Cork chiefs hear club championship concerns ‘loud and clear’

The message delivered by club players in Cork that they will no longer tolerate anything other than a “properly structured” championship schedule has been heard “loud and clear” by the County Board chiefs, according to strategic review chairman Pat Horgan.

Horgan, who has been charged with overseeing the strategic review group which will recommend a new county championship structure for 2020, described last Saturday’s club forum at Páirc Uí Chaoimh as “extremely worthwhile”.

Last weekend’s gathering of roughly 200 club mentors and players, organised by the games’ sub-committee of the strategic review group, was the third and final opportunity for clubs to give their views on how the new-look county championship should be shaped.

Having heard from club delegates, officers, mentors, and players, Horgan’s review body are in the process of finalising their submission to the Competions Control Committee, who will debate the blueprint before forwarding a final draft to the county board executive.

Following meetings all this week, and with more to follow next week, Horgan has revealed the recommended championship format for 2020 will be put before delegates at a county board meeting on Tuesday, March 26.

Clubs will have one week to study that new structure before a vote is taken at a special county board meeting on Tuesday, April 2.

With the timeline to rubberstamp the revised format having been brought forward by one month, the size and shape of the Cork county championships for 2020 will now be known before the first round proper of this year’s competitions.

“There is a message coming loud and clear from the clubs, particularly from the players, that they are not going to hang around waiting from week-to-week to know when they are on stage next.

“The players are looking for meaningful games, are looking for properly structured competitions, and are not going to settle for anything less,” said Horgan of what he heard and read at last weekend’s forum.

“The message is coming loud and clear that we have got to take notice of what players are saying. And we will. There is a great appetite around the top table of the county board to change things. The county board will not be found wanting in bringing about change.”

And so the task of Horgan’s group is to provide to the CCC the framework of a championship program that is workable but also appealing to players.

“Everybody is looking for the magic formula that will strike the right balance between inter-county and the club scene,” he continued.

At present, there are 19 clubs in the Cork SFC, 15 at premier intermediate level, and another 19 at intermediate. In hurling, meanwhile, there are 19 senior, 16 premier intermediate, and 26 intermediate teams. It was unanimously agreed at the club forum, as was the case at last month’s county board meeting, that the size of the various championships must be reduced.

“The prevailing feeling was our championships are too big. There was an acceptance, too, that relegation needs to be part of the new championship set-up to make it more cut and thrust,” said Horgan.

But far less clear was when the championships should start; to keep the status quo and continue to play one round in April before the inter-county scene takes over for the summer or to wait until late July/early August to commence the various championships.

“When to start the championship was one of the big talking points and specifically whether or not it was worthwhile starting at all in April.

“Some people felt we should play more than one round in April. Others felt we shouldn’t be playing any at all in April and that we should be waiting until late July/early August.

“And that if you do start in late summer then you play it off week after week until it is concluded. There was a lot of support for the latter, of waiting and starting in August. The inter-county scene is not going to change. Whatever we come up with, we are going to have to work around the inter-county scene. Another message that came out loud and clear is that clubs do not want to play any championships games, irrespective of the format and timing, without their inter-county players.”