Is the earlier Championship a success or failure?

[Franko]

Sorry guys i've only read back thru the last 2 pages on this but will give you my 2 bobs worth on it...

I def preferred the old September finals as it gave a lot more time between matches to build up the game and search for tickets etc, the hype was as important as the match with kids in schools and clubs scrambling for tickets and not to mention the slabbering on here. This did not have a massive impact on the club player as come August and September you were down to 4 Counties and then 2 so the vast majority of the Country were free to carry out their Championships anyway. The problem with the traditional dates were the concerts in Croke Park, this was a hassle and had to be crammed in with new pitches laid weeks and days before a big game. CP love the early finish so they can host the top gigs in HQ and not have to worry about fixtures.

Surely there is a happy place somewhere in the middle?. a mid to late August finish maybe and then still get their concerts in. I dunno but either way I'll still go the games be it Croke Park or some bog in South Armagh. (that was a joke as all club pitches these days are a credit to the clubs, all fairly good pitches and clubs around the Country.

That wasn't the problem

The problem was that, whilst 4 counties made the semi-final, about a dozen other counties thought there was a chance they could - and therefore, the county boards never produced any set dates for club championships

Therefore, players waited until June/July (at best) until they knew championship dates and couldn't plan anything for the summer

Now they can, and we don't have a situation where tens of thousands of club players were waiting on 120 county players so they could plan their lives

[Rossfan]

Exactly.
Also you can have Club Championship games on Sunday afternoons in August instead of squeezing them in on Sunday evenings after the big County games on TV.

Last couple of years Ros CCC had all the Group fixtures, times, venues, Refs, done out in early July which was great.

[shark]

Sorry guys i've only read back thru the last 2 pages on this but will give you my 2 bobs worth on it...

I def preferred the old September finals as it gave a lot more time between matches to build up the game and search for tickets etc, the hype was as important as the match with kids in schools and clubs scrambling for tickets and not to mention the slabbering on here. This did not have a massive impact on the club player as come August and September you were down to 4 Counties and then 2 so the vast majority of the Country were free to carry out their Championships anyway. The problem with the traditional dates were the concerts in Croke Park, this was a hassle and had to be crammed in with new pitches laid weeks and days before a big game. CP love the early finish so they can host the top gigs in HQ and not have to worry about fixtures.

Surely there is a happy place somewhere in the middle?. a mid to late August finish maybe and then still get their concerts in. I dunno but either way I'll still go the games be it Croke Park or some bog in South Armagh. (that was a joke as all club pitches these days are a credit to the clubs, all fairly good pitches and clubs around the Country.

It's nothing to do with gigs. They are a result of the change, not the reason for it. HQ resisted change for as long as they could.
As pointed out above, the argument about only 4 teams making the final is quite simply nonsense. Players crave certainty - and they have it now.
Using the importance of hype as a counter argument is laughable when county players are not let do interviews any more. The county teams killed the hype long before the dates changed.

[Armagh18]

Sorry guys i've only read back thru the last 2 pages on this but will give you my 2 bobs worth on it...

I def preferred the old September finals as it gave a lot more time between matches to build up the game and search for tickets etc, the hype was as important as the match with kids in schools and clubs scrambling for tickets and not to mention the slabbering on here. This did not have a massive impact on the club player as come August and September you were down to 4 Counties and then 2 so the vast majority of the Country were free to carry out their Championships anyway. The problem with the traditional dates were the concerts in Croke Park, this was a hassle and had to be crammed in with new pitches laid weeks and days before a big game. CP love the early finish so they can host the top gigs in HQ and not have to worry about fixtures.

Surely there is a happy place somewhere in the middle?. a mid to late August finish maybe and then still get their concerts in. I dunno but either way I'll still go the games be it Croke Park or some bog in South Armagh. (that was a joke as all club pitches these days are a credit to the clubs, all fairly good pitches and clubs around the Country.

It's nothing to do with gigs. They are a result of the change, not the reason for it. HQ resisted change for as long as they could.
As pointed out above, the argument about only 4 teams making the final is quite simply nonsense. Players crave certainty - and they have it now.
Using the importance of hype as a counter argument is laughable when county players are not let do interviews any more. The county teams killed the hype long before the dates changed.

When did that come in?

[shark]

Sorry guys i've only read back thru the last 2 pages on this but will give you my 2 bobs worth on it...

I def preferred the old September finals as it gave a lot more time between matches to build up the game and search for tickets etc, the hype was as important as the match with kids in schools and clubs scrambling for tickets and not to mention the slabbering on here. This did not have a massive impact on the club player as come August and September you were down to 4 Counties and then 2 so the vast majority of the Country were free to carry out their Championships anyway. The problem with the traditional dates were the concerts in Croke Park, this was a hassle and had to be crammed in with new pitches laid weeks and days before a big game. CP love the early finish so they can host the top gigs in HQ and not have to worry about fixtures.

Surely there is a happy place somewhere in the middle?. a mid to late August finish maybe and then still get their concerts in. I dunno but either way I'll still go the games be it Croke Park or some bog in South Armagh. (that was a joke as all club pitches these days are a credit to the clubs, all fairly good pitches and clubs around the Country.

It's nothing to do with gigs. They are a result of the change, not the reason for it. HQ resisted change for as long as they could.
As pointed out above, the argument about only 4 teams making the final is quite simply nonsense. Players crave certainty - and they have it now.
Using the importance of hype as a counter argument is laughable when county players are not let do interviews any more. The county teams killed the hype long before the dates changed.

When did that come in?

Depends on the county. But it doesn't happen any more - presumably at the behest of county managers. 

[SCFC]

I'd have no issue with the All-Irelands creeping back a bit into early August. Won't affect most counties. Love the certainty around club fixtures that we currently enjoy.

[thewobbler]

I really struggle to understand people with little to know interest in the club game having any sort of input in these conversations.
Dont get me wrong I support my county and go to games but at the end of the day the lifeblood of the GAA is the gaels/players/volunteers in the clubs around the country.

There would be a lot of empty seats, if only the gaels/players/volunteers attended matches.
Let's face it, the sunshine supporters, who show up at the latter stages of the championship and buy the expensive tickets, pay a lot of the bills in the GAA.

The bills, huh?

We don't need our bills paid. It's perhaps the greatest nonsense in the GAA that we need to compete with the EPL or rugby world cups, by attracting new audiences.

Our bills, relatively, are trivial and we cover them all times over.

Has your club ever gone looking for grant assistance to Croke Park?
Do the full time coaches and admin people pay their own salaries?
Are all those county centres of excellence paying for themselves?

1. Grant assistance. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
2. Full time coaches. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
3. Centres of excellence. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.

Good man. The GAA will stay ahead of other sports by just thinking small.

It's not thinking small.

It's placing the appropriate emphasis on what should be a community driven, volunteer led association.

When we compare our facilities, coaching, infrastructure, pathways to professional sports/careers, that's when we start heading in the wrong direction.

[Rossfan]

You want us to go back to togging out under bushes or the luxury of a hayshed Wobbler?😲😳.

We're not doing too bad on the facilities and infrastructure fronts or coaching either.

[shark]

I really struggle to understand people with little to know interest in the club game having any sort of input in these conversations.
Dont get me wrong I support my county and go to games but at the end of the day the lifeblood of the GAA is the gaels/players/volunteers in the clubs around the country.

There would be a lot of empty seats, if only the gaels/players/volunteers attended matches.
Let's face it, the sunshine supporters, who show up at the latter stages of the championship and buy the expensive tickets, pay a lot of the bills in the GAA.

The bills, huh?

We don't need our bills paid. It's perhaps the greatest nonsense in the GAA that we need to compete with the EPL or rugby world cups, by attracting new audiences.

Our bills, relatively, are trivial and we cover them all times over.

Has your club ever gone looking for grant assistance to Croke Park?
Do the full time coaches and admin people pay their own salaries?
Are all those county centres of excellence paying for themselves?

1. Grant assistance. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
2. Full time coaches. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
3. Centres of excellence. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.

Good man. The GAA will stay ahead of other sports by just thinking small.

It's not thinking small.

It's placing the appropriate emphasis on what should be a community driven, volunteer led association.

When we compare our facilities, coaching, infrastructure, pathways to professional sports/careers, that's when we start heading in the wrong direction.

spot on.

[Tubberman]

I really struggle to understand people with little to know interest in the club game having any sort of input in these conversations.
Dont get me wrong I support my county and go to games but at the end of the day the lifeblood of the GAA is the gaels/players/volunteers in the clubs around the country.

There would be a lot of empty seats, if only the gaels/players/volunteers attended matches.
Let's face it, the sunshine supporters, who show up at the latter stages of the championship and buy the expensive tickets, pay a lot of the bills in the GAA.

The bills, huh?

We don't need our bills paid. It's perhaps the greatest nonsense in the GAA that we need to compete with the EPL or rugby world cups, by attracting new audiences.

Our bills, relatively, are trivial and we cover them all times over.

Has your club ever gone looking for grant assistance to Croke Park?
Do the full time coaches and admin people pay their own salaries?
Are all those county centres of excellence paying for themselves?

1. Grant assistance. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
2. Full time coaches. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
3. Centres of excellence. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.

Good man. The GAA will stay ahead of other sports by just thinking small.

It's not thinking small.

It's placing the appropriate emphasis on what should be a community driven, volunteer led association.

When we compare our facilities, coaching, infrastructure, pathways to professional sports/careers, that's when we start heading in the wrong direction.

spot on.

Come off it. you have to provide decent facilities, at a standard comparable to competing sports.
Otherwise, a lot of kids just won't play.
You can't expect them to think they have a duty to play GAA sports.

[shark]

I really struggle to understand people with little to know interest in the club game having any sort of input in these conversations.
Dont get me wrong I support my county and go to games but at the end of the day the lifeblood of the GAA is the gaels/players/volunteers in the clubs around the country.

There would be a lot of empty seats, if only the gaels/players/volunteers attended matches.
Let's face it, the sunshine supporters, who show up at the latter stages of the championship and buy the expensive tickets, pay a lot of the bills in the GAA.

The bills, huh?

We don't need our bills paid. It's perhaps the greatest nonsense in the GAA that we need to compete with the EPL or rugby world cups, by attracting new audiences.

Our bills, relatively, are trivial and we cover them all times over.

Has your club ever gone looking for grant assistance to Croke Park?
Do the full time coaches and admin people pay their own salaries?
Are all those county centres of excellence paying for themselves?

1. Grant assistance. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
2. Full time coaches. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.
3. Centres of excellence. Who cares? This is not an issue for any club in which volunteer levels roughly equate with membership levels.

Good man. The GAA will stay ahead of other sports by just thinking small.

It's not thinking small.

It's placing the appropriate emphasis on what should be a community driven, volunteer led association.

When we compare our facilities, coaching, infrastructure, pathways to professional sports/careers, that's when we start heading in the wrong direction.

spot on.

Come off it. you have to provide decent facilities, at a standard comparable to competing sports.
Otherwise, a lot of kids just won't play.
You can't expect them to think they have a duty to play GAA sports.

Of course you do. But it's not where you place your emphasis. The GAA is a ground up organisation. If (big if) the split season sends HQ revenues back to 2010 levels (for example) then we will still have the best facilities of any sporting organisation in the country. And we won't have screwed over the vast majority of players to do it.

[Dun Eile]

All Bandwagoners giving out about the split season. Club players have a defined fixtures plan instead of waiting all summer for county to be knocked out and championship blitzed off in weeks.

We hear the nonsense from these clowns, GAA hierarchy want August and September for concerts. Remember the players voted for this.

People moaning no games until January got off your holes and visit your local club championship.

Dublin fans great for proclaiming they are greatest fans. "I go to all the O'Byrne Cup games" yet cant find Parnell Park for club championship"

People against split season get you're club to raise a motion at county GAA. Not listening to bell ends like Breheny and Spillane ramble against split seasons as they losing out on moneys.

[twohands!!!]

All Bandwagoners giving out about the split season. Club players have a defined fixtures plan instead of waiting all summer for county to be knocked out and championship blitzed off in weeks.

We hear the nonsense from these clowns, GAA hierarchy want August and September for concerts. Remember the players voted for this.

People moaning no games until January got off your holes and visit your local club championship.

Dublin fans great for proclaiming they are greatest fans. "I go to all the O'Byrne Cup games" yet cant find Parnell Park for club championship"

People against split season get you're club to raise a motion at county GAA. Not listening to bell ends like Breheny and Spillane ramble against split seasons as they losing out on moneys.

Has there even been one club motion anywhere on the island against the split-season?

I'd be shocked if any club delegate got a mandate from their club to vote against the split-season given how popular it seems to be among club players?

It just seems to me to be close to a complete non-issue among the ordinary GAA supporter.

[Tubberman]

I doubt that there's much opposition to the split season either, but the championship certainly has a rushed feeling to it, with very little opportunity to enjoy a win or build up to the next game.
Let's see how next year goes, but I'd like to see champ season extend into first couple of weeks of Aug

[shark]

I doubt that there's much opposition to the split season either, but the championship certainly has a rushed feeling to it, with very little opportunity to enjoy a win or build up to the next game.
Let's see how next year goes, but I'd like to see champ season extend into first couple of weeks of Aug

Why though? So you feel less rushed? How do you even measure that?
We had a group stage the last few years that had 24 games to eliminate 4 teams. I know it's gone for next year - but maybe that's why you feel rushed.

The difference the split season has made in Dublin is absolutely seismic. The senior championship used to be run off with games every few days, often starting in late September. Now it's every two weeks, with games at the weekend. Crowds noticeably up , from my (admittedly anecdotal) experience.
The biggest positive effect is being felt in genuine dual counties like Dublin, Cork, Offaly, Westmeath, where a significant number of players play senior in both codes.
Trying to row this back now will cause a revolt among club players.