Rising to Celtic challenge

THIS Wednesday, the official launch takes place at Croke Park of the Celtic Challenge hurling tournament. It’s a vision of what can be achieved when freed of the politics and limitations of the provincial system. The inaugural competition in 2016 featured 38 teams and over 1,000 players with 118 games played over a seven-week period, including five divisional finals. This year it’s even bigger and better with 155 games to be provided to over 1,400 players on 47 teams. It features players, aged 16 and 17, who are not participating in State Examinations during May and June 2017. It is brainchild of the Hurling Development Committee who are currently looking at radical reform of the Liam MacCarthy Cup – and all the evidence points to a round-robin format in hurling’s flagship competition. The only question is when.