Cork GAA announce free year for Premium seat holders

Cork GAA are pleased to announce that a complementary year of action will be granted to all premium seat holders at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, in lieu of the effects of Covid-19 global pandemic on the 2020 programme at the stadium.

CEO Kevin O’Donovan stated, “While our club championships this year have been one of our best ever, it has been tinged with regret that you our loyal supporters have not gained significant access to games. 

On the day that marks Cork winning the All-Ireland hurling final 30 years ago we would like to inform you that we are delighted to extend premium tickets in Páirc Uí Chaoimh by a year in compensation for a summer lost to Covid-19.”

“As we look forward to the imminent return of our inter-county teams to action and as the club programme reaches a crescendo, we recognise the phenomenal contribution of our premium seat holders over the last few years. It has been a shame that our beautiful stadium laid empty for the summer months this year, therefore we hope that this gesture will bring some consolation in hope of better days in 2021 and beyond for our supporters.

None of us could have expected to see our gates closed to spectators and seats lying idle.  However we must do what is in the best interest of the public and await confirmation from the authorities on when we can safely re-open to spectators.   

We look forward to an inter-county season to rival 1990 and to welcoming our supporters back to the Páirc when it is safe to do so”. 

Cork Kelloggs Cúl Camps a major success

Rebel Óg Coaching organised 24 regional Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camps through July and August catering for 3000 children between the ages of 6 and 13. The camp venues were strategically placed to allow children from as many areas as possible attend and were expertly led by our GDA’s. With the exception of some weather interruptions the camps are being hailed as a major success. Additional measures were in place around sanitation and compliance with Covid 19 guidelines with parents and children exercising great patience around the measures. The image of children kicking football, striking sliothars  and having loads of fun was great to see given the lack of activity so far in 2020.
Rebel Óg Coaching are very grateful to all the clubs who gave up their club grounds to facilitate the running of the camps and to all the coaches who implemented a huge programme of fun and engaging activities for all the children.
Special mention must also go to the very successful  8 club run Cúl Camps in August catering for 500 children. The coordinators involved put in huge work to ensure the camps were compliant with Covid 19 guidelines and enjoyable for the children.
It is hoped that Cork clubs will be able to run a full programme of camps in 2021 similar to that of 2019 where 120 camps took place

Cork GAA Championship Update 17/08/2020

Firstly, on behalf of Cork County Committee we wish to express our sincere gratitude to all involved in the 2020 Bon Secours Football and Co-op Superstores Hurling Championships over the past month.
The programme of games completed under difficult circumstances has represented a spectacular volunteer movement and has involved teams, host venues, referees, sponsors, mentors, officers and officials all playing a significant part. This is in addition to an even greater programme of games at divisional and underage level which have been a tribute to the spirit of coordination and cooperation across all organising committees.
While the precarious situation at societal level resulting from Covid-19 means that the progression of competitions continues on a cautious note, we will continue to proceed in compliance with HSE and GAA guidelines.
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Please note the following updates from the County CCC in regard to the 2020 Championships:
Updated tables for all championships can now be found online:
The following table outlines the schedule for the remaining rounds as previously circulated.

Date 

Guidelines / Fixtures 

Senior & Intermediate Hurling (5 grades) 

Senior & Intermediate Football (4 grades) 

Divisional Junior A / B / C (8 divisions) 

Tues / Wed Aug 18/19th 

Divisions / Colleges semi-finals

H semi-final

F semi-finals

Aug 21st-23rd 

Club Free weekend / Divisions & Colleges Finals

H Final

F Final

Divisional

Aug 28th-30th 

Club Championship w/e 5

H Group III

Divisional

Sept 4th-6th 

Club Championship w/e 6

F Group III

Divisional

Sept 11th-13th 

Club Championship w/e 7

Quarter-finals & Relegation p/o

Divisional

Mon Sept 14th 

Inter-county training resumes 

  

  

  

Sept 18th-20th 

Club Championship w/e 8

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals & Rel. p/o

Divisional

Sept 25th-27th 

Club Championship w/e 9

Semi-finals

Divisional

Oct 2nd-4th 

Club Championship w/e 10

Finals

County QF H & F

Oct 9th-11th 

Club Championship w/e 11

Finals (alternative)

County QF H & F
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Final weekend of group stages

Fixtures for Round III of both the Co-op Superstores Hurling (Aug 28th-30th) and the Bon Secours Football Championships (Sept 5th-6th) as ratified by the CCC are attached in both PDF and Excel formats.
All games within a particular grade, for example the Premier Senior Hurling Championship, will be played simultaneously to ensure fairness. Therefore, it will not be possible to facilitate individual club requests in regard to scheduling due to the requirement for rigid throw-in times.
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Play-off Placings and Formats
All efforts have been made to make every result, every score and indeed every shot count in this year’s championships.
With this in mind, the draws for the play-off stages outlined below reflect the standard 1v8, 4v5, 2v7, 3v6 seeded play-off format. Thus, every team will have something to play for on the final weekend, as their final placing will determine their route for the remainder of the championship. This is reflected in the formats outlined below.
Repeat pairings will be avoided at the quarter-final stage of all championships, where possible.

All knock-out games will be finish on the day, where necessary and as decided by the CCC. 

 
Qualification to semi-finals / quarter-finals
 

Two teams will progress from each group of four to the play-off stages. This will result in six teams qualifying for the play-off stages in most competitions*, with the two top group winners qualifying for the semi-finals and the remaining group winner and the three second -placed teams qualifying for the quarter-finals. 

 
Teams (1-6) will be ranked as follows on completion of the group stages:
  1. Top Group winner
  2. Second Group winner
  3. Third Group winner
  4. Top Group runner-up
  5. Second Group runner-up
  6. Third Group runner up
Quarter-finals: (a) 3v6, (b) 4v5
Semi-finals: 1 v (b), 2 v (a)
*Modification to above (i)

In the Premier Senior Hurling and Football Championships, only the top group winner will qualify for the semi-finals, with the remaining two group winners, the three second-placed teams and the divisions / colleges winner qualifying for the three quarter-finals.

 
Teams (1-6) will be ranked as follows on completion of the group stages:
  1. Top Group winner
  2. Second Group winner
  3. Third Group winner
  4. Top Group runner-up
  5. Second Group runner-up
  6. Third Group runner up
Quarter-finals: (a) 2v5,  (b) 3v4,  (c) 6 v Divisions / Colleges winner
Semi-finals: 1 v (b), (a) v (c)
 
 
*Modification to above (ii)
In Intermediate A football Championship there are four groups of four, so the top two from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, where group winners will play a group runner up from another group.
Teams (1-8) will be ranked as follows on completion of the group stages:
  1. Top Group winner
  2. Second Group winner
  3. Third Group winner
  4. Fourth Group winner
  5. Top Group runner-up
  6. Second Group runner-up
  7. Third Group runner up
  8. Fourth Group runner-up
Quarter-finals: (a) 1v8, (b) 2v7, (c) 3v6, (d) 4v5
Semi-finals: (a) v (d), (b) v (c)
Relegation
The relegation final will be a straight play-off between the two lowest ranked teams*(in terms of points won and scoring difference) amongst the three bottom placed teams from the groups. There will be no round robin. 
*Modification to above (i)

In the Intermediate A Hurling Championship, two teams will be relegated as per the format approved last year (in “italics” below) in order to facilitate the promotion of the 2021 County Junior A winners straight to Intermediate A. Therefore, a round robin between the bottom teams in each group will be required in this case.

“At the end of 2020, one team will be relegated from the new Lower Intermediate grade (5th grade). However, the Junior A winners from 2020 will go straight to Intermediate A (4th grade) along with Lower Intermediate winner (5th grade), with two teams relegated from Intermediate A (4th grade) to Lower Intermediate (5th grade).  

*Modification to above (ii)
In Intermediate A football Championship there are four groups of four, so the relegation final will be a straight play-off between the two lowest ranked teams (in terms of points won and scoring difference) amongst the four bottom placed teams from the groups.
Placings as per Rule 6.21
Placing within groups in terms of both qualification and relegations will be determined as per general rule, follows:
  • if two teams are tied, it will be based on the head-to-head result
  • if three or more teams are tied, it will be based on scoring difference
Placing across groups will be determined by scoring difference.

Cork County Board Announces Championship Match Arrangements

Cork County Board has announced that a new online ticketing system is being rolled out to safeguard all involved in upcoming county championship games. “This system will ensure minimal contact, safe regulation of numbers at venues and ease of contact tracing in the event of a Covid-19 case”, said county chairperson, Tracey Kennedy, today.
“Full details of the Ticketmaster/Universe system recommended by the GAA will be outlined to clubs early next week, and look forward to seeing it in operation next weekend,” she continued. “While operating our games with a limit of 200 in attendance is a huge challenge, we have worked hard to develop an allocation system that is as fair as possible. However, it is absolutely vital for the safe operation of our games that no-one turns up without the appropriate ticket. Everyone from players to host club members to spectators must have a ticket from the online system.”
“Arrangements for the allocation of these tickets have been sent to clubs today, along with details of priority arrangements for club season ticket and premium ticket holders, who have already paid for their tickets and will have access to the ticketing system twenty-four hours ahead of everyone else.”
“Unfortunately, the 200 limit means that we will have a maximum of 80 tickets available for supporters when teams and officials, host venue staff, media and other essential personnel are covered. These will be offered to season/premium ticket holders initially, with the remainder divided evenly between the participating clubs, and anything left after that will go on general sale.”
“A number of our games will be broadcast live on TG4 and RTE, and we will be confirming the streaming of some games in due course. I know our local media will also do a fantastic job in bringing us details of as many games as possible,” said Kennedy. “This situation is far from ideal, but in this new Covid-19 world, we are getting accustomed to making adjustments, and I am sure people will understand the restrictions under which we have to operate.”
“Once more, I would appeal to supporters not to attend games unless they have purchased a ticket via the online system, which will go live early next week, and to follow all GAA and public health guidance for attending games.”

Arrangements for County Championship Games – Key Points

  1. Attendance at all games will be by ticket only.
    1. Tickets must be pre-purchased online via Ticketmaster/Universe (details to follow). We appeal to patrons not to turn up at any venue without a ticket.
    2. There will be no sale of tickets at venues.
    3. No cash sales are permitted.
    4. Anyone inside the ground at a game must have a ticket, including players, stewards, media etc (see point 2 below). Children of any age must have a ticket. No-one can be admitted to the ground without a valid ticket for each individual game.
    5. Season ticket/premium ticket/media passes can only be used in conjunction with a ticket (see point 2 below).
    6. Tickets will be scanned via mobile phone app at all venues (more details to follow).
    7. Tickets are priced at €8 for all round-robin games; no concessions are available.
  2. Ticket allocation
    1. Tickets will be allocated on the online system via individual or group codes which will be provided in advance.
    2. Participating teams and officials: 40 tickets each.
    3. Host venue/stewards/referees and officials/media etc 40 tickets allocated by the Cork GAA office.
    4. A maximum of 80 spectator tickets will be available while the 200 restriction applies.
    5. Season ticket/premium ticket holders have already paid for their tickets, and will have priority access to the online system for 24 hours before everyone else ahead of each round of games (they will be notified when this access is opened) in which to download a ticket for games they wish to attend, subject to certain limitations.
    6. Remaining tickets for each game will be offered to the participating clubs in equal amounts for optional online purchase.
    7. Subsequent to this, in the event that any of the 80 spectator tickets remain, they will be put on general sale online.
    8. It is expected that ahead of next weekend’s games, the priority window for season/premium ticket holders will be activated over the weekend, any club spectator allocation will be made available on Monday or Tuesday, and any remaining tickets will go on general sale later in the week.
  3. Broadcasting/Streaming of Games
    1. A number of County Championship games will be televised by TG4 and RTE.
    2. A number of County Championship games will be live-streamed – further details to follow.
    3. As always, any live streaming of games by clubs or individuals is not permitted.
    4. Requirements in relation to permission to video games are in place as normal.
  4. Match Arrangements
    1. The CCC has formally adopted the Croke Park match regulations to apply to all games in the Cork county championships – these have already been sent to clubs.
    2. Any public health issues arising during the championships will be examined on a case-by-case basis by the CCC in line with national GAA and HSE guidance.
    3. As previously communicated, dressing rooms and all other indoor facilities apart from toilets remain closed.
    4. All public health and GAA guidance for attending events should be followed by anyone attending a game in any capacity.
Thank you all in advance for your co-operation with these arrangements.

Cork GAA Statement

Cork County Board has been informed by Glanworth GAA that a player has tested positive for Covid 19. The club has implemented the GAA guidelines on dealing with a positive case, which have been issued to all clubs. The Competitions Control Committee will meet in due course, following consultation with Croke Park, to consider the implications, if any, for county competitions. Further details will issue if necessary.