Calls made at Mid Tipperary GAA convention for change to U19 and U21 grades

A call for change in the U19 and U21 games structure was made by the secretary of the Mid Tipperary GAA Board, Catherine Dunne at the board’s annual convention in the Horse and Jockey Hotel last Tuesday night.

Returned unopposed for another year, the secretary initially welcomed the cooperation between clubs in fixing matches but went on to say; “The split season is producing some fantastic club matches but unfortunately, this is against a very intense time for the CCC trying to meet county deadlines. cooperation between clubs is the key and I commend all clubs for their help and co-operation in getting these matches fixed. I ask all clubs to continue this trend for 2024 as the number of matches to be played is immense and adhering to deadlines can be tricky."

She continued, “The crossover of players between competitions was another key factor in this year’s competitions particularly 19-year-olds playing in the higher grades. This made it quite difficult to get matches fixed at junior level. Something needs to be looked at.

“My personal view going forward is that something needs to change at the U19 and U21 levels. The number of players crossing over to other competitions is a lot which makes it difficult to get both competitions run off. Could the U19/U21 grades be combined to under 20 and run as a league earlier in the year with the knock-out fixtures at the latter half of the year (with the league rounds to be run off without county players)?” she asked.

“The under 21 championship as it stands does not provide a lot of meaningful games as it is run off in a general knockout which for some clubs is just one match. This does not, in my view, help players development. Should this competition be run as a developmental competition – something that needs to be given thought”, she added.

The secretary also referred to the lack of referees in the division and said that some games had to be postponed this year due to the unavailability of referees. She also noted that the board had to deal with several reports of verbal abuse of referees. 

“The abuse referees endure is just not good enough. We are all very passionate when our clubs are playing but I appeal to all clubs to have consideration for the referee and let him do his job”, she said, adding her thanks to the referees for making themselves available.

The secretary also paid tribute to the outgoing chairman, Joe O Sullivan, Moycarkey-Borris who was completing his three-year term at the convention. She said that his attention to detail during his term had been immense and that he was fantastic in getting this sorted out and being a step ahead of developments.