This article is from page 65 of the 2011-10-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 65 JPG
THE Clare County Board has pledged to establish a seven-man committee to examine the management of club fixtures in the county for 2012, with the new blueprint devised between now and the County Convention in December where delegates can accept or reject its contents.
This commitment to look at the possibility of change came after O’Curry’s delegate Michael Curtin hit out at the fact that club players are left without games for much of the summer months.
“I want test the waters,” said Curtin. “We’re now in October and we’re reviewing our competitions. What I’m talking about is a lack of competition for most clubs that I am very, very concerned about.
“You’re talking about promoting the game, but if you don’t play your hurling and football in the best part of the year? What I’m asking the meeting is: have we got the ability to think outside the box?
“What I would be suggesting would be that a powerful committee would be set up between now and Convention to look at the whole area of competition and structures and fixtures going forward.
“Effectively what I’m saying is that the way our competitions are run, at all levels,
should be looked at. I think there should be a proposal put as to how they should be structured to give our clubs meaningful competitions throughout 2012 and onwards,” he added.
The O’Curry’s delegate said that the hiatus in the summer months where many clubs are left was having “a very, very serious effect on the promotion of our games” and that change should be brought in on an experiment basis to avoid players being lost to other codes.
“It’s just to see if there is feel for taking some action going forward with regard to our competition,” he said. “We have to take a risk and be for the common good to get our players playing football – unpalatable decisions may have to be taken by clubs for the common good going forward, because as it is at the minute, it’s not good and is not doing anything for our games.
“If nothing happens in the best ten weeks of the year, your greatest coach, or a Director of Hurling or a Director of Football is wasting his time. Come before Convention with a blueprint as to the best way forward to incorporate all of us.
“If it means starting our competitions at the end of January, so be it. If it means playing championship in April, so be it. Managers of senior teams will have to be brought in. We are going to have to get some sort of structure that would be rigid,” he added.
Responding, county board secretary Pat Fitzgerald said “we are hamstrung by the national fixtures. There is no question about it. That doesn’t say we can’t look at altering the make-up or the structure of competitions and do the thing another way.
“All Michael Curtin is saying is that we look at it. Get a report done and look at it, and if we’re not happy with it, we don’t implement it,” he added.
“The ‘Bridge had a great motion to Convention in relation to the hurling championship,” said chairman Michael O’Neill.
“I don’t think it got the recognition it deserved at Convention. Maybe it might come back and it’s something that should be considered . I’m not saying that it should be implemented, but it certainly should be looked at,” he added.