Tipperary board puts cap on senior clubs

TIPPERARY delegates last night voted in a new system for the 2011 county senior hurling championship — with a proposal to cap the number of competing teams at 32.

The new format, which will be reviewed in autumn 2012, was passed after a lengthy period of confusion surrounding voting procedures at the Thurles Sarsfields centre last night.

The motion eventually rubber-stamped was put forward by the county board CCC and explained by county board vice-chairman Sean Nugent, who is also CCC chairman.

The CCC motion was one of three put forward, as Roscrea’s Hugh McDonnell outlined his club’s alternative before former county board chairman John Costigan suggested a different system from JK Brackens.

The lengthy gathering had already begun in controversial circumstances when the two Killenaule delegates exited the building following a disagreement over club affiliation. Bob Hall and Joe O’Dwyer both left the meeting in protest after county board chairman O’Brien insisted just one of them was entitled to be present.

And it took some time before the CCC motion was voted through with a simple majority of 38. Significantly, the threat of relegation to the intermediate ranks returns for the first time since 2007, should the number of teams participating in the senior championship exceed 32.

The four losing teams in the Seamus O’Riain cup, which is the secondary competition for teams who lose out in the county championship race, will play on an open draw knockout system. The loser of the last game will drop down to the intermediate grade but if self-regulation occurs, keeping the number of senior teams in any given year at 32 or under, then compulsory relegation will not apply.

Nugent said: “I’m opposed to relegation but self-regulation hasn’t occurred. We encourage clubs that we feel are not competitive at senior to go down but that hasn’t happened. I can understand their difficulties because for officials, that’s a very difficult agenda to push. But when that option is not taken up, it’s up to the CCC to do something about it.”

County board officials are anxious to ensure that a maximum of 32 teams compete for the Dan Breen Cup and will urge clubs to self-regulate, which could prove problematic.

Meanwhile, former Tipperary star Len Gaynor, the Kilruane McDonagh’s club delegate last night, issued a stark warning about the state of club hurling. He said: “In my opinion, inter-county hurling is far better now than it was 20, 30 or 40 ago. But club hurling is far worse. I don’t think that tweaking the championship is making a difference. It’s very important inter-county players are released to train with their clubs as often as possible.”