The following is taken from the www.Kerrygaa.ie and is a recap of the motions debated durings this weeks Kerry County Committee meeting.
Report from Murt Murphy
There was a lengthy and lively debate on 16 motions covering Administration, League and Championship, with a Chairman Jerome Conway allowing delegates a good deal of latitude to put forward the pros and cons of the various proposals and it has to be said that the democratic process was well served, with a little or no influence from the top table except on points of information or clarification.
The following are the sixteen motions with some of the salient points that were put forward and either led to their success, failure or in some cases withdrawal.
Motions:
Administration
1. That the CCC be increased by one member. The member to be an agreed representative of the clubs who compete in the senior county championship- proposed by all eleven senior clubs.
Naomh Mhichill/An Fhaill Mhoir,
Rath Mhor,
Baile an Mhuilinn/Caislean na Mainge
An Leigiun,
Cill Cuimin,
Ceirin O Raithille,
Gniomh Go Leith,
Dr Crócaigh,
An Daingean,
Aibhistin de Staic
Fanuithe na Leamhna
Joseph Crowley (Laune Rangers) spoke on the motion said that senior clubs felt that the makeup of the CCC did not afford senior clubs a voice when decisions affecting senior clubs such as Championship venues were being reached. He felt that adding a voice from the senior clubs would make the CCC more representative. However a number of delegates felt that the status quo should remain with the District Board member representing the needs of the senior clubs.
It was pointed out that the CCC consists of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary nominated by the Chairman of the County Committee, the PRO of the Co Board, a representative of each of Divisional committees (11) and Referees administrator and very rarely has a vote to be taken as decisions are reached by consensus.
After views were expressed on both sides - the motion was heavily defeated.
(2) That the Transfer Deadline according to bye-law 21.1 (c) be amended for Scór ONLY to September 30th. ( SPA)
Sean O'Sullivan ( Spa) spoke on this motion briefly but it was pointed out that if passed it might be contrary to Croke Park Rule - so it was withdrawn without too much discussion .
(3) That each Club be allowed have a designated Insurance Officer to deal with all matters relevant to Insurance Claims.- SPA - Again Sean O'Sullivan spoke on the motion and he made the point that Insurance companies would only deal with the club secretary and he might not always be in the position to discuss the case. Spa were proposing that every club should have an Insurance Officer and all communication with the Insurance Companies would come through him/her.
However Mike O'Donoghue ( Valentia) pointed out that the reason that Insurance Company's only dealt with secretaries was that in the past they had got the run around from time to time and the secretary of the club proved to be the most reliable. It was also pointed out that as per rule all correspondence had to go through the secretary and the Insurance Administrator while a laudable idea might not be workable. After a brief discussion, Spa withdrew the motion
(4) That all referees be trained in the use of the defibulator. ( Castlegregory) - The motion was proposed by the Castlegregory delegate who felt it would be beneficial for player welfare if referees had such training as they are closest to the action. However Referees Administrator Joe Langan pointed out that referees had been instructed not to get involved as it might open the floodgates for all sort of problems. The general consensus was that referees have plenty to do and this would be too onerous a demand to be made on them. The motion was withdrawn with the Chairman suggesting that anyone who can get training in the use of a defibulator should but there can be no compulsion.
(5) That the draws for Minor, U21 and Senior Championships be held together and the Secretary of each club is notified to ensure a representative from the club is in attendance. ( Causeway) -
Pat Sheehy in proposing the motion said that it dealt with the Hurling Championship only and that he was asking that all eight clubs should be present for the first round draw. County PRO Maureen O'Shea then interjected to point out that there were arrangements in place with Sponsors that would not allow this from happening. There was also the situation where there are different sponsors for Minor, U-21 and Senior Championship and all of them like to have their own draws and from a PR point of view with the media , it might not be workable. The motion after a brief discussion was withdrawn by Causeway.
League
(6) That Division 5 Credit Union County League revert to one straight division. Promotion: Top two teams promoted to Div 4.Third team from top of Div 5 to play off with third bottom team in Div 4. ( Asdee )
(7) That Division 5 of the County League return to the original format i.e.: not to have two phases in division 5 ( Cromane)
(8) That Division 5 be in the same format as all the other divisions. ( Valentia)
(9) That Senior‘B' Teams should be in a league of their own. Maybe the possibility of a separate division? ( Cromane )
The above four motions on the Format of Division 5 of the County League produced a lively and lengthy debate with a variety of opinions being put forward. Motion 11 ( 9 for our purposes) was discussed first with Patrick Casey from Cromane suggesting that B teams were capable of drawing from a large pool of players and could field very strong teams in finals and certain league games. Sean Kissane of Kerins O'Rahillys disputed this claim but Tadgh O'Donoghue (Kilgarvan) supported the Cromane motion. Joe Crowley then posed a very pertinent question when asking what Laune Rangers would do with 50 players they have training if only about 20 could get regular senior football. He said players would go off and play soccer and rugby and he was against the motion. While another delegate stated that every senior team should have a B team, it was pointed out that this was not always possible and only 5 B teams play in Division 5. The motion of a separate division for B team was heavily defeated.
Then the motions 7 and 8 were withdrawn and it was Motion 6 from Asdee that was discussed- that proposed that Division 5 would revert to one straight division with the top two teams being promoted and the third placed team in Division 5 with play third from the bottom in Div 4, with the winner being guaranteed Division 4 football.
Again a lively and lengthy discussion with many division 5 clubs felling that it would give them more games and with points being carried forward and being added up at the end of the league, it would be fairer all round. There were warning about the logistics of possibly 13 or 14 games but once it was put to the floor, the Asdee motion was carried by a large majority.
(10) In the event that teams finish on the same number of League points in the Credit union County Senior League that total scoring difference be used to determine each team's place in the League Table.
In the event of equal scoring difference that the extension of that system be put in place with a higher place being given to the team with the higher total score and if still equal the result of the League match between the teams to be the determining factor.
A play off (or play offs) at neutral venue (s) to be used, if necessary, as a last resort.
( Finuge)
The motion by Finuge was designed to cut down on the number of games at the end of the season required if there were to be played. However it was pointed out that that sometimes a walkover can be granted in a division, so that would create major difficulties. After discussion - the motion was defeated
(11) (a)Where promotion of two teams is to take place in the Credit Union County Senior League (Divisions 2, 3, 4) the top team in the division to be automatically promoted and the second promotion spot to be determined by a play off between the teams that are placed second and third in the table, with the team that is in the second place in the table having home advantage in the play off.
(b) where relegation of two teams is to take place in the Credit Union County senior League (Divisions 1,2,3) the bottom team in the division to be automatically relegated and the second relegation spot to be determined by a play off between the teams that are placed third from bottom and second from bottom, with the team that is third from bottom having home advantage in the play off. ( Finuge)
This motion was seen by some delegates to have some merit but overall the mood of the delegates was to retain the status quo . The purpose of the motion was to make the end of the league more competitive.
(12) That the points system in the Credit Union County Senior League be altered to award three points for a win and one point for a draw. ( Finuge ) - this motion was withdrawn
Championship
(13) That the County League Division 1-5 be incorporated with various County Championships i.e. Division 1 teams are entitled to Senior County Championship status if they so wish. Division 2 and Division 3 will have intermediate status with Division 4 and Division 5 being Junior. Promotion or demotion from the various County Championships will be determined by their county league standing. The losers in each round of the Junior Championship will play in the Novice. ( Valentia) - Mike O'Donoghue proposed the motion but after a brief discussion it was withdrawn.
(14) To abolish the back door system in the County Championship.( Valentia) - Again Mike O'Donoghue felt that there should be only one chance for a team and when you lost you were out but many delegates particularly in the Divisional Boards felt that they needed as many games early on in the Championship as possible while other delegates spoke of the importance of having their players playing in the Championship as long as possible and if this motion was passed it would see players finished in May. The motion was heavily defeated.
(15) That the U21 Club Football Championship be divided into different grades i.e. U21 A, U21 B. ( Kenmare) - This motion met general approval as many felt that it would give more status to the competition to play in a B or C grade than to be confined to playing in a Shield, where you can often meet a strong side. - The motion was carried by a large majority.
(16) If a club team gets to a county final, then that club should represent Kerry in the Munster Club Championship, regardless of the county final result. In the event that a club team does not reach the county final then the Club Championship winners represent Kerry. ( Dr Crokes)
John Keogh of DR Crokes outlined the situation this year where a team would not know until the Friday night before the Munster Club game on Sunday if the County Final between Dr Crokes and Mid Kerry ended in a draw. It also left Rathmore the winners of the Club Championship in Limbo, according to Mr Keogh but other than Austin Stacks delegate Brendan Reidy speaking on the motion, it was generally felt that the status quo should remain and the motion was heavily defeated.
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