the provincial final down a level.

Could people tell me where my proposal falls down?

So club players finish the league on the 15th of May and have absolutely no games until their county is knocked out of the AI - any time between the 10th of July and 4th September? At least in the current system they have some league games in between inter county championship matches.

[The Trap]

At least the people on here are thinking of the club game.......more than can be said about those running the game..........I like Colm Collins comments on the proposals.

[AZOffaly]

Maybe a small tweak to the existing structure would address the issue of a long drawn out championship, which the players seem to hate. Also by linking the league performances directly to the Provincial championships, you would rewards progress in the league in a tangible way.

You could shorten the whole season too if you wanted, and make the games be much more regular for everyone.

Run off the League, with no League semi finals in Division 1. Run them off in 8 straight weeks, including the League Finals over a single weekend Saturday and Sunday.

Tie in your provincial seedings with the final league positions. So if you are the highest placed team in your province, you are a #1 seed.

Ensure all provincial semi finals and finals are played very close together. No long drawn out championships. No replays except in Provincial Final. If draw after extra time, and appetite for a sudden death result is not there then replay earlier rounds the next week. Rounds run every two weeks. The largest province has 11 teams, the smallest has 6. There should be no reason why the entire provincial championships can't be run off a lot more efficiently.

Incorporate the open draw for the qualifiers as outlined above.

Play the quarter finals over one weekend.

If we did it in 2016, it might have looked like this.

League runs February 21st, and Finishes up on April 17th. 7 straight weeks, followed by a gap of a week, followed by league finals on the 16th/17th of April.

Leinster Draw - Dublin Seed 1 ,Meath Seed 2, Laois Seed 3, Kildare Seed 4, Offaly Seed 5, Longford Seed 6, Westmeath Seed 7, Louth Seed 8, Wexford Seed 9, Carlow Seed 10, Wicklow Seed 11.

Munster Draw - Kerry Seed 1, Cork Seed 2, Clare Seed 3, Tipperary Seed 4, Limerick Seed 5, Waterford Seed 6.

Connacht Draw - Roscommon Seed 1, Mayo Seed 2, Galway Seed 3, Sligo Seed 4, Leitrim Seed 5, London Seed 6, NEw York (?) Seed 7.

Ulster Draw - Donegal Seed 1, Monaghan Seed 2, Down Seed 3, Tyrone Seed 4, Cavan Seed 5, Fermanagh Seed 6, Derry Seed 7, Armagh Seed 8, Antrim Seed 9.


Provincial Calendars, (All on Alternating Weekends).

Week 1 (7th/8th May) Leinster Preliminary Round. Seed 8 v Seed 9. Seed 7 v Seed 10. Seed 6 v Seed 11.
                                    Ulster Preliminary Round. Seed 8 v Seed 9.

Week 2 (14th/15th May) Connacht Quarter Final. Seed 1 Bye. Seed 2 v Seed 7. Seed 3 v Seed 6. Seed 4 v Seed 5.
                                        Munster Quarter Final. Seed 1 Bye. Seed 2 Bye. Seed 3 v Seed 6. Seed 4 v Seed 5.

Week 3 (21st/22nd May) Leinster Quarter Final. Seed 1 v Seed 8/9. Seed 2 v Seed 7/10. Seed 3 v Seed 6/11. Seed 4 v Seed 5.
                                        Ulster Quarter Final. Seed 1 v Seed 8/9. Seed 2 v Seed 7. Seed 3 v Seed 6. Seed 4 v Seed 5.

Week 4 (28th/29th May) Connacht Semi Finals. Seed 1 v Seed 4/5. Seed 2/7 v Seed 3/6.
                                        Munster Semi Finals. Seed 1 v Seed 4/5. Seed 2 v Seed 3/6.

Week 5 (June 4th/5th)    Leinster Semi Finals. Seed 1/8/9 v Seed 4/5. Seed 2/7/10 v Seed 3/6.
                                        Ulster Semi Finals. Seed 1/8/9 v Seed 4/5. Seed 2/7 v Seed 3/6.

Week 6 (June 11th/12th) Connacht Final
                                         Munster Final

Week 7 (June 18th/19th) Leinster Final
                                         Ulster Final

The All Ireland Qualifiers would run in a lag behind them then, in line with Duffy's suggestion.

Round 1 - Teams who did not make a provincial semi final. (June 4th 5th)
Round 2 - Including Teams who lost Provincial Semi Final. (June 18th 19th)
Round 3 - To bring to 4 Qualifiers ( June 25th/26th)
Round 4 - Including Provincial Final Losers (July 2nd/3rd)


All Ireland Quarter Finals - Weekend of July 9th/10th.


All Ireland Semi Finals - Weekend of July 23rd/24th.

All Ireland Final - August 13th/14th.


This would NOT eliminate the strong v weak games.
This would NOT allow dual players
This would NOT give any more games


This WOULD shorten the season
This WOULD reward league performance
This WOULD retain the provincial championships.
This WOULD allow the latest Club championship to start in late August.


I would also say that County League games have to run in parallel, and must be run without county players while the Inter County season is in flow. Individual County Boards could then decide to either run their Championship when the county team is eliminated (which will be a lot earlier in most cases) or to have a fixed calendar starting from mid August.

[Esmarelda]

Ok here's one:

NFL changes to three divisions of ten, ten and twelve.
Each Division is then split, i.e. 1A & 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A & 3B.
That means that Divisions 1 and 2 have four league games each and Division 3 has five games.
The winner of A plays the winner of B in the final (because you always need a final in GAA).
In 2016, the first round of Division 3 games would start on 31 January with the other two divisions starting the following week.
Play five weeks in a row and the final the week after. Maybe have a one week break after four in case of postponed games.
League finished on the weekend of 14th March.

The next nine weeks should be dedicated to club leauge games, up to and including the weekend of 15th May. Have your league finished by that weekend or end up playing it in the winter.

Two weeks later (29th May) all preliminary rounds in provincial championships are played.
June 5th - All Quarter Finals are played
June 19th - All Semi-Finals are played
July 3rd - All Finals are played.

I would then skip to what Rossfan proposed, or what he proposed last year:
July 10th -First found of AI Championship - Eight Division 4 teams v Division 3 teams
July 17th - Eight winners of Round 1 play v Eight Division 2 teams
July 24th - Eight Winners of Round 2 play v Eight Provincial finalists*
July 31st - Quarter Finals - Open Draw?
Aug 14th - Two All-Ireland Semi Finals
Sept 4th - All-Ireland Final

Obviously counties can begin their club championships whenever they're knocked out of the AI series and the provincial finalists can play some club championships in the knowledge that they won't be playing until July 24th.

Club players know when their league campaign starts and finishes.

*Assumes that eight provincial finalists are from Division 1. If this is not the case then the seeding for when the various Divisions enter the championship is adjusted by pushing a Division 1 team that doesn't reach the provincial final down a level.

Could people tell me where my proposal falls down?

So club players finish the league on the 15th of May and have absolutely no games until their county is knocked out of the AI - any time between the 10th of July and 4th September? At least in the current system they have some league games in between inter county championship matches.

The majority of teams will be knocked out in July (obviously) and the clubs of the provincial winners have a window, albeit small, where they can play before their counties become involved again.

Is it not better for club players to have a structured season rather than waiting and seeing, although I know that exists here to an extent too.

[Captain Scarlet]

Lads is it not clear from the fact that everyone has an opinion and an alternative structure that there is no hope that everyone will be happy.
Just one thing is often thrown out is that the GAA overlords are to blame for all this and they are only looking after themselves but the players and those playing often don't agree with many of the other proposals either.
Last year I got chatting to a player from a county that if you described as 'weaker' you would be doing them a service.
He said at a GPA meeting it was a mess with the likes of his county happy enough to scrap provincials while Kerry and Cork lads protested. As he said at the time it's all well and good for them who play two games and are in
Then the Ulster lads still have the prestige of their province to win so they don't want it scrapped, even though it hinders them the most in ANY format where the provincial championship is kept.

The notion of a second tier isn't something the players are keen on either, even though at club level lads are happy to play at their level without any complaints. They accept it and try to move up.

Finally this idea that the GAA baddies are selling out the club man is also cack. The county manager calls the shots. Pauric Duffy doesn't shut down club championship in most counties during the year. He doesn't deny clubs of their best players while they play shite challenge games and go on trips away with the county.

If county boards get a grip on their dictators that will help the club man. Then a master fixture plan will help the whole thing. No proposal will ever get even 60% approval with so many passionate stakeholders but at least it is being discussed again.

[Walter Cronc]

Is there any hope in hell these manic proposals wont go through??

[Rossfan]

In the ideal world ( where ever the fk we might find that) the Inter County Championship would reach Qtr Final stage as it dies niw by 1st August while Club Championships would reach Semi Final stage by 1st September.
To achieve that you'd have to have some weekend's in June/July/ Aug set in stone for Club Championships.
The proposal to have AISFs played the same weekend in both football and Hurley stuff is a good step which can free 2 August weekends for Club Championships exclusively .
If my 4 Club weekends were set in stone firstly we can then look at new structures and timetables etc for the IC competitions.

PS I suppose bringing back the oul' pre  Christmas NFL games is a total non runner ?

[five points]

In the ideal world ( where ever the fk we might find that) the Inter County Championship would reach Qtr Final stage as it dies niw by 1st August while Club Championships would reach Semi Final stage by 1st September.

Is there any need to rush club championships to have them almost over by 1 September? I don't think there is.

[AZOffaly]

In the ideal world ( where ever the fk we might find that) the Inter County Championship would reach Qtr Final stage as it dies niw by 1st August while Club Championships would reach Semi Final stage by 1st September.

Is there any need to rush club championships to have them almost over by 1 September? I don't think there is.

Players like playing in good weather and long evenings. Why must club players just accept they'll be playing in muck and shite in November and December?

[blewuporstuffed]

I agree, but the end of september would be fine, giving another 4 weeeks

[five points]

Players like playing in good weather and long evenings. Why must club players just accept they'll be playing in muck and shite in November and December?

We were talking about September, not November and December.