Unfair grading in Ulster club comps.

[dundrumite]

Cullyhanna and Culloville both play division one football in Armagh yet are classed as an Intermediate team. Yet in Down no division one or top 4 division two team from the previous year can play Intermediate Championship. This IMO makes gives the Down Intermediate team an unfair disadvantage come Ulster club championship...
Any posters from other Ulster counties able to shed information on their grading systems?
Surely a uniform grading system must be in operation in order to make Ulster club championship at all levels ( esp Intermediate and Junior) competative.   

[clarshack]

it should be like it is in tyrone - split evenly among the grades with divsion 1 clubs senior, division 2 intermediate and division 3 junior.

[boojangles]

In Cavan the League and Championship are graded seperately.There are some Senior teams in the Championship only playing Division 2 in the League.My club Drumalee won the Intermediate Championship in 2006 but we were playing Division 1 of the League. Ballinagh from Cavan won the Ulster Intermediate Championship last year and the previous year they had won the Division 1 League.

[Doire abú]

In Derry Div 1 & 2 Senior, 3 & 4 Intermediate, 5 Junior.

[armaghniac]

As many (most) league games are played in Armagh without county players, position in the league cannot be regarded as the full measure of a team. If it was, then you'd have the Derry type situation where county players would be playing ultra competitive club games the next day. Culloville have less than a dozen townlands to pick from, and have rarely played in and never won the senior championship, their staying in Div 1 is overachievement rather than their being Intermediate unfair. In any case Armagh teams don't have quite the record in the Ulster Intermediate championship as Culloville's neighbours have had in the Senior! 

[saffron sam2]

Cullyhanna and Culloville both play division one football in Armagh yet are classed as an Intermediate team. Yet in Down no division one or top 4 division two team from the previous year can play Intermediate Championship. This IMO makes gives the Down Intermediate team an unfair disadvantage come Ulster club championship...
Any posters from other Ulster counties able to shed information on their grading systems?
Surely a uniform grading system must be in operation in order to make Ulster club championship at all levels ( esp Intermediate and Junior) competative.   

Would entering Mayobridge straight into the Ulster Senior championship and letting all the other Down teams compete for a place in the Ulster Intermediate championship meet with a favourable response?

[J70]

Donegal is mixed too. My home club is intermediate at the moment, but in the league they're in Div 1B with the likes of Aodh Rua, Termon and St Michael's who played senior this year.

[Over the Bar]

Cullyhanna and Culloville both play division one football in Armagh yet are classed as an Intermediate team.

Surely teams in Armagh would be happy to be graded as Intermediate since Cross have been given a 20 year "by" into the Ulster Club Championship?

[clarshack]

if you win a division 1 senior league like ballinagh did in cavan and then play in the intermediate championship the following year there's something wrong.

[full back]

It is very difficult/unfair to link the League & Championship together when some clubs are missing numerous players during the year because they are playing for their county.
For eg in Armagh, many clubs have no county players from May - August/September & on occasions their league position reflects this, so it would be unfair to be graded in a championship going on your league status

[Maximus Marillius]

Cullyhanna and Culloville both play division one football in Armagh yet are classed as an Intermediate team. Yet in Down no division one or top 4 division two team from the previous year can play Intermediate Championship. This IMO makes gives the Down Intermediate team an unfair disadvantage come Ulster club championship...
Any posters from other Ulster counties able to shed information on their grading systems?
Surely a uniform grading system must be in operation in order to make Ulster club championship at all levels ( esp Intermediate and Junior) competative.   

Would entering Mayobridge straight into the Ulster Senior championship and letting all the other Down teams compete for a place in the Ulster Intermediate championship meet with a favourable response?

Would entering St Galls straight into the Ulster Senior championship and letting all the other Antrim teams compete for a place in the Ulster Intermediate championship meet with a favourable response?

[bredaghgael86]

Just on the hurling side there for a minute, my club won the down junior hurling last year and played in the ulster junior championship where we met setanta from donegal. setanta won the donegal 'senior' championship beating burt in the final and played in the ulster junior championship. However, it turns out there is a junior championship in donegal (correct me if i'm wrong), so would that not mean the winners of the senior would play intermediate ulster, similar the armagh senior winners. For the most part, i think the grading system in down is ok, though there are some desputes(sp) over our newly crowned junior winners and their eligability for that competition.

[thewobbler]

I would agree with the opening comments.

Now that a provincial prize and national prize are at stake, the playing field should be level between all counties, and it is hugely unfair that a Division I team can elect to play in a lower Championship.

Frankly, it's even more ridiculous that rubbish clubs with lots of misplaced pride can elect to play in, and therefore demean, a county's senior club championship.


Comments from Armagh that league form and championship form are two different things surely ahve to be unmerited. If anyone wants to trace the recent history of the Armagh SFC and find out which teams have actually given Crossmaglen a game, they'll almost certainly be the 6-7 teams that chase Crossmaglen home in the league each year as well. County players make a difference, of course, but if your club has a division I mentality, a division I training regime, and is fit for division I football, then they should be competing in the SFC. And in reverse, If none of these things apply, that club should have to play their way into the SFC.
 

[saffron sam2]

Cullyhanna and Culloville both play division one football in Armagh yet are classed as an Intermediate team. Yet in Down no division one or top 4 division two team from the previous year can play Intermediate Championship. This IMO makes gives the Down Intermediate team an unfair disadvantage come Ulster club championship...
Any posters from other Ulster counties able to shed information on their grading systems?
Surely a uniform grading system must be in operation in order to make Ulster club championship at all levels ( esp Intermediate and Junior) competative.   

Would entering Mayobridge straight into the Ulster Senior championship and letting all the other Down teams compete for a place in the Ulster Intermediate championship meet with a favourable response?

Would entering St Galls straight into the Ulster Senior championship and letting all the other Antrim teams compete for a place in the Ulster Intermediate championship meet with a favourable response?

Certainly a possibility yes, although since Gall's have had more bother with Cargin than with either Bellaghy or Glenullin, the Derry senior Championship might be a more suitable home for Cargin etc. rather than the Ulster Intermediate championship. 

[Doire abú]

Just on the hurling side there for a minute, my club won the down junior hurling last year and played in the ulster junior championship where we met setanta from donegal. setanta won the donegal 'senior' championship beating burt in the final and played in the ulster junior championship. However, it turns out there is a junior championship in donegal (correct me if i'm wrong), so would that not mean the winners of the senior would play intermediate ulster, similar the armagh senior winners. For the most part, i think the grading system in down is ok, though there are some desputes(sp) over our newly crowned junior winners and their eligability for that competition.

Looking at the Ulster GAA site it looks like the counties have entered their champions into the following championships

Senior: Down SHC Champions, Antrim SHC Champions, Derry SHC Champions & Keady if they win the Armagh SHC.

Intermediate: Down IHC Champions, Antrim IHC Champions, Derry IHC Champions, Tyrone SHC Champions, Monaghan SHC Champions, Armagh SHC Champions*

Junior: Down JHC Champions, Antrim JHC Champions, Derry JHC Champions**, Tyrone JHC Champions, Monaghan JHC Champions, Armagh JHC Champions, Donegal SHC Champions, Fermanagh SHC Champions, Cavan SHC Champions.

* I believe this space is reserved if a team other than Keady win the Armagh SHC. If Keady win the Armagh SHC, do the other finalists play in this or is it left blank?

** There's only two hurling championships in Derry and only two clubs (Na Magha & Coleraine) able to compete, so I'm not 100% how they fill the teams for the Ulster IHC & JHC.


Donegal appear to have two hurling championships alright but there's only four teams in it and two are reserve teams. Maybe the Donegal CB believe that the standard isn't high enough for their senior champions to be competing in the Ulster IHC.

The way the Tyrone hurling championships are run could throw up a funny situation. At present the five (six if you count Carrickmore's B team who don't compete in the round-robin) senior hurling teams in Tyrone compete in a round robin league where the top two play in the Senior final (entry into Ulster IHC) and 3rd & 4th play in the Junior final (entry into the Ulster JHC) - it could produce a situation of say Carrickmore winning the Tyrone SHC, end up going on to win the Ulster IHC and possibly the All-Ireland IHC which would mark them down to compete in the Ulster SHC the following season if eligible like Keady are yet the following year under the round-robin in Tyrone Carrickmore could suddenly get beat in a couple of games in an upset and end up playing for the Tyrone JHC and if they won that they would enter into the Ulster JHC as Ulster or All-Ireland IHC Champions!

Three hurling Championships in Derry.

Senior winners play in Ulster SHC.
Intermediate winners play in Ulster IHC.
Junior winners play in Ulster JHC.

Now wait for the best bit.... Coleraine play Na Magha in both the IHC and JHC finals.