Ballincollig forced to play camogie and ladies football championship games on same day
The Ballincollig Ladies Junior football team.
With a large crossover of players, Ballincollig Camogie team and Ladies Footballers are being asked to play on the same day this weekend.
Their Premier Intermediate camogie quarter-final against Ballinhassig is scheduled for 12pm on Sunday in Bishopstown, while the Junior football team are due to play Dripsey in a county semi-final in Ballincollig at 3pm.
That could impact up to seven starters, who will be playing back-to-back championship games. This latest dual clash comes on the same weekend when Watergrasshill were slated to play camogie and ladies football games at the same time, though that fixture dilemma was solved by Nemo Rangers agreeing to move their game to Saturday evening.
— Ballincollig LGFA (@BcolligLGFA) September 19, 2024
In a statement from Ballincollig Ladies Football Club, they outlined their frustrations.
“Ballincollig Ladies Football Club are understandably very disappointed with the events of this week,” it said.
“As a club, we work hard to make sure that we are constantly striving ahead and we take player welfare seriously, and we feel we have been let down by our County Board. We would question the necessity to get these games played at all costs. We are playing at Junior F grade and do not continue playing on to a Munster competition if we are successful in the county championship. Hence, we are not under time restrictions to get the games completed.
"The feeling that we have this week is one of despair and anger."
Ballincollig already had a fixture clash in recent weeks, with camogie and ladies football group games on the same afternoon and in that case, they divided the dual players between the codes. There was hope a resolution to the current issue would be forthcoming on Thursday evening, but there was no white smoke.
Both boards set their championship dates at the outset of the season without factoring in dual players. The onus is put on the clubs to agree on any changes in throw-in times or dates.
Ideally, camogie and ladies football boards would have separate days for championship games but that's complicated by access to venues. The camogie board use their Castle Road venue as much as possible while Cork ladies football doesn't own a central ground.
An email from a key dual player for Ballincollig was sent to the Cork LGFA a week ago but never received a response.
“I’m a member of Ballincollig Ladies Football Club and Ballincollig Camogie Club. As a dual player playing both football and camogie in Ballincollig, there has recently been a clash between both codes with championship matches set for the same date,” the player stated.
“Both clubs in Ballincollig worked tirelessly together to resolve this problem. However, due to set dates, they were unable to change either match to accommodate the dual players. This has been extremely frustrating and disappointing as I, along with fellow dual players, did not want to have to choose between both codes. In the end, both management teams, by mutual agreement, directed the players on which game to play.
“As it stands, there is a clash on Sunday, September 22, as Ballincollig camogie team has qualified for a quarter-final, and Ballincollig ladies have qualified for a semi-final.
“I would appreciate it if the board would address this issue urgently. I hope a resolution will be found.” the statement concluded.
Cork LGFA and Cork Camogie have been contacted for comment.
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