Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Co. Thiobraid Árann Planning for the Future

Consultation 1. Online Survey 600 + responses. • Club Officers (Adult & underage) • Players (Adult & underage) • General Public 2. Meetings with sub-committees Major issue: Uncertainty as to scheduling of Club games

Survey Findings Club Officers 90% regard games scheduling/organisation as very or critically important but in excess of 60% of them regard County/Division performance as poor or average Vast majority agree that some competitions should be organised on an all-county basis.

Players 75% not happy with current Championship structures. 71% not happy with games/training ratio. 60% not happy with number of Club games played 79% think there are too many Senior Hurling teams. Many suggest max of 16 to 20 Senior hurling teams 80% of players agree with relegation.

Comments from Club Officers “The hierarchy needs to listen to the grassroots and what Clubs want” “I would like to see Tipperary Co Board be the champion of a whole new structure in Club hurling & football” “Divisional competitions should be run and organised by the Divisions, totally separate from the County Championships” “The biggest problem we have as a club is uncertainty at all grades of adult hurling as to when and how often our teams will play Championship games”

Comments from Players “Nothing was done following a previous forum. Will this be any different?” “The ‘fixtures mess’ is by far the single biggest issue in the GAA.” “Does Tipperary want to become a leader in sorting the fixtures mess?”

General Public Comments “There are too many Senior teams and the standard of Senior games is not good” “There is too much fixture uncertainty for Club players, compared to other sports”

Letter from CCC

County C.C.C Met on 40 occasions during 2016. The Committee has to operate within a given structure, decided by the Clubs. Ability to make Championship fixtures depends on activity of Tipperary teams Too many unknowns under the current structure - cannot plan ahead with any certainty. Between 22nd May and 1st Sunday of September 2016, there were only 5 week-ends with no Tipperary team involved at inter-county level - in addition week-ends before some inter-county Championship games were not available to Clubs with players involved with the County team. Divisional CCC’s have to work around County CCC Tipperary Clubs (Intermediate/Junior) are generally not competitive in Munster due to the large number of Senior teams in the County. Senior Clubs generally not competitive at Munster due to fatigue - large number of games condensed into a short period in September/October. Is the “power of the manager” putting all emphasis on Championship games, to the detriment of the leagues? Traditionally, Tipperary Clubs have shown little interest in leagues. A Championship with 10 to 11 rounds is not feasible - max number of rounds is 7

Targets More competitive & meaningful championships No Club to be out of Championships before 1st July Radically reduce number of teams per grade - max 7 rounds. All teams have a reasonable chance of winning at their grade - there must be enjoyment for the players. More emphasis on Leagues - the only way there can be any level of certainty for Club player.

Ideas for Debate

County Hurling Championships Adult Hurling Grades (introduce within a set time-frame of 2 to 3 years) 16 Senior Hurling Teams (Stand-alone County Chp.) Increase Roinn 2 to 16 teams - Premier Intermediate (Stand-alone County Championship) 16 intermediate (Stand-alone County Championship) Junior A (Qualify through Divisional Championship) Junior B ( Qualify through Divisional Championship) Promotion and Relegation to apply Premier Intermediate winners qualify for Munster I.H.C.

Minor Run the Minor ‘A’ Hurling and Football Championships on an all-county basis Minor B & C to be run in the Divisions as at present with winners qualifying for County championships - consider reduced numbers of 13 or 11 aside

Football Senior: 16 teams - Stand-alone County Championship Intermediate: 16 Teams Stand-alone County Championship Junior A: Qualify through Divisional Championship Junior B: Qualify through Divisional Championship

Under 21 Run U/21 “A” Hurling & Football Championships on an all-county basis – straight K.O Run U/21 “B” & “C” Hurling & Football in the Divisions as at present with winners qualifying for County Championships with reduced numbers of 13 or 11 aside. Consider an all-county “C” Championship if insufficient teams in some divisions.

Divisions – Senior & Intermediate Hurling & Football Stand-alone with no qualification for County Championship. Allow Premier Intermediate (Hurling) , (Intermediate Football teams ?) compete in Senior Divisional Championships.

Scheduling Play county leagues from March to July - county players participate if available. County Championships: August/September/October.

‘A path to the future’ Where are we now? Where do we want to go? What do we want to achieve?