Kilkenny will have to withdraw their Intermediate side from the All Ireland Championships after the camogie association announced they were restructuring it and the Premier Junior Championships.
The direction states that each county can now field just one team in the All-Ireland competitions in each code across Gaelic Games, therefore only the Senior intercounty team in each county can now be accommodated within the competition structures.
It will result in the removal of 10 ‘second’ teams from the Intermediate and Premier Junior Championships.
The All-Ireland Senior Championship will proceed as originally planned.
Kilkenny were due to play Down in their opening game on the 31st of October.
This is the statement from the Camogie Association:
The Camogie Association have received direction from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in relation to the operation of the intercounty All-Ireland Championship competitions, due to the latest Public Health advice in relation to COVID-19. Upon direction received yesterday evening (Thursday, October 22nd) it is with regret that we must announce restructuring of the 2020 Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate and Premier Junior Championships.
The directions states that each county can now field just one team in the All-Ireland competitions in each code across Gaelic Games. Therefore only the Senior intercounty team in each county can now be accommodated within our competition structures for this year’s All-Ireland Camogie Championships which will result in the removal of 10 ‘second’ teams from our Intermediate and Premier Junior Championships.
As a result the Intermediate and Premier Junior Championships will be redrawn upon confirmation of participation from the teams involved, and details of revised fixtures will be issued next week. Results from this weekend’s remaining fixtures will be carried forward into these competitions.
We appreciate that this news will come as a great disappointment to all players, management teams and volunteers involved with the teams affected, who have trained and prepared for many weeks to compete in this year’s competitions. These steps have been taken however to ensure compliance with Government direction and that our games can continue during the current COVID-19 restrictions across the island of Ireland.
The All-Ireland Senior Championship will proceed as originally planned.
Full details of the revised competition structures will be announced in due course.
It is imperative that we all play our part in the coming weeks to play our games in a safe environment and we remind all involved in our games to remain vigilant in ensuring that the highest standards are maintained in relation to COVID-19 health and safety protocols at our games.