CONGRESS TO DECIDE SHC PLACE.

Byline: PAT NOLAN 

CARLOW'S place in the All-Ireland SHC should be copperfastened on October 10 when the GAA holds a Special Congress on the matter.

Having met at the weekend, Central Council has drawn up a Championship structure that allows the Barrowsiders to form a 13-team top flight after confusion arose about the relegation structure this year.

As Christy Ring winners, Carlow presumed that they automatically won promotion as a result of a motion passed at Annual Congress in April.

However, that was thrown out by the DRA after Antrim raised issues about its constitution. The DRA did recommend that Carlow be accommodated though and Central Council has followed up on that by drawing up a slightly altered structure to allow for one extra team.

It is now all but certain that this year's relegation final between Antrim and Wexford will not be played, barring a highly unlikely scenario whereby Special Congress rejected the Central Council proposal.

PROPOSED The main difference between next year's proposed structure and this year's is the need for a preliminary round in phase one of the qualifiers as the number of teams entering at that stage increases from four to five.

Thereafter the Championship will continue from that point as it did this year. There will be a requirement for an extra game in the relegation play-offs as five teams take part with one county dropping.

The motion also covers all four tiers with eight teams in both the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard Cups and seven in the Lory Meagher Cup. As Rackard Cup winners, Meath would gain promotion to the Christy Ring Cup with Meagher Cup holders Tyrone replacing them in the third tier.

There is no indication in the Central Council motion on how the Leinster SHC will run with the number of teams increased from seven to eight.

It is a matter for provincial councils as to how they run their competitions and though an eight-team structure appears to be more straightforward, the Leinster Council may introduce a seeding structure or preliminary round to ensure that, for example, Carlow aren't exposed to the might of Kilkenny early on.

The 13-team structure may not last beyond next year though as Central Council plans to bring forward further proposals at Annual Congress next April concerning the number of teams in each tier as well as the promotion and relegation process.

CAPTION(S):

JOY Mark Brennan lifts the Christy Ring trophy