Club Notes: 18th March 2019

Post date: Mar 19, 2019 12:56:48 AM

Notaí CLG Tulach an Iarainn sponsored by McGrath's chemist

County Senior Hurling League:

We played our first round of the county senior hurling league on Saturday last on a damp and sodden evening in Tallow . We beat Ballyduff on the scoreline of 0-14 - 0-7. We play our next game away against Abbeyside at 5pm next Saturday.

Granville Hotel GAA Award for February:

Well done to Tommy Ryan on picking up the February award after scoring 4-5 in his last four league games.

U19 Football :

Cois Bhride's game against Stradbally was postponed on Saturday last due to a waterlogged pitch.

No club lotto on the notes this week on the event of the bank holiday Monday.They will appear next week.

Membership:

Due to the restricted capacity at Walsh Park tickets for both Munster championship games will not be on public sale and available through the county board and clubs only. This is incentive enough to buy Tallow GAA membership. Still waiting on alot of players to pay and they will not be insured if they don't pay.

Single € 30 Couple € 40

U18 € 25 Student Player € 40

Player € 50

Player & Partner € 60.

Payments can be made to both Billie Jean Sheehan and Shaun O'Sullivan.

Those who who pays their membership for Tallow GAA before the 31st March 2019 will be entered into a draw for two nights B&B with one evening meal for two in the Riverside Hotel in Killarney in association with Tallow Area credit Union

Head of the Waterford CPA:

After Waterford's impressive win against Clare, which saw them qualify for the National League semi final, the question on club managers lips is " will this affect the club championship?". The semi final vs Galway is scheduled for Sunday24th March, which is 7 days before the club championship throws in. So 7 days before the first championship match that club managers and players have been preparing for since January, they are not guaranteed that the match will actually go ahead. Club games will be postponed if Waterford qualify for the National League final, as the final is fixed for Sunday 31st. The weekend the club championships are due to start. Can you imagine the outcry across national media if this happened to the Munster or Leinster Hurling championship. Imagine if Brian Cody or Davy Fitzgerald found themselves in a position where they weren't sure if their 1st round game was going ahead or not. How would that affect their minute attention to detail? Why should club players and managers be treated any differently.

In 2006 former GAA Director General, Páraic Duffy in his capacity as Player welfare officer, made a presentation to the National Coaching/ Medical Conference on the subject of providing a better programme of games for club payers. He was subsequently asked to prepare a discussion paper on the subject. In it he raised the following issues as the main reasons for club players unrest.

There is a palpable sense of anger among club players and officials which has its origins in the following areas of dissatisfaction:

(i) The frequent postponement of club games to meet the needs of inter-county teams

(ii) The absence of serious competitive games for clubs over long periods during the summer months when conditions are most suitable

(iii) The obligation to play most of their games in concentrated batches and at the beginning and end of the year when playing conditions are often poor

(iv) The emergence of a training-based rather than a playing- based culture within our games that is discouraging players from getting involved with GAA clubs, particularly when one considers that other sports promote a games based culture - an infinitely more attractive prospect to the majority of players.

Yet here we are less than two weeks before championship is due to begin, facing the same issues as 2006. What has changed? Granted the postponed League game against Galway, due to weather conditions, is the root cause of this fixture congestion. But where was the forward planning? If the dates are that tight, that one postponed game in an Irish winter ( who would have thought !!) can have these knock on effects, then the competition is not fit for purpose. The GAA have agreed to the Club Month of April which was championed by the CPA. But are they only paying it lip service if games are shoe horned into the month and the club month is treated as an inconvenience that has to be tolerated. Where is the support for the clubs to prepare for the club championship, the support to improve the club championship standards. Inter county players cannot play with their clubs 13 days before an inter county championship fixture, yet these same players are expected to play club championship 6 or 7 days after playing for their county. Many for the first time this year. Duffy raised this issue again in 2006.

The demand from inter-county managers for exclusive access to their players is creating an unhealthy gulf between club and inter-county players, and is diminishing the status of the club and club competitions. Many inter-county players never train with their clubs until the county team is eliminated from the championship, or until the week before a club championship game. This situation is unlikely to change unless we legislate e.g.

Inter-county players must be allowed to play or train with their clubs on one night per week from Monday-Friday, except:

(i) During the week prior to a National League game

(ii) During the two weeks prior to a senior Provincial or All-Ireland Championship (including Qualifier game

(iii) During the three weeks before an All-Ireland Senior Final.

Of course everyone in Waterford hurling hopes that the team go on and achieve their aim of winning the National League and even further success in Munster and All Ireland campaigns. But lets learn from past mistakes, which were raised as far back as 2006 and probably even further. Lets give clubs and club players the same rights. Let them be able to plan for championship games secure in the knowledge that games will not be postponed by factors which can be legislated for with some joint up forward planning. Let players play in regular periods and not have to play in concentrated batches just so it doesn't affect inter county team preparations at the start of the year or to make Munster club fixtures deadlines at the end of the year.