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GAA Congress 2008

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:40 pm
by midfield
Lads, how do you get a motion to National Congress. I have something that i would like my local club to submit for next year. When does it have to be in by and then does it have to be passed at county board level and provincial level in order to get to the national congress or after county level does it just go there directly?

Interesting to see the motion below from Tipp about ages players have to be to play adult hurling and football. Id say it will affect a lot of smaller clubs. Similiar motion to Kilcormacs AGM discussion last year about girls playing on Boys teams.

Costigan backs down in player eligibility debate

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexami ... qqg=sport-
q
qqm=sport-qqqa=sport-qqqid=60184-qqqx=1.asp

By Jim O'Sullivan
ONE of the more interesting motions debated at the week-end GAA Congress
came at the very end of the Saturday session and, through an oversight,
wasn't even included in the agenda. Dealing with the topical issue with
the age eligibility of young players for the various championship
grades, it came from Tipperary. And, according to board chairman John
Costigan it was "about the survival" of 25 clubs in the county.

They proposed, for instance, that a player would have to be over 16 on
January 1 to play senior, over 15 at the same time to play under-21, and
over 13 to play minor. However, there was widespread opposition to the
principle of young players "playing away outside their age groups" and
Mayo delegate Paddy Muldoon suggested the solution was to reduce team
sizes to 11 or 13-a-side. "We don't have a right to neglect our duty of
care and engage in what has been referred to as juvenile mismanagement,"
he said.

Sensing the growing opposition, Costigan withdrew the motion.

Much earlier, Congress gave strong backing to a proposal from the Rules
Book Task Force that, in relation to girls playing in boys teams, the
best legal and medical advice was that they should not do so beyond age
12.

Limerick chairman Liam Lenihan expressed a concern that this would
affect primary schools, but was informed the regulation would not apply
in this sector - or in respect of wheelchair-bound boys and girls whose
ages range as high as 20.

Other than the Wicklow motion which successfully achieved a return to
the old qualifier system in football (with almost unanimous acclaim),
one of the more interesting discussions took place on a Laois proposal
banning the filling of trophies with alcohol. This was also agreed, but
not before President Nickey Brennan raised the issue of how it would be
monitored.

Addressing delegates he said: "You are the officers, take
responsibility. There's nothing wrong with taking a drill out and
putting a hole in the cup. I have seen it plenty of times."

There was widespread support for a Kilkenny motion calling for helmets
to be compulsory in all hurling grades from 2010 onwards. It was time to
"take the final step", said chairman Paul Kinsella, pointing out it was
already mandatory at under-21 level.

New regulations governing the movement of players overseas in the summer
months were agreed. The maximum number of sanctioned players permitted
to any club in the North American board area will be 18, but clubs will
also be able to avail of the services of players who have a valid J1
Visa as well as a sanction.

In the case of the Canadian and New York boards the maximum number of
sanctioned players allowed will be 10 and six respectively.

* It was agreed that over a three-year trial period, no member of a
senior inter-county panel whose team is knocked out of the championship
will be permitted to go and play in the North American board area in the
same season.