Clubs give backing to AIL hockey plan

THE PROSPECT of an All-Ireland hockey league moved a step closer yesterday when detailed proposals were unanimously endorsed by the majority of clubs in the country.

It is expected that new league, which will not be up and running until the 2008/9 season, will be rubber-stamped by an Irish Hockey Association special general meeting next May.

Outline proposals for the new national league, which will not be formally named until May’s egm at least, were provided yesterday by Inez Cooper, the chairman of the Competition Reform Working Group, to those attending the sport’s annual “Hooked” conference in Dublin.

Ms Cooper, who has attracted widespread praise for bringing fresh thinking and impetus to the development plans for the new men’s and women’s leagues, provided the large attendance with an idea of how they will work.

It is intended that the top four clubs from Leinster and Ulster, as well as the top two from Munster will automatically qualify via their provincial league. A round-robin series will see two wild-card spots, to be decided by play-offs involving the winners of Connacht and the next ranked club in the other three provinces will see another two clubs qualify to form a 12-club league.

This will then be divided into two pools of six, with each club playing five games during the season. It has not yet been decided whether or not there will be semi-finals involving the top four teams, or whether there will simply be a grand final involving the top two pool teams, but the initial proposal involves the top two from each pool playing in semi-finals (or “cross-over” fixtures), with a final at an end-of-year Grand Final Weekend, with the winner going forward to represent Ireland in European Club Championship competition, alongside the winners of the Irish Senior Cups.

The response to Ms Cooper’s address yesterday to the conference was universally positive and the proposals she outlined were the work of the special Competition Reform Working Group, made up of representatives of the IHA’s affiliated branches. “The working group has worked extremely well to devise what the association believes is a positive reform plan that can move the game forward,” IHA chairman John Dennis said last night.

“The management board has endorsed the group’s proposal and looks forward to the plan’s submission to the association’s branches for due consideration,” he added.

The new proposal will be officially released in full print later this month, but the next crucial step will be for the seven affiliated branches of the association to assess the proposal and establish what changes (if any) must be made and proposed to their respective provincial competition structures in order to accommodate the new league.

Following this, the IHA will deliver joint information workshops with its branches in early April to outline the total reform proposals in each branch, so clubs can fully assess their impact. The new structure will then be voted on by the association’s affiliate members at a Special General Meeting in May.