SOUTH GAA NOTES

CLUB LIMERICK DRAW : Limerick GAA have a great exclusive star prize this April, the Draw is on Saturday 24th. April. just in time for those long summer evenings! Support the Club Limerick Draw and be in with a chance to win a fabulous Weber Spirit II E-320 GBS Gas Barbecue PLUS €250 worth of free utensils, in association with Tadhg O’Connor Hardware Newcastle West. Log onto limerickgaa.ie/club-limerick-draw to join today or reach out to any Club committee member.

RETURN TO PLAY : We are getting there! The GAA have announced a revised Master Fixtures Calendar for 2021…the inter-county season will run from the weekend of May 8th/9th to August 28th/29th, with the County and Provincial Club Championships being played in the months of September, October, November, and December. Of course, all of this is dependent on virus numbers being manageable, but for the first time in a many months, there is optimism – seeing our all our clubs with gates open and people playing, and especially young people back out in the open air with their friends, it will be worth the wait.

2021 League and Championships – Revised Overview (April 2021)
Preparation window and games provisions:
Return to collective Senior inter county training on April 19th.

No return dates yet, for collective inter county minor or U20 training – current exemptions only relate to Senior level.

Below provisions guarantee a minimum of 5 games for each Senior County Football and Hurling team (all bar 3 counties guaranteed 6 games in Hurling)

Objective – balance
Ensuring sufficient games at inter-county
League v Championship
Club window (2020 and 2021)
Inter county completed by end of August

Original Programme announced in December – 27 weeks; new programme is 20 weeks
Allianz Leagues
Football:

Run from May 15th/16th to potential League finals weekend on June 19th/20th.
Divisions will be split into North and South as planned in December.
4 teams in each group – based on geography.
3 Round Robin games per team.
Top two in each Divisional group to league semis, followed by league final*.

Bottom two in each Divisional group to Relegation semis – losers (2) relegated.
Bottom teams in Division 4 to Shield semi and final.
Changes to what was originally announced:
London will not be participating.

League finals will only be played (on June 19th/20th) if Counties involved are not playing in the Championship on the following weekend.
In that circumstance, Div 1 – joint winners; Div 2, 3, 4 – joint winners and promotion.

Hurling:
Div 1 and 2 Counties were asked if they were happy to return after 3 weeks on the basis that 5 league games could be guaranteed or after 4 weeks if only 3 games could be guaranteed – overwhelming majority opted for a return after 3 weeks.
Thus Division 1 and 2 will start on 8th/9th May – Division 3 the following week.
Div 1a and 1b: As announced in December – remain round robin groups of 6
No quarter or semi-finals.
NO DIVISION 1 HURLING LEAGUE FINAL scheduled – there will be either joint winners for 2021, or if the teams that win Div 1a and Div 1b meet in the Championship, this will double as a League Final.

Hurling League Relegation play off to be played as curtain raiser to Senior Hurling Semi Final in August.

Divisions 2 and 3 will not have league finals – top team in each Division will be crowned champions of that Division. Bottom team in 2a, 2b and 3a will be the relegated team.

British based teams will not be involved in the Allianz Leagues. London and Warwickshire will start 2022 in Divisions 2b and 3a respectively; Lancashire in 3b.

2021 Football Championships
Provincial knock-out Championships
• No Qualifiers
• New York and London NOT involved
• No Tailteann Cup in 2021

2021 Liam Mac Carthy Cup
Provincial knock-out Championships with back-door qualifier system (as in 2020) but with introduction of relegation (to Mc Donagh Cup).
• There will be 11 teams in Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2021.

. Munster – Limerick, Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Cork.
. Leinster – Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, Dublin, Laois, Antrim

There will be a preliminary round in the qualifiers between the two defeated Quarter- final teams in Leinster.

Winners progress to Qualifiers Rd 1 – Losers to Mc Donagh Cup 2022.

2021 McDonagh Cup and 2021 Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cups No semi-finals in Mc Donagh Cup is only change from what was proposed in December.
• Mc Donagh Cup winners are promoted in 2021 but do not have a back door into Liam Mac Carthy.
• Mc Donagh Cup and LSHC Final to be on Saturday, 17th July (to ensure Live TV coverage of Mc Donagh Cup final).
• If Kerry wins the 2021 Mc Donagh Cup, they will play in Leinster in 2022 and replace the relegated team from the LSHC.

2020 Minor and U20 Hurling, and Minor Football and 2021 U20 Football and Hurling, Minor Football and Hurling
Details will be finalized when there is clarity on a return to training/play date.

2021 Club Window Provisions

Important to note that we still do not have permission to return to club training or games yet (only training in pods of 15 allowed in the North)
However, calendar is set up in such a way that:

Club competitions with county players can take place as County teams exit the Championships (in football, teams start exiting from the end of June; in Hurling July 10th) [RESTRICTIONS PERMITTING]

From August 1st, all Counties bar All Ireland Semi-Finalists in Football and Hurling, and the teams in the Div 1 Hurling Relegation play off, will be free to stage club competitions with county players. [RESTRICTIONS PERMITTING]

Additionally, the commencement of the Provincial Club Championships will be delayed until Mid-November.

Provinces have been requested to ensure Clubs from teams in the senior inter-county All Ireland Semi-finals and Finals will not be involved in the earliest round of the relevant Provincial Championship (where possible).

Senior Provincial Club Championship will most likely start in or around the weekend of Nov 20/21 (dates to be finalized by each Provincial Council).
All Ireland Senior Club Finals are provisionally scheduled for the weekend of February 12th/13th 2022.

REMINDER GARDA VETTING : With a return to play on the horizan, it is very important to note that any person who carries out a role of responsibility such as coaching, managing or training underage teams or indeed adult teams that contain any player under 18 years. of age, MUST be Garda Vetted. It also applies to organising underage activities or refereeing underage games. It is a criminal offence, for a person acting on behalf of the GAA, to commence working with children without that person first obtaining a vetting disclosure. To complete the vetting procedure, please go to www.gaa.ie/news/vetting