MORE than 35 clubs who have qualified to play in the latter stages of the respective 2020 national and provincial camogie championships have come together to write to the sport’s governing body (Ardchomhairle) asking for a window to complete the 2020 season across all grades including senior, intermediate, junior, junior B and Ulster's Bridie McMenamin competitions.
On May 1 Ardchomhairle had set out a fixtures’ plan that incorporated completion of the championships, but, following pressure from the GPA who wanted to complete the inter-county season before the club season could begin, that plan was put to a vote and rejected, 53 per cent to 47 per cent, in favour of a split season.
That decision effectively meant that the 2020 club campaigns would have to be shelved and this has upset the clubs who were hoping to complete last season.
In their letter seeking to Ardchomhairle, the clubs involved stated: "The ordinary club and its players are the heartbeat of the association, but recent decisions and events have clearly shown that they and their legitimate concerns have come secondary to the demands of the inter-county players.
"The players involved have continued their individual training programmes despite the difficulties of the pandemic, with the expectation that the provincial and All-Ireland series would be resumed and completed, and for some this might be the only opportunity that they get to compete at that level.
"Those dedicated players have been told repeatedly, since last October and no later than Saturday 1 May, that the club championship would go ahead as planned.”
In Ulster the provincial final, another head-to-head between Loughgiel and Slaughtneil, is the only senior club fixture left.
In Intermediate, it is Eglish v Clonduff. However in Junior, Junior B and the Bridie McMenamin Shiled there are respectively six, four and eight clubs remaining.
Loughgiel team manager PJ O’Mullan said yesterday that his club very much wants to complete the season.
“Firstly, we have been told all along, and as late as May 1st that the competition would be completed and have been preparing for that. We have played at this level for a few years now, but other clubs are catching up with us in Antrim and we don’t know if these girls will ever get another chance to play at that level.
“Up until now the latter stages of the club championship ran at the same time as the National League and counties released their player for the clubs.
“The clubs have suggested a window for the fixtures to be played.”
Slaughtneil changed their management team earlier this year, Michael McCullough heading the new set up. Damian McEldowney who had headed the previous very successful set up told the Irish News yesterday.
“We stepped down around January time when it seemed clear to us that the Ulster final would not be played immediately. We also wanted to leave room for the new management to get their preparation down for the season.”
McCullough admitted that he had been contacted, but that his focus was on preparing the team for the season ahead.
In a response issued yesterday, the Camogie Associaiton acknowledged that there was considerable disappointment that it was not possible to complete the 2020 campaigns, but that it was not feasible to accommodate all the games needed.
They also outlined that the constraints in respect of the schedule adapted by the nationwide poll were outlined to clubs in documentation sent to them and that the sequencing of the year was agreed by clubs.
