Underage Odd Ages Proposals
Monaghan GAA Proposal
In 2013, Monaghan GAA was the first county to bring a motion to Congress to reduce the age for minors from U18 to U17. This proposal met with considerable support at the time but the motion was not voted on at congress at that time.
At present, it is expected that a similar motion will be brought to Congress early in 2016 and this might then come into effect at the start of 2017.
There are already some changes coming into effect in 2016 (Rule 6.26):
A player on an inter-county minor panel shall not play in Adult league competitions/ challenge games until his inter-county activity for the year is concluded.
Also, at club level, there are additional changes to those who can play adult football.
From 1st Jan. 2016, the following changes shall apply to the Ages of Players playing Adult Games
– Club – be over 17 years
– Inter-County – be over 18 years
The advantages of playing “minor” at U17:
At present, players in their last year of Minors are often also in the process of completing their leaving certificate which puts a huge burden on these students especially when their exams coincide with the Ulster championship. This proposal would mean that most players would not be completing very important examinations as is typically the case at present.
Ultimately this would lead to less pressure on players and go some way towards reducing the prospect of player burnout and player injury
Moving to U17 would also mean that we reduce scheduling conflicts because U17s would no longer be allowed to play adult football
In Autumn 2015, Monaghan GAA was asked to participate in a 3 year pilot project which would see minor age reduced to U17. The intention is to assess the impact and detail of these changes within pilot projects from all four provinces.
After discussion at Youth Committee and Coiste Bainisti, it was suggested that we change our juvenile fixtures programme in stages over a two year period
2016: U15, U13, U11 are the primary age groups.
Go Games would also need to be adjusted
Possibility of an U16 competition in 2016 only
Feile remains at U14 => we must run a feile competition in 2016
Minor remains U18
U21 competition remains in place, with a discussion to take place via County Committee and CCC during the year about the best format for a competition above minor level
2017: Minor moves to U17 and becomes the responsibility of Youth Fixtures
U15, U13, U11 & Go Games remain as is
No U16 competition
Winners of 2016 championships at U13 level are nominated to be the U14 Feile representatives
2018: Final year of pilot with minimal changes unless deemed necessary
Overall, there is no expectation that the number of games available to any individual will change
Age eligibility will have to be adjusted based on the practices in other counties
Girls will now only be allowed to play up to U11
There is no proposal on the table at national level at present to change the U14 Feile competition
It is expected that Croke Park will review the U21 competition at inter county level but that an inter-county competition will be retained.
We are aware that there are other proposals being circulated which if accepted may bring this proposal into force for all counties even before the 3 year period is complete. So the question is whether we want to be progressive and implement these changes in advance or not.
A meeting will take place with all youth officers in Cloghan on Monday 11th January at 7.30pm to make a decision on this proposal. We would ask that each club nominates another person in advance if the Youth officer is unable to attend.
