Central Council offer three age grade options

By Damien Maher

The long-running saga that is the GAA age grades continues to raise debate and only last week, the GAA’s Central Council decided that counties will now have three options for the year ahead.

There was a general feeling that this would be dealt with at the next GAA Congress, but a decision was taken by the GAA’s most powerful committee on Saturday January 28 and it is now GAA policy. Basically, counties can now choose to stay as they are, with one age grade between under 17 and adult level, or choose from two further options.

They may run their competitions at even ages (under 12, 14, 16 and 18), with under 18s not permitted to play at adult level. Counties opting for this would also have to organise another competition between under 18 and adult football or hurling.

The final option (option 3) is for counties to return to even age grades, with one further grade to be organised before adult level. Significantly, in this option, the 18-year-old, with their parents/guardians consent, may train for the adult team after March 1. In this instance, the player, their parents/guardians and the club executive must sign an agreement.

The GAA’s rules Task Force committee is also recommending that any under 18 player should leave 60 hours (or two and a half days) between under 18 and adult games. The county’s fixture committees would be required to facilitate this.

Westmeath has already decided to support the move for a return to under 18 competitions, with decoupling (i.e. players at under 18 not permitted to play adult football or hurling). However, that was on the understanding that the issue would be voted on at this year’s GAA Congress: the Central Council decision may well have thrown a spanner in the works.

Westmeath made their decision in recent months without the benefit of GAA policy, but the Central Council decision has reopened the debate. Westmeath will have to decide whether they run with policy this year, which they can, or wait until 2024.

Raharney’s Declan Weir, who spoke on the issue at the December meeting of the Westmeath County Committee, has welcomed the Central Council decision and feels there should now be a change for 2023 instead of postponing for a year.

“It’s great that we are going to have this discussion and that the GAA are willing to offer change because the under 17 grade simply wasn’t working. I could see that on the ground: we in this club were not in favour of the move and we’d certainly welcome a return to the traditional age grades of under 12 - under 18,” he said.

“I would like to see the change happen now. It’s early enough to be accommodated and I don’t see the value in waiting.”

Mr Weir feels an age grade between under 18 and adult level is also required and he agrees that clubs need to focus on managing the transition between minor and adult level. There is what he referred to as a “grey zone” and players can fall through the cracks and never end up playing at adult level.

“I have seen it too often where players, just out of minor, are thrown at adult level and you end up losing them. We have countless examples. There is the exception; in our case it was Killian Doyle; but in general, players do need to be managed better and clubs have a big responsibility in that regard,” he remarked.

The matter is most likely to come up for discussion at the next County Committee Meeting in February.