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Again, I'm not saying there shouldn't be a free weekend - just pointing out that it can only happen in certain circumstances. And with respect, it's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing on this. It really is the case that if we want to run the club championships the way we currently do, want to have them finished in time for Leinster, and want to have a free weekend, we need the county teams to go out early. Although, all the contingency plans outlined above would give weight to your contention that the county teams going further would bring more jeopardy in the club championships. But note too that they still wouldn't have brought a free weekend! Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 20/08/2026 16:04:56 2690652 Link 0 |
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Let the county go as far as they possinly can and then not enter leinster club . Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 672 - 20/08/2026 16:14:45 2690659 Link 0 |
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Apologies. You're correct. Minor goes to straight quarter-finals after the group stage is completed.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 20/08/2026 16:42:46 2690664 Link 0 |
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The contingencies are outlined in a post I put up a little earlier. In fairness, might not have appeared by the time you were asking here. Winning or losing the Tailteann Cup wouldn't actually have mattered. The key consideration would just have been reaching the final and therefore the county team playing on that date one way or the other. You can say to hell with the club scene and the club player will just have to suck it up if you want to say that, but basic fact is that the further our county teams go, the less time available for club championships if we want to be ready for Leinster. And whenever it's suggested that we just forget about Leinster and let our own championships run later, there's absolutely no appetite for it. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 20/08/2026 16:46:50 2690666 Link 0 |
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That format is 16s only.
Trump2 (Wexford) - Posts: 17 - 20/08/2026 16:50:58 2690667 Link 0 |
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We could go round and round on this . Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 672 - 20/08/2026 21:56:07 2690689 Link 0 |
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Yup, already acknowledged above that you're correct on that, and I was wrong initially. Probably another case of cross-posting. Regardless, I still like the idea of how it would apply in our adult grades. So long of course as people are mindful of how it would still need that extra round of matches which makes it more difficult to give a free weekend! Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 20/08/2026 22:00:57 2690691 Link 0 |
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Let the county go as far as they possinly can and then not enter leinster club . Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 672 - 20/08/2026 22:03:26 2690692 Link 0 |
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Was going to make this point. If any competition has to give, that's the one. It affects maximum 3 teams and shouldn't be considered anything other than a bonus bonus competition. It should not be impacting our own local championships and those competitions should be first and foremost from both a competition and a player welfare perspective. StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2164 - 21/08/2026 08:21:55 2690703 Link 0 |
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Guessed it'd only be a matter of time before somebody suggested midweek matches as a "solution". It's not as straightforward as it may seem. For starters, you'd be looking at three evenings, same as how group matches are generally run over a Friday/Saturday/Sunday. And you'd most likely be having to do it over the Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday as EP starts on the Friday. If you make lads play a match that evening, you're still preventing them from going to a significant part of the festival. Three different dates probably even more necessary midweek for two main reasons: 1. Couldn't run double-headers. All 30 matches would have to be stand-alone fixtures. 2. Number of match officials needed. No double-headers means there'd be no scope to assign three officials to a venue and have them cover two matches there instead of just one. Obvious knock-on effect on the underage championships that week too (U12s on Tuesday, Minors on Wednesday, U14s on Thursday). Where would you get referees for these if they're all needed for adult matches instead? Finally, the effect on ordinary club activity at the venues that would be used. Club pitches like Oylegate, Bree, Horeswood, Cushinstown, Coolree, Taghmon, and others are all being used this weekend. Put a championship match in any of those venues on a Wednesday evening (for example), and you're basically telling that club that whoever normally trains on your main pitch on a Wednesday has to forget about it that week, and it may not be feasible to let any other squad train on your other pitch or pitches either. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 21/08/2026 09:45:18 2690712 Link 0 |
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Yes, but I repeat - any time there's even a suggestion at the meetings that decide these things that we should forget about Leinster and let our own championships run later, there's absolutely no appetite for it. And remember these are meetings with the club delegates, where they hold the majority of the vote. It's not a case of the top table making that decision by themselves. If enough clubs wanted to do what you propose, it could happen all right. And let's say we do sometime forget about Leinster, and run our own championships on for another four or five weeks. County semi-finals and finals would then be in November, when there's more chance of bad weather and sloppy pitches than October. Wouldn't there be criticism then of letting things run so late, instead of finishing them when the weather and ground conditions weren't so bad? Comments too about how every other county is able to finish its club championships in time for provincial championships, why are Wexford the odd one out? And then our U21 championships couldn't get going in earnest until December, and there'd definitely be criticism of that too, no matter what the weather was like. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 21/08/2026 10:02:15 2690716 Link 0 |
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It can be done but we need to the will to do it . I suppose we wont know if theres a will until the situation arises . I m well aware if the logistics impact on clubs etc and shortage refs etc but we need to be sensible too about our biggest asset our players . U could play half games wed Thurs week before and half week aftr ep Tues wed. Don't need to play junior downwards as no leinster for winners . Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 672 - 21/08/2026 11:15:54 2690741 Link 0 |
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The issue is simple. tearintom (Wexford) - Posts: 1686 - 21/08/2026 12:56:04 2690756 Link 0 |
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Realise I'm throwing a lot into this conversation, but here goes again! Maybe goes back to what we spoke about a couple of weeks ago, about democracy maybe being a bad thing in clubs having such a say on championship structures. Generally speaking, clubs think primarily of what gives themselves the best chance. No wonder that groups of six, with four or five going through, are so popular. You could get away with two, three or even four bad results and still go through. But change to just three matches in a group of four, and you probably won't get away with two bad results, and you definitely won't get away with three. And it's 100% true that we simply can't have everything people want - i.e. county teams going further than they've done these past few years, club championships that take 17 rounds of fixtures to complete, a free weekend for EP, and still have the whole lot wrapped up in time for Leinster Club Championships. Just to point out though that we had the two groups of six long before the HAC got involved in such things, so I wouldn't be laying all the blame at their door. Even if they'd never come in with their proposals that led to the extra round in hurling, we'd still need 16 weeks, and we'd still be in difficulty getting everything else we want if our county teams went further. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 21/08/2026 13:43:28 2690758 Link 0 |
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I hear you and you and others on here are much closer to these decisions than me. But in that case then, is it not top 2-3 qualify and the rest are out? And if you don't want dead rubbers bottom 2 in to relegation? However many weeks are needed, that's where you work back from and you come up with the best strategy you can? I thought that was what they did this year with a Plan B if Wexford made the TC final? The only other alternative is to just get fixtures played when you can, e.g. fixtures not affected by TC. I have no figure to back up how much of an Intermediate or Intermediate A championship could be ran "in advance" to use a phrase. Yes it might unfairly punish some teams but again, something has to give. Or else we need Melvin Benn to move his concert to earlier in the Summer. But players are on a treadmill from the second Wexford are out, they deserve a week off from the games. Failing all of that, we need some other way (e.g. league) to decide our Leinster reps. Re U20 championship, I think that just has to go. If the only time to play it is November, why not get rid of it. Unless it could all be played on the 4G pitch being developed but U20 players are in college, etc and almost all are on adult teams so they are getting game time anyway. StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2164 - 21/08/2026 14:28:19 2690766 Link 0 |
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So Tom a solution would be to initially try change the football championships to say 4 groups of 3 or 3 groups or 4 etc . I am sure the hurling advisory would be all for that. Problem solved. Trump2 (Wexford) - Posts: 17 - 21/08/2026 14:35:05 2690768 Link 0 |
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Again, conscious I've already said a lot, but here goes again. On your first couple of points - any alternative structure would be up to the County Board (including the club delegates) to decide. All those contingency plans were outlined earlier. First was a case of how to fit 17 rounds into a shorter timeframe. In the case of footballers reaching TC final, it was that groups of six would continue but just top two would go straight to semi-finals. So yes, I suppose it was a case of finding a structure to fit the timeframe available. As regards starting club hurling championships "in advance" - have had a look at the programme for the last TC match v Offaly. Of the matchday 26 there, if you were to try start a hurling championship without them, I reckon there'd be three Senior hurling clubs affected, four Intermediate, four Intermediate 'A', two Junior, and one Junior 'A'. Re. Melvin Benn and EP - I've often thought and maybe even half-jokingly suggested here that there should be a campaign to have it held on maybe the June Bank Holiday weekend instead. Would suit far better from a club championship point of view anyway! Can't use League or any other way to decide representatives in provincial club competitions. By rule, they must be your county championship winners at the relevant grade. Has been that way for a good few years ago now. Finally, re. U20/U21 club championships - I'd actually scrap them too. They used to have an important role years ago, when championships were often a straight knock-out, and not nearly as many games as there are now. But today, everybody of that age has plenty of other opportunities for games anyway. And a good point I heard somebody make some time back, and which has stuck with me - if we'd never had U20/U21 championships in the first place, there'd be absolutely nobody saying "You know what we really need? Another couple of championships to try squeeze in somehow among all the games that are already there". Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3908 - 21/08/2026 15:55:10 2690791 Link 0 |
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The structure of our club championship has nothing to do with how poor our county teams are. Waltermitty2 (Wexford) - Posts: 309 - 21/08/2026 16:12:07 2690795 Link 0 |
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do u really think that? im thinking totally different, i think this group of 6 is a disaster, we need a much improved extended county league and go back to a knock out with a back door, players need to be able set their minds and bodies to the one big day in the year, the 1st round of the championship, the build up for months then weeks then days then hours , the best days of your life, and there was interest among the people of the parish then talk in the shops, the pubs in the bingo now there is hardly a whisper
Stmunnsriver (Wexford) - Posts: 3123 - 21/08/2026 18:35:08 2690810 Link 0 |
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Changing the club championships definitely won't have a major impact on the county teams Might have a small impact though ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1505 - 21/08/2026 19:42:26 2690818 Link 0 |