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[clearly]

It sounded like the sideline was kicked just before the hooter there when they showed it again on the Sunday game. Although that may be a speed of sound thing depending on where the microphones were.

You could hear it a good few seconds before he kicked it but also took a few secs to be picked up on the closest mics

So you're saying that the hooter blew some 3 or 4 seconds before Ryan kicked the ball and on top of that it took 2 or 3 seconds for the hooter sound to travel to the microphone?

You're some hoot.
 

Watching on GAA+ it was hard to tell because it sounded like whatever primary microphone they were using for the game was very near a young girl and you could hear her asking questions which was distracting. The Sunday game audio definitely sounded like a kick before the hooter went. Hard to tell though there couldn't have been much in it.

What age are you lads?! Get your hearing aids adjusted - MR2 can help you. The hooter was clearly* going off before the ball crossed the sideline. I don't know what way the speakers are arranged but you could hear it in the background and then it got louder. There is a video on Twitter from the other side of the pitch which indicates the same. The Maor Uisce standing in the road didn't help him get the ball away.

*Could be an air horn in the crowd 😏

As I've said it could well have been going off but took a second or so to be picked up on the mic. On the Sunday game recording though it seemed like boot to ball noise then hooter noise almost immediately after. I'll have a listen to the GAA + feed later to see.

Speed of sound is not an issue - 330m/s so at most about 1/3 sec before it reaches any mic in the ground (it will be picked up immediately by the mic) and the hooter can be heard about 2 secs before the sideline was taken so no issues there - ref got that right.

Bigger issue with the hooter rule was in the Down/Ferm match, but as it didn't affect the result no one is talking about it.

From my reading of the rule in the RTE report (and in lack of anyone seeming to have the official version in the rules - although you would assume that the version in quotes in the RTE report is straight from the rules?) there are 2 issues at he end of the Down match.

1. the 45 should not have been taken as the hooter clearly sounded about 8 secs before the ball went out for the 45.

2. even if the 45 was correctly awarded (i.e.awarded before hooter) the rule seems to imply that you have to score direct from the resulting kick (the only other player allowed to touch it is the keeper) so Fermanagh would have had to score a goal directly from the kick or the keeper would have to deflect/drop the kick into the net.

As it was the Ferm player collected the ball and scored a point - which was awarded (incorrectly if the wording on RTE is correct). Which also means that if that player had scored a goal the ref would have allowed that to stand which would have sent the match to ET.

So am I right in thinking ref got this wrong. If similar situation happens and it did affect the result it could be very controversial.

Here's the RTE quote:
"If a 45 has been awarded but not taken, before the hooter sounds, the free kick can be taken and, if it results in a score, without any other player touching the ball, that score shall be awarded."

Seems fairly clear unless anyone knows that the wording in the official rules is different?

Jeez lads the free early in the second half was obviously for a 3v3 breach.

It was for the 2nd midfielder (one on sideline) entering the field before the throw in apparently.

Are umpires allowed to call for a square ball in a championship game? 

I assume this is on the back of the Burren goal tonight?

Looked a dead cert square ball, but apparently the umpires said it took a deflection so they were the ones that advised the ref that the goal should stand.

Lads do any of you know what stage the Dwon U16 championship is at? Your county website isn't showing any fixtures or results since U15 competition in 2021 😡

I take it you mean u16 football?

Groups finished today. QF next week. Final scheduled for 12 October.

I saw a picture of Oisin Treacey from Bredagh, no 16, I presume the sub goalkeeper. Eamonn Brown's brother was on the panel too, don't know the other two.

James Kelly and Conor Murphy from Burren I think.

I see Juveniles need tickets for corrigan pk.

Surely you should know that by now .Do the Juveniles get into your beloved Old Tarfford for free?  

Juveniles free into our beloved Pairc Esler for league games this year.

Laverty not involved as he knows there is no chance of them even winning a game.

Was there not uproar on this same forum when this same group underachieved at minor level?
Management was blamed?

That was last year's group - which to be fair to Laverty he won Ulster u20 with.

It is hard to keep tabs on the years with the change in ages and covid.

Next year's u20s definitely not as strong on paper.

Any word of a change to the Minor management team. Surely they won't get another year. They were destroyed in every single game this year.

Always interesting to hear this point of view. What work has been going on at club level to improve these players? After all, that is where they spend 80% of their time.

The 2 u20 teams that won ulster titles were failed at minor level also by poor management teams. Its glaring what the issue is. Yes the clubs have these players as do the schools for a longer time than the minor management but so do the Down development.

u17s vs u20s isn't an exact comparison.

u20s a wider age grade - the 1st u20 had 3 starters that were not available at u17 because they were u15 at that stage.

Also I believe the 1st u20 Ulster team had no minor u17 year as they fell into the age change year from u18 to u17 at minor so missed that grade. If that is correct then there is no real comparison to judge that team/management on.

Then the 2nd team while they undoubtedly underachieved at minor were in the Covid situation and I know from chatting to a few of the lads at the time that they found it very difficult with all the restrictions and if you remember it was very doubtful even up to very close to the match whether the competition would be played - and even if it got started it was doubtful if it would be finished - was very hard to stay motivated for young lads in that situation.

So while there is no doubt that the u20 management did better, the circumstances they had were not the same as the u17 in the same age group to be fair to them.

The annual Kilcoo Burren boxing match not take place last night? Laverty must be doing some job alright!

At least 3 video cameras pointed at the game might have contributed to the lack of boxing as well.

Any Burren posters? I know we have a few but kind mind who - have a question about the Burren/Island game

I was at that one - pretty forgettable performance from a Burren perspective - ask away.

Questions have to be asked about how that Down team were handled at minor level. They are a serious outfit.

From the 2020 minor semifinals only Kerry have made it back. Down, Sligo and Kildare have replaced Derry, Roscommon and Meath.

Covid 19 pandemic ?

CV19 definitely a big factor - from memory that game was played at height of it.

There were several Down players isolating in the run up to the game.

Also the stop/start nature of competition that year was disheartening for the players. I remember at the time motivation was hard to maintain for the players - even if you won the match there was a lot of doubt at the time whether the competition would proceed any further.

Very depressing time looking back.

Plus it was one of those days where nothing clicked on the field for Down - happens sometimes.

I'm sure Fermanagh might have had a lot of the same issues going on, but on the day they got their tactics right (very defensive set up- forced Down into a lot of low percentage shooting) and got the result.

Big decision tonight on the crazy 7 day rule by the DRA.

Any word on this. I don't see anything in the press.

Clare unsuccessful

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41119969.html

There might be a request to move the u20 date, but they don't have many options with Down Seniors this weekend and Derry the following and then the AI u20 semi is pencilled in for first weekend in May. So will u20 final will probably stay next week.

I think Down will let their u20s play in the final - not so sure about Derry.

8 Burren starters and this group never won an Ulster minor club title??

Was it not cancelled for 2 years due to covid??

It was but would these lads not be same age as Lavey crop who won 2 in a row?

No - Lavey won Ulster minor in 2019 - this Burren team won u16 McGirr that year.

They did play that Lavey team in McGirr semi as a largely u15 team in 2018 ( think there were 3 last year u16 players started that day) and lost by a point - should have beat Lavey that day - awful amount of wides from Burren if I remember correctly.

Then they missed the McConville cup due to CV19 pause in 2020, plus they only had one year at minor due to the u17 switch.

Given that they beat everyone by about 20 points in the '19 McGirr they would have been very strong favourites to win a minor too, but unfortunately a lot of football was lost that year - they were lucky to even get a county championship in back then - dark days.

Any word on the Down team?

Teams here:

https://ulster.gaa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Tyrone-v-Down-U20.pdf

[23Mb/s is good for feeding 1080p]

Just done a speed check on my Starlink connection; 167 mbps d/l and 23 u/l
I haven't seen any issues with speeds shrinking.

Uplink is the key speed barometer here - 23Mb/s is good for feeding 1080p to the streaming server, but little room to go any better. In my experience it's no better than EE 4G in most cases in d'north

Reports concerning shrinking speeds have come from here based on tests done with Ookla - but of course individual experiences can vary.

The likes of Starlink and other potential LEO satellite services (e.g. OneWeb) definitely have a place in areas where it is unlikely FTTP or a fast enough wireless terrestrial network (mobile or FWA) will likely reach, but while LEO satellite internet removes some of the bottlenecks that are inherent in Geostationary satellite internet, there's still a ceiling in the potential available - it's fine for now for most current customers, but as/if more customers come on stream, either more satellites are required (and there is realistically a finite number here - there's enough junk metal orbiting earth as it is!) and/or the available bandwidth has to be spread among more users. There's nothing unusual about this - as newer internet service technologies have come on over the years, new adopters often get great speeds for the technology of the time, but they get gradually slower as more users get on board with it, happened with ADSL, FTTC/VDSL2, 4G LTE and its starting to happen with 5G NR too. Even happened in the 80's & 90's with dial-up connections.

23Mbps is loads for 1080p - enough for 4k with modern encoders.

HEVC encoders on the market specced at 20Mbps max BW for 4k.

Professional broadcasters using HEVC at 6Mbps for news feeds and live with bonded sim and Satellite broadband at 1080i these days - might want to push it for sport content to 8Mbps with the extra motion.