Championship update 26/08/2020 – Further detail on Repeat Pairings

In order to avoid all doubt ahead of next weekend, this note is to provide detail on the cases in which a repeat pairing may be avoided in the quarter-finals of the County Championships in 2020.
It will not be possible to avoid repeat pairings at the semi-final stage, in order to preserve the integrity of the seeding system.
Please see NEW notes in bold and underlined below in addition to the procedures circulated last week.
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)
NEW: A repeat pairing is possible in the quarter finals in (a) 3v6 above. If this arises 3 will instead play 5 and 4 will play 6.
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*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)

NEW: A repeat pairing is possible in the quarter finals in (a) 2v5 and (b) 3v4 above. If either scenario arises, then team 2 will instead play team 4, and team 3 will play team 5.

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*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)
 
NEW: A repeat pairing is possible in all quarter finals here. If a repeat pairing occurs, the second team in the fixture will move down to the next fixture on the list, with group winners playing group runners up in all cases. If a repeat pairing occurs in the last quarter-final (d) (i.e. 4v5), then team 3 plays team 5 and team 4 plays team 6.
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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 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

Revamped Cork GAA fundraising campaign to boost Clubs and County

New “Rebels’ Bounty” to offer €500,000 in prizes to be shared across Cork

Clubs across Cork are set to benefit from a significant funding increase through a new mechanism designed to revamp the traditional clubs’ draw. The proposed new system, called the “Rebels’ Bounty”, is designed to maximise return to clubs and is part of the overall drive to raise revenue for reinvestment at local and county level. It will also give clubs an opportunity to generate funds at a time when traditional methods are restricted because of COVID-19.

Details of the new prize draw will be outlined to clubs for consideration in the next few weeks and Cork County Board is confident that it will provide all clubs with an opportunity to increase their funding through both direct and indirect investment. Due to the current restrictions on meetings, clubs will be briefed on the proposed format through a series of online webinars.

Enhanced prizes totalling €500,000 and a more progressive incentive scheme for clubs are set to form a significant part of the overhaul. The scheme is designed to ensure clubs get a fairer distribution of funding based on sales.

County Chairperson, Tracey Kennedy, said; “The traditional draw stood us well in the past, but we now have a great opportunity to enhance the offering, raise more revenue and deliver that increase back to the clubs. Consumer expectations have changed significantly in recent years, and this traditional fundraising drive is evolving to meet that expectation. The Rebels’ Bounty will give clubs an opportunity to make up some of the shortfall in fundraising because traditional ‘big-ticket’ events have been restricted by COVID-19. Our focus is on moving forward together, as a county, as clubs and as individual members. This is reflected in the new sponsorship deals which have been announced recently. Cork GAA does well when our clubs do well and we look forward to formally launching this new fundraising initiative in the weeks ahead.” 

Divisional/Colleges section finals

On Sunday evening, the Divisional/ College section finals of the Bons Secours Football and Co-op Superstores Hurling Championship will take place.

UCC will take part in both games with Duhallow providing the opposition in the football final and reigning County Champions Imokilly in the Hurling Final.

The prize for the winners of each section is a place in the Q-final of the County Championship

Covid Update

Following last night’s government announcement the GAA is seeking clarification on a number of issues relating to the organisation of Gaelic games and activities (26 Counties).
As soon as we get clarity on these issues we will update our units.
In the meantime, as games must now be played “behind closed doors”, no more than 40 persons per team should be allowed access to games for the moment. This figure should include all players, management, coaches, ancillary backroom personnel and team officials.
The 80 team personnel (40 per team) is in addition to essential match day personnel such as Match officials (Referees, Linesmen, Umpires), Media and event officials (stewards etc.)

While we await further clarification on the issue of parents attending juvenile games we suggest that one parent or guardian may attend a game where they consider it necessary for the welfare of their own child.

Cúl Camps and Team training should continue for the moment on the basis of no more than 15 people (including coaches) in a designated area of the field.

As ever, the Association asks units and members do their utmost to protect public health and we are very grateful for all of your efforts in this regard.

Is Muidne,

Tomás Ó Riain

Ard Stiúrthóir

Seán Ó hÓráin

Uachtarán