Proposed Reform of Inter County Hurling Championship
[ Fri, 11th Aug 2017 ]
The motions appended below refer to the proposed changes to the Inter County Hurling Championhsip. A special Congress will be held in Croke Park in late September to discuss these proposals. The Management Committee of Dublin GAA will consider the motions and would welcome the views of the club before 18th August.

If you wish to comment on these proposals, please contact the Secretary of the Hurling Section at bodenhurling@ gmail.com

Motion 1

That for the period 2018-20 inclusive Rule 6.28(B) and (C) – All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships be amended to read as follows:

(B) All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (2018, 2019 & 2020)

Tier 1 – Liam Mac Carthy Cup

Counties Participating

The Following Counties shall be eligible to participate in this Championship in 2018:

In Munster Championship – Cork, Tipperary, Waterford, Clare and Limerick.

In Leinster Championship – Kilkenny, Wexford, Dublin, Offaly and Galway.

Stages

(i) Provincial Championships

The two Provincial Championships shall be played on a ‘Round-Robin’ basis.

Each County shall have two Home and two Away games.

The Counties finishing in the top two places in each Provincial Group shall qualify for their respective Provincial Final.

(ii) All-Ireland Quarter Finals

The two defeated Provincial Finalists and the third placed team in each Province shall participate in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals.

The Munster Runners-Up shall play the third placed team in Leinster. The Leinster Runners-Up shall play the third placed team in Munster.

(iii) All-Ireland Semi-Finals

The Provincial Champions of Munster and Leinster shall be in separate Semi-Finals and shall respectively play one of the two Quarter-Final Winners.

Subject to the respective Provincial Champions not meeting the defeated Finalists from their own Province at this stage and, where feasible, the avoidance of Repeat Pairings, a Draw shall be made to determine the Pairings.

(iv) All-Ireland Final

Points/Tie-Breakers

In the ‘Round-Robin’ Groups, each team shall play the other teams once.

Two points for a Win and one point for a Draw shall be awarded.

In the event of teams finishing on equal points in a ‘Round-Robin’ series, the tie shall be decided by the following means and in the order specified:

(i) Where two teams only are involved – the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the Group;

(ii) Score difference – subtracting the total Scores Against from the Scores For;

(iii) Highest Total Score For;

(iv) Highest Total Goals For;

(v) A Play-Off.

Relegation – applicable to the following year:

The bottom placed team in the Leinster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ shall be relegated to the Tier 2 Championship.

Exception:

If Kerry (or another Munster County) wins the Tier 2 Championship, it shall play-off against the bottom team in the Munster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ at a neutral Munster Venue determined by the Central Competitions Control Committee. The Winners of that play-off game shall play in the Munster Championship and the Losers shall be relegated to the Tier 2 Championship.

In that circumstance, the bottom team in the Leinster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ shall not be Relegated.

(C) All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Tiers 2,3,4 and 5.

Tier 2

Counties Participating

The following Counties shall be eligible to participate in this Championship in 2018:

Antrim, Carlow, Kerry, Laois, Meath and Westmeath.

Format

The Championship shall be played initially on a ‘Round-Robin’ basis.

The teams finishing in the top two places shall play in the Tier 2 Championship Final.

Promotion and Relegation – applicable to the following year:

The Winners of the Tier 2 Championship, if a non- Munster team, shall be promoted to the Leinster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ and Liam Mc Carthy Cup.

If the Winners of the Tier 2 Championship is a Munster team, it must win the Play-Off with the bottom placed team in the Munster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ to gain Promotion to the Munster Championship ‘Round-Robin’ and Liam Mc Carthy Cup.

The bottom placed team in the Tier 2 Championship shall be relegated to Tier 3 (Christy Ring Cup).

In order to reduce the number of teams in the Tier 2 Championship to five, the team that finishes second last in the 2018 Championship only shall play off against the Winners of Tier 3 (Christy Ring Cup).

The Winners of that game shall play in the Tier 2 Championship and the Losers shall play in Tier 3 (Christy Ring Cup) in 2019.

Tier 3 – Christy Ring Cup

Counties Participating

The following Counties shall be eligible to participate in the Championship in 2018:

Armagh, Derry, Down, Kildare, London, Mayo, Roscommon and Wicklow. Format

Two Groups of four teams shall be Drawn.

Group Games shall be played on a ‘Round-Robin’ basis.

The top two teams in each Group shall qualify for the Semi finals, in which the Winners of each Group shall play the Runners-Up of the other Group.

Final

Promotion and Relegation – applicable to the following year:

In 2018, the Winners of the Final shall play the team that finishes second last in the

Tier 2 Championship. The Winners of that game shall play in the Tier 2 Championship and the Losers shall play in Tier 3 (Christy Ring Cup).

The bottom team in each Group shall be Relegated to Tier 4 (Nicky Rackard Cup).

In 2019 and 2020, the Winners of the Final shall be promoted to the Tier 2 Championship.

The bottom team in each Group shall play-off and the Losers shall be relegated to Tier 4 (Nicky Rackard Cup).

Tier 4 – Nicky Rackard Cup

Counties Participating

The following Counties shall be eligible to participate in the Championship in 2018:

Donegal, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Monaghan, Tyrone and Warwickshire.

Format

In 2018, a Group of four and a Group of three shall be Drawn. In 2019 and 2020, two Groups of four teams shall be Drawn.

Games shall be played on a ‘Round-Robin’ basis.

The top two teams in each Group shall qualify for the Semi-Finals, in which the Winners of each Group shall play the Runners-Up of the other Group.

Final

Promotion and Relegation – applicable to the following year:

The Winners of the Final shall be promoted to Tier 3 (Christy Ring Cup).

The bottom team in each Group shall play-off and the Losers shall be relegated to Tier 5 (Lory Meagher Cup).

Tier 5 – Lory Meagher Cup

Counties Participating

The following Counties shall be eligible to participate in the Championship in 2018:

Cavan, Fermanagh, Lancashire and Sligo.

Format

The Championships shall be played on a ‘Round-Robin’ basis.

The two top placed teams shall play in the Final.

Final

Promotion – applicable to the following year:

The Winners shall be promoted to Tier 4 (Nicky Rackard Cup).

Points/Tie-Breakers in Tiers 2,3,4 and 5 – Regulations as in Tier 1.

Venues for Tiers 2,3,4 and 5

The Venues in the Group Stages shall be on a Home and Away basis.

A Draw shall be made prior to the start of each Championship to determine the Sequence of Pairings and Home Advantage.

Each team in Groups of four, shall have a minimum of one Home and one Away Game with the Draw determining the Venue for the other Game. In Groups of uneven number, the teams shall have an equal number of Home and Away games.

Group Winners shall have Home Advantage for Semi-Finals.

Venues for all Finals and Relegation Play-Offs shall be determined by the Central Competitions Control Committee.

Rule Affected – Rule 6.30 Draws T.O., Part 1

Motion 2

That for the period 2018 – 2020 inclusive, Rule 6.28(H) – Other All-Ireland Championships shall be amended to read: (amendment shown in bold type.)

(H) Other All-Ireland Championships

The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship, the All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship and the All-Ireland Under 20 Football Championship shall be organised initially on a Provincial basis with the winners going forward to the All-Ireland Series. The pairings for the All-Ireland Junior and Under 20 Football Championships shall be on rota system initially determined by the Central Council. The All-Ireland Under 20 Football Championship shall be played during the months of June, July and August.

The All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship shall be organised initially on a Provincial basis in Munster and Leinster, with Galway and any Ulster Team(s) as agreed by Ulster and Leinster Councils participating in the Leinster Championship.

The Winners of the Munster and Leinster Championships shall play in the All-Ireland Final.

Motion 3

That for the period 2018-2020 inclusive, Rule 6.28(F) – All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship be amended to read:

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship shall be organised initially on a Provincial basis in Munster and Leinster.

Ulster Teams, as agreed by the Ulster and Leinster Councils, shall participate in the Leinster Championship.

The All-Ireland Series shall be organised as follows:

The Munster and Leinster Winners shall automatically qualify for separate Semi Finals and may not meet the defeated Finalists of their own Province at this stage.

A ‘Round-Robin’ All-Ireland Series shall be organised to produce two more All-Ireland Semi- Finalists. The three participating teams shall be Galway and the defeated Munster and Leinster Finalists.

Fixtures shall be arranged so that the Winners of the first of the three games shall play in the second game. If the first game is drawn, the team to play in the second game shall be decided on the toss of a coin.

The top two teams in the ‘Round-Robin’ Group shall qualify for the Semi-Finals.

In the event of teams finishing on equal points at the end of the ‘Round-Robin’ Series, their placings shall be determined by the following tie-break means and in the order specified:

(i) Scoring Difference (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for);

(ii) Highest Total Scores For;

(iii) Highest Total Goals Scored.

Where all three teams finish level on points and cannot be separated by the tie-break means outlined in (i), (ii) and (iii) above, one team shall go forward on the basis of a Draw and a ‘Play-Off’ shall be staged involving the two remaining teams to determine the second team qualifying for the All-Ireland Semi-Finals.

All-Ireland Final