Am I right in saying that in Kilkenny they combine the league and championship in to 1 competition?
The league has 2 groups of 6 where the top 4 from each group progress to the championship quarter finals. And the bottom 2 from each group go into relegation play offs? If so that means a minimum 6 club games a year and a max of 8 (unless you win it and go into Leinster)
If im correct with that what do the ordinary club players not on the county team do for games the rest of the year 6 to 8 games is nothing
Wrong on couple of counts. That's how they run their championship but they also have a league separate to this. All 12 teams enter the knock-out stages as follows (I think!)... top 2 teams in each group go into quarters...3v4 and 5v6 crossover in the first round to give the other 4 quarter-finalists. The relegation catch is that the 2 losers of the 5v6 crossovers play each other to determine who is relegated. Another clever strand is that the team's not playing in the first round(top 2 in each group) play a 'final' of sorts on the same weekend as the first round proper so that all clubs/players are playing at the same time.
I think their intermediate is similarly structured. This exclusivity to being senior and even intermediate means that their intermediate and junior champions are very strong for the all-Ireland club series every year. For example, the 31st ranked county in Tipp is senior (I think they have 32 senior clubs?) yet in KK the 25th ranked club is junior.
I'd love to see us adopt that system in Clare. While we are moving from 20 to 16 senior clubs, I think 12 would be better again. If a club is good enough long-term, they'll come up the ranks. In KK, Bennetsbridge were a once dominant club but now on the back of good underage, they're on the way back up. Similarly for Clara. Senior clubs fight tooth and nail to stay senior once they get there, so every game is vital- to win the championship you have to play 8 or 9 high intensity games, which is great for players of club and county standard alike. It also helps in terms of agreeing upon a suitable arrangement for county players being let play with their clubs.
Nothing is perfect but it's a brilliant system, and I think one of the different strands that when woven together create a platform for KK to succeed at county level.
Okay so the way it works is the 12 are divided to 2 groups and they play 5 matches and from there the championship is formatted. Top 2 go into the league final, 2nd two go into the shield final and the bottom 4 goes into the relegation semis. You win the semi and you go through to the 2nd round of championship, and there you can meet anyone.
So you play a minimum of six matches and a max of 9 in league and championship. There is a secondary league called the Byrne Cup which is played without the county players and is run on the odd weeks, i.e. the weeks where county may be playing. It's a great structure and it means that there is a freshness and hunger amongst all players and also leaves good time for the football championship
KKid and the Clare contributor pretty much summed it up there. KKid may have made one small error or did not make it totally clear but I will attempt to summarise also.
2 groups of 6 playing 5 matches each. At the end of these matches the next round of fixtures is decided as follows:
Section 1: Game 1 - League Final - Group 1 Winner V Group 2 Winner Game 2 - Shield Final - Group 1 Runner Up V Group 2 Runner Up
Section 2: Game 3 - 1st Round - Group 1 Third Place V Group 2 Fourth Place Game 4 - 1st Round - Group 1 Fourt Place V Group 2 Third Place Game 5 - 1st Round / Relegation Semi - Group 1 Fifth Place V Group 2 Sixth Place Game 6 - 1st Round / Relegation Semi - Group 1 Sixth Place V Group 2 Fifth Place
Next Phase Quarter Final - Winners of Games 3/4/5/6 V Any Team from Section 1 Games 1 & 2 (Teams in Section 1 and Section 2 are separated in the quarter final)
Relegation Final - Runners Up Game 5 V Runners Up Game 6 (Obviously, the losers of this match are relegated)
Semi Final - Open Draw between the winners of the quarter finals
I hope that summarises thing properly. This system is in place at senior and intermediate and works very well. Every match is very important. Teams can often finish bottom on 4 points with the top team on 8 points. Every team is involved in the championship end of the year (nobody knocked out during the league and teams in relegation trouble can still win the championship).
As KKid says, there is an additional league for fellas that are not playing with the county. This keeps fellas hurling and gives clubs like Ballyhale a chance to look at fellas on the edge of the team.