The Kilkenny District league held its AGM Thursday night in Springhill Court Hotel.
A breakdown of cost started the evening, while also proposing a new fee structure for teams across various grades and divisions. For example, the current cost of registration of a team in the junior ranks is set at €700 and has now been touted to raise by €50 for the 23/24 campaign.
Looking at motions put forth for discussion amongst the 45 in attendance. is important to note that for any motion to pass it needs 2/3rds of the vote from those in attendance, with each club allowed a maximum of three votes per motion however each vote must be in person.
Motion 1 Result – B Team rule – Defeated
The main motion discussed involved three teams submitting a change to the rule 36C which states:
For a club with teams in separate divisions, when a player has played 6 League games for the A team he is no longer to play for the B team.
Motions were put forth by Castlewarren Celtic and St. Johns to amend this rule to state each team should be treated as a separate entity for all competitive fixtures with Kilkenny & District league jurisdiction. Any exchange of players between teams within the same club shall be subject to the same transfer regulations as any player wishing to swap teams. Freshford also alluded to this, however, proposed a maximum of two games for players and the possibility of regrading.
Tullaroan outlined their support of the rule and outlined their own experiences particularly when it came to the last game of the season where they faced of against the Evergreen C team. Overall it was felt amongst the clubs in favor of the rule that this will help competitiveness within the lower divisions.
However, representatives from Thomastown and Evergreen highlighted the need to allow players the possibility to move between squads, as a means to help promote B-team players and for general overall player development.
It was deemed that Castlewarren Celtics and St. Johns motions were similar and shall be voted in together, while Freshfords motion would receive a different vote.
23/22 – St. Johns and Castlewarren’s vote combined won the majority vote but did not have 2/3rds.
26/20 – Freshford motion for 2 players won but did not have 2/3rds vote.
Motion 2 – Automatic byes – Null & Void
A proposal was put forth that any team that receives a first-round bye will be automatically entered into the draw to play a game in the next round and shall not be eligible for another automatic bye. This was done in response to last year’s McCalmont Cup.
This motion was not voted on, as it seems to already be a rule, that was accidentally overlooked by the fixture committee last season.
Motion 3 – Points and withdrawal of teams – Defeated
A review of rule 63C was put forward by Castlewarren Celtic:
In the event of any Club or Clubs finding it impossible to continue to participate in the League Competition, their resignation should be tendered in writing to the Hon. Sec. of the League. If the said club shall have completed 1/3 or more of their League fixtures their records in the League Table shall stand, and points for unplayed matches to be credited to other clubs as they accrue. If they shall not have completed 1/3 of their League fixtures their record shall be expunged from the League Table.
Castlewarren highlighted an occasion in which they played a team and were two points ahead of them on the day. Castlewarren won the fixture, picked up three points yet finished one point behind their opponents by the end of the day. Despite being five points clear, the withdrawal of a separate team from the league, awarded six points to their opponents who had yet to face off against the withdrawing team. Castlewarren obtained 4 points from home and away fixtures played against the withdrawing team.
Concerns around a team just withdrawing from the league at a whim, which could cost a team in the running for the league titles were given as criticism towards the proposal.
The motion then outlined how all the points of withdrawing the team should be expunged, however, this did not receive a majority vote, let alone 2/3rds of the 45 people in attendance.
Motion 4 – Provisional Fixture List – Defeated
Freshford proposed a full-season provisional fixture list be provided ahead of the campaign.
The club felt like a roadmap of the season ahead would help players plan their year, add structure, and stop situations that saw Freshford having to withdraw from a Divisional Cup Final due to being unable to fulfill a team.
Miller Coughlan stated that it may be possible to provide fixtures up to 60 days in advance but that a full fixture list could not be provided. No vote was made in relation to this.
Schoolboys/girls Motion 1- Under 18 League – Passed
Lions AFC proposed an under-18 league to replace the u17/18 league structure.
The club felt the current model has not worked for a long time, with leagues starting too late and then feeling rushed at the end. There were some against the rule change due to some feeling a step up from under 17 to under 18 may be a bridge too far for some teams.
For 33 members passed the motion for an Under 18 league next season, however, the full motion pertaining to the removal of Under 17 and Under 19 leagues will be reviewed at the next AGM
Schoolboys/girls Motion 2- Rolling Subs – Passed
Lions also outlined the need for the introduction of rolling subs for Schoolboys/girls up to under 18 leave.
This received a lesser amount of debate, with 35 people making up the 2/3rds of the votes needed.
Other Business
There was a lot more discussed in the nearly two-hour meeting:
It was stated that a set of competition rules is to be published on the website with clubs getting a chance to look at it before the council meeting
Fines for red cards and managers sending offs next season were discussed after ill-discipline was highlighted as being an issue last year. It was stated by some clubs it may be beneficial to bring in members of the referees association to chat with teams, as it was stressed by clubs that respect needs to go both ways.
Donie Butler joined the AGM to announce the fact that he will no longer be a trustee of the organization. Donie has been involved in the scene in Kilkenny since the late 50’s and gave a lovely speech before he headed off into the sunset. See below to find out more about the book Donie is working on, looking at the history of soccer within Kilkenny.
See also: A new book set to be released looking at “History of soccer in Kilkenny & District 1893-2020”
Immediately after it was stated the league will be looking at ways to modernize. This includes the hope that the organization would become a Company Limited by Guarantee. Chairperson Rob Higton outlined that this would be a cost and time-effective measure to secure the feature of the league and help with improvements in Derdimus Park. While some issues have to be ironed out, these will be discussed at a later date.
Attention was called to the lack of participation in the End of Year awards from clubs. This includes Player of the Year awards and runner-up teams not collecting their silverware on the night. It was highlighted that a €200 fine will be in place for next year if you don’t attend the awards night if required to. Questions were asked about the voting for the Player of the Year and the integrity of the award itself. A mechanic for the process of how the awards are voted on is open to change.
Finally, the Pat Maher Shield will start the Junior division at the end of August with league games to follow in September before the Leinster competition goes ahead. The youth ranks look set to start the first week of September.
Text in 0833069696 Live this Saturday from 2-6 pm to get your thoughts across or contact us below
