Feile under 14 ......

Would like an opinion on this.....

We are a small club played 4 feile games with 12 players
only 1 club we played had 15 or more on their panel so we played with equal amount
Beaten in one game only

Through to 1/4 finals ....met a club who had sufficient number of players we only had 12
Agreement before game with ref and management of both teams was 12 v 12 they took the game or
13 v 12 make a competitive game whoever wins wins...
we played some of the first half with only 11 players as we had 1 injury but he came back on towards end of first half
When we started to take the lead they took off 1 player (12 v 12)
when game was over ref put in final score and win to us beating them by 16 points.
The opposition put in an objection which we appealed and sent in on the Tuesday after the game.
Nobody acknowledged our appeal until we rang and were told our appeal would be held on Sat last?
The draw for the semi finals was carried out on Wednesday and we were excluded our appeal was held on saturday evening and we were told that we would have a decision on Monday (yesterday) we dd receive the decision and guess what the result was awarded to the other team.......please can someone answer me as to why we were led to believe that we could have had any shot at winning our appeal when in reality it was only a time wasting exercise ? we now have 12 under 14 boys who we now have to try and explain this decision to....why are small clubs being penalised to this extent....another thing that really annoyed me was that the group co-ordinator advised our club representative that we should try and keep this team together for the up coming league .........WHY ? so they can be put in divisions with bigger clubs who will take the result of the game whether we win or not.....And here are we as parents trying to encourage kids to stay involved in sports because they are the future of our county football???????I think the rules need to be questioned seriously

I assume that the decision to uphold the objection was made by Bord na nÓg or some sub-committee of it? If so, you can appeal this to the county board, where I would think that the hearings committee would at least give you a chance to state your case.

In any case, your first stop should be your club secretary to find out what exactly were the reasons behind the decisions rather than asking us to speculate when we don't know the full facts.

The full facts are written above why would you need to speculate? clubs with small numbers are being penalised because the rules are such that the game should start with 13 and you have to use 15 at some stage....the decision to award the points to the opposition came from the county board....how can we use 13 or 15 for that matter if we don't have them and its not for the want of trying....at half nine on a Sunday morning we knock on doors and ring parents to try and get kids involved I'm sure other clubs have the same problem and the most annoying thing is that there is now a club gone through to a Feile under 14 semi final having played only one game in the competition which was against us and they lost that, all the rest of their games came as a result of walk overs ....someone needs to wake up and smell the roses.....

Someone needs to get up off their arses in the county board and start doing their jobs properly. Surely when they team sheets going in they can see that a club is struggling with numbers. They need to high light this problem not come up with stupid rules that only effects small club. Where is the justice in young lads going out to play a match at a big disadvantage, to win by 16 points and then for them to be told the match has been taken from them. Sorry but its nothing but a joke. Young lads playing their heart and soul out for a club, and then to be treated like this. Is it any wonder Kildare football is where it is today. Nothing but a show of cowboys sitting up making up rules. Should all be ashamed of themselves.

foste2011

As County Board only meet once each month, on the first Tuesday, your club has known this since first Tue of March or

it was not a County Board decision................................. either Bord Na nÓg or Disciplinary Sub-

Appeal to CB is still an option but were rules there about having to start with minimum 13 & HAVE A FULL 15 not there before the competition started . If so you dont really stand a chance............ Ur rep on Bord Na Óg should have known

Kelf....to be quite honest with you I don't think it really matters at this point where we go or what we do the bottom line is that small rural clubs are suffering at the hands of the people who make the rules there has to be a solution to this problem somewhere so that children can play the game otherwise our underage is gone and when you think about it 75% of the clubs in our division were in the same boat we didn't have a problem playing 12 v 12 and neither did they all it took was one shower to come in and whinge about it...easy route to a semi final for them... I wish them luck (NOT)
The fact that they played 13 against our 12 and 11 when one of ours got injured shows the true sporting people that they are...and then to beat them by 16 points ....I THINK THEY DESERVE TO BE IN A SEMI FINAL....?

The people who make the rules for Féile in Kildare are the Delegates from each club who bother to attend Bord Na nÓg.

So u would be better off having a word with your own club delegate and find out what contribution he/she made when the rules were being set............... did they try to get a provision for your 12/13 players.

I'm not a GAA member in Kildare but came from a small rural club so I know full well how it is and totally agree with you on the "sporting" attitude of those stickler for the rules opponents who have got their semi-final spot. I was involved in an organisation where we insisted that's teams play with equal numbers..................

Bad form on any club taking advantage like that, I remember something similar happening my own club once, however I also recall a club only bringing the minimum to an u/12 tounament where the rule was that you had to use all your players during a game so that they always have their best players on the field.

More small clubs will have to look at amalgamations the way things are going

lillyboy....Totally agree with you on this seems to be the only way forward

To me, it's in the same boat as objecting to a team having an U16 player in an U21 or senior game... no team I'd ever be involved with would do it because it would be an embarrassment. Beaten by 16 points by a team with one less player? Why would you even put them through the torture of getting beaten again in a semi-final? Shameful.

Ogie....I think its shameful too we were at a disadvantage straight away....then to beat them by 16 points and not get through....that said if we didn't agree to let them use 13, the result was theirs, or we would have had to give a walkover....if we gave a walkover it meant that the team in question got into the semi final of a feile competition on walkovers....the game we played against them was their first game of the competition because other clubs couldnt field enough players to play against them....why bother encouraging kids at all?

Why not name and shame the club

Exactly, name them. Sounds like a nasty stroke pulled and a win-at-all-costs mentality by a group of adults that is hurting a bunch of under-14s through either costing the worthy victors or showing the team that were second best that it doesn't matter how as long as you advance. That really is despicable.

All might not be lost foster2011 the format for this years feile has been changed. This year there will be National, Provincial and regional feile finals so there is still a chance that your team could still go to the national finals in connacht, its all down to grading by the kildare county board and it looks like the team that wins the kildare feile will be only going to the provincial finals

The observer wrote:

All might not be lost foster2011 the format for this years feile has been changed. This year there will be National, Provincial and regional feile finals so there is still a chance that your team could still go to the national finals in connacht, its all down to grading by the kildare county board and it looks like the team  that wins the kildare feile will be only going to the provincial finals

Surely that's not the point though.

no and i never said it was, what happened was totally wrong and unfair, just pointing out they could still get to the nationals and the team that thought they were being smart might only get to the provincials

Name and shame is right..." CAPPAGH"

EDITED BY ADMIN

The format for this years feile is being changed. When i heard it first it was supposed to be changed as some clubs were getting way to competitive in their preparation and it was going back to less competitive and county boards were selecting the clubs going forward. This year all the semi finalists in the A Feile plus the winners of the B Feile go forward to the regional and national Feile. Think that's what came out at last months county board meeting anyhow. Bit disappointing to see that, its a great experience and all clubs should feel that they could take their team to Feile. Think this decision was made outside of kildare though which in itself is a strange one too. As for the other decision, its also disappointing and seems unsporting but i'd imagine rules are being followed. Grading will follow for u14 league after feile and they may regret claiming the result as it may end up that they play in a higher division based on how far they went in Feile

Its hardly their fault if other clubs gave them a walkover though. Not playing devils advocate here but its a very unusual set of circumstances in the group stages and a very unfortunate one in qtrs. Never heard of that before

Yeah you're right Fatherted....it's not their fault that the other clubs gave them a walkover however the Feile review committee of 2014 did propose the following:

(The aim will be to match teams of similar standards across each of the three tournament formats. To facilitate this, Counties will run internal Féile tournaments. It is hoped that all clubs would enter a team, including those who may field teams at reduced numbers e.g. 13 or 11-a-side.)

I think that maybe other kids are being hard done by too,and if the above is the rule why should it ever be neccessary to give a team a walkover if you have 12 players?

Its a complete joke what small clubs have to go through. Sorry not only the clubs but the those players, such a young age to win a game by such a margin and then too be told they lost and are out of the competition. How can this be justified by any board or the beating team. JOKE is all i can say. How people sleep is beyond me. Lets hope justice will be done for these young players.

Just looking at my comment that has been edited by admin...deleted was the comment about the bad behaviour and sportsmanship of the Cappagh management and also deleted was the GAA motto

GIVE RESPECT GET RESPECT

Sums up the thinking of Kildare football ... The truth always hurts.

Well done Milltown on your great win today

Well said olliethewallly. GIVE RESPECT GET RESPECT should be highlighted everywhere.

Feile finals on this weekend, best of luck to all teams involved with the chance of heading to the national feile

Lads and ladies, does anybody know how many teams are going to national feile this year? I know Naas won both football and hurling so they travelling, who else is going? And what's our underage like? Have we much of a chance and is our underage that's coming through strong