This article is from page 106 of the 2010-02-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 106 JPG
ANY body charged with coming up with a fixtures structure that suits all clubs and players across the county is doomed to fail. It’s impossible not only in Clare, but in any county across Ireland considering that club games, aS we are well aware, are likely to change at short notice given the progress of the inter-county team through the championship in sum- nates
At least the members who devised the 2010 Masters Fixtures Plan had regard of this fact. “There are many difficulties in trying to put together a workable club fixtures plan against a demanding inter-county schedule in both codes,” the structures commit- tee rightly point out.
To illustrate the point, they use the gaps between the first and second rounds in hurling and football as an example.
The senior hurling championship 1s scheduled to begin on the weekends of May 8 and May 15. The second round will not go ahead until June Re
Likewise, the football champion- ship has been confirmed to start on June 10 but after this, the champi- onship fields will remain quiet until August 7. That’s two months without any senior championship football in Clare at the height of the summer. Clubs, here, will feel under serious pressure to keep players interested in training. This will be a serious con- cern for some.
However, the committee point out that the Clare senior footballers play AW Koy mw KOK me) EL NaPso meal OMB OCoMN ent ners to play Limerick in the Munster
semi-final on June 6.
‘As the Clare senior footballers are playing a quarter-final in 2010, un- like 2009 when their first game was the Munster semi-final, we have to provide for the possibility that Clare may enter the All-Ireland qualifier series at round one on June 26.”
In other words, there are a lot of permutations to consider and a lot of balls to juggle.
The committee have also aimed to keep dual clubs happy, trying to ensure that dual clubs will have at least five days between champion- ship games in hurling and football, which, they also point out, may not always be possible in the latter stages of the championship.
The county hurling final is sched- uled to take place on October 10 and the football final on October 13.
In terms of the domestic league, the committee have proposed to begin the Clare Cup at the end of March.
They point out some more difficul- ties they have encountered when try- ing to draw up an all-encompassing master plan.
“Much of the feedback in regard to the Clare Cup has centred on the late finish to the competition. However, clubs have also resisted proposals to start the competition earlier.’ Which, in effect, puts the committee some- Where between a rock and a hard place.
The Cusack Cup, Garry Cup and Division 3 will begin on February 20 to help ensure that county players are available to their clubs for each round.
The Cusack Cup final takes place on July 24, with the Clare Cup final down for August 21.