Really disappointed to hear a 17 team hurling league of Div 3 & 4 teams. Complete nonsense. We now have seasoned Div 2 (last year) and IHC clubs playing against JHC teams in a league, including teams only recently formed. Some teams are going to get hammered. What purpose will that serve anyone? How will that develop players especially those who aspire to play county level, other than make them feel good? The Jim Nelson (a St Pauls stalwart) review of 3 years ago sought to create competitive leagues and did so successfully. You therefore had to fight for every point to gain promotion or survive in the league. In Div 3 the intensity of the hurling had to be maintained. They were working well. The St Pauls proposal bins that report. I understand that most Div 1 teams abstained from the vote. That is sad. In the county we should be seen as a hurling family all looking after each other for the betterment of hurling. Abstaining indicates total apathy for what goes on outside of the elite clubs. PS. Someone will come up with the brainwave to change the leagues next year to avoid teams getting scalped….

Changing Hurling leagues just before they are planned to start and after fixtures had been provide is unprofessional to say the least. Let's call this as it is, Div 3 and 4 have now been lumped together because Naomh Pól thought is was below themselves to play div 4 hurling. As a player in my later years with my own club Naomh Eanna we struggled to get out of div 4 , always seeming to be one game short of winning the league, we built the juvenile structures and over time it started to pay off, we got promoted to div 3 and won it in 2015, but the county restructured the league so no promotion to Div 2, last year we we fell just short of promotion to div 2, but felt senior hurling was going in the correct direction with reaching IMH final last year. Now due to county change of mind we are back at the bottom tier of Hurling in Antrim. Where there will be teams who are struggling to keep hurling alive getting beat by cricket scores. The new county board when lobbying support stated that it would be a level playing field for all, it seems to be that certain individuals in clubs, who wouldn't know one end of a Hurl from the other have homed there skills to manipulate county meetings, it is up to the county Chairperson to be the gate keeper for all clubs not just the boy's in the know? And for my final say , over the years as a club delegate and a club chairperson , i always thought the county convention was were these changes we mandated to take place , but i am sure one of the rule book brigade will be able to highlight some line in the official guide to prove me wrong.

redmick (Antrim) - Posts: 92 - 20/03/2017 13:03:50    1969066

the above were posted on the antrim website
whats peoples opinion on this ???
people have holidays booked as per original fixtures and will now be under pressure to change them when new fixtures do appear !!!
all this to accommodate a team that relegated last year !!!

redmick (Antrim) - Posts: 92 - 20/03/2017 14:17:43    1969104

There was nothing wrong with the leagues.
Ballinascreen pulled out of the 9 team
Div 3 which left 8 teams. 8 teams also
Div 1&2.
For some reason teams were moved up
to Div 3. Now everyone wants to play in different leagues.
Rules are rules. Why do they get changed?

hunchback (Antrim) - Posts: 56 - 22/03/2017 09:31:56    1969842

I heard leagues were changed because ballinascreen pulled out. 8 teams a division? Sure that would be over before April lol. Luxury in antrim having plenty of teams you should see our league in armagh

Rules_man (Armagh) - Posts: 152 - 22/03/2017 11:24:49    1969891

Leagues should never have been changed at this late stage - some clubs need to take a look at themselves.

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 24/03/2017 14:12:00    1970707

Rules_man (Armagh) - Posts: 152 - 25/03/2017 16:21:37    1970958

what is happening with this league .. everyone losing games expected to win .
some of bigger names like creggan and gort na mona (who both came from div 2 last year ) could even struggle to remain in div 3 section of this league never mind looking to get promotion

redmick (Antrim) - Posts: 92 - 28/06/2017 16:32:03    2006985