Wexford GAA have voted to change its club championship structures…
For the last four years, Wexford GAA had operated its own split season.
It meant that the Wexford hurling championship was ran off over an eight week block, followed by the Wexford football championship being run off over a similar period.
The structures came in for criticism for the fast-paced environment and the quick turn around for matches. Likewise, it was difficult for teams to prepare – and if a player received an injury, they could be out for the whole of the championship. Another criticism was that the structure of the Wexford hurling championship did not give the Wexford hurling champions a just opportunity to compete in the Leinster stages of the competition, as the break away from hurling was too long.
At last night’s (Thursdays) County Board meeting, Wexford GAA overwhelmingly voted to return to playing the Wexford championships over alternate weeks.
This means that hurling and football will be played over alternative blocks of two or three weeks, similar to what Wexford GAA originally had pre-Covid.
Meanwhile, there has been a change to the Wexford hurling championship, as recommended by the Wexford hurling advisory committee, led by former player, Adrian Fenlon. Two groups of six will remain, however, the 5th and 6th placed teams in each group will play each other in a preliminary quarter-final, with the loser of this game going into a relegation final. Interestingly, it means that a team may lose five matches in a row, come last in the group, but could still win the Wexford Senior Hurling championship.
With the competitiveness of the Wexford hurling championship, that scenario would not even be surprising either.
