Referee recruitment is under
OUR new Centre in Currans became operational in January of this year.
The huge amount of time, effort and commitment by many people has now culminated into a state of the art facility second to none and something that we can be very proud of.
I’m happy to say that the development has been commented upon by all who have visited or used it as being one of the very best in terms of design, layout and quality of finish.
Our challenge now is to build upon what has been achieved to date and in this regard we will continue to ensure that Currans becomes a shining light of best practice in coaching, strength & conditioning, Medical, Physiotherapy and Nutrition.
Our vision is to foster and facilitate collective thinking and expertise in one location that will inevitably result in all our teams and players are given the very best chance of success.
We now have a state of the art facility where all our training and preparation can take place in one location.
In May, the fit out of the Gym was completed and we must acknowledge the Department of Sport who provided a Sports Capital grant which went towards paying for this equipment.
Over the course of the year to date we have been slowly completing the remaining parts of the project and while we need to be prudent with our finances will continue to complete and fully finish the development in a structured manner over the next number of years.
Quite a number of our Clubs have used the facility over the past
two
months in particular and I believe that over time this project will prove itself to be one of the best Strategic decisions taken by Kerry GAA in the promotion and development of Football and hurling in the County.
MURPHY ON THE FUTURE
In the year to date we have achieved most of the objectives set out at the start of the year:
• Communication links with our clubs have improved and the Chairperson and Secretary initiative will continue into the future
• Each and every one of our County Teams are given the best possible chance of success by providing all the resources necessary for success in a prudent manner
• Our medical, physio and S&C programmes have been further developed and streamlined to protect the future development of our players and coaches by having a fully functional highly motivated team irrespective of who happens to hold a managerial position
• Our three-year Strategic Plan was published and thanks to Joe Crowley and Willie O’Connor for their time and commitment in achieving this
• Our Finance Committee has developed further this year and constantly review both operational & capital requirements as well as strategically looking forward.
• We continue in our endeavours to maximise sustainable funding opportunities
• We have now put in place the necessary supports with particular emphasis on player development and progression together with strength and conditioning
• We continue to assist both the Austin Stack Park and Fitzgerald Stadium Committees in developing both stadiums in as far as possible but within our financial capacity
Adecrease in the number of new referees coming on board in Kerry - and the reasons for the shortfall in GAA referees in the county - were highlighted at annual Convention last Monday, with an impassioned plea for every club to supply at least one referee and a call on everyone in the Association to show far more respect for the match officials.
Pat Sheehy from the Referees Committee outlined ot delegates the problems facing the committee in relation to recruitment of new referees and the retention of existing ones. He stressed that the responsibility for providing referees to officiate games in the county lies with the clubs, but said too many were negligent in their obligation.
“Clubs have to nominate referees,” Mr Sheehy said. “In 2017 clubs nominated 120 referee and after making contact with them all we found that only 70 were available. That was just to fill the Eolaire, some of them weren’t even in the country, and yet some of our clubs nominated them to referee our matches. Some of them had gone out of the country a year or two before that.”
He told delegates that of the eight senior clubs in the county only three have active referees, the 16 Intermediate and 16 Premier Junior clubs have 10 active referees each, and the 18 Junior clubs provide only nine active referees qualified to officiate senior grade matches. The 16 hurling clubs only seven have active referees.
“Someone earlier this year at a meeting said they wanted a referee and linesmen at all county championship matches. At the height of the club championships we have 28 matches, so for that to take place we need 84 referees to cover the sidelines. We don’t have them,” Mr Sheehy said. “Ye (clubs) must supply them to us. We have to supply 84 people on a weekend so some of them have to do two matches, Saturday and Sunday.
“In 1992 we had 10 more referees than we have this year. And the unfortunate thing is that in 1992 six clubs had no referee and today the same six clubs have no referee. So some clubs are not doing anything at all about it.”
Mr Sheehy said the issue of respect or lack of it towards referees was also a problem, and something every club has to address.
“New referees are appointed to referee underage games and this is where we would ask ye to give them a chance. We have no problem with what happens inside the white line, it’s what happens outside (the line) when he’s coming off the field. There’s no point in us getting a heap of names and then losing them year after year. We had it this year where a (young) referee was taking charge of his second match and he was abused highly by a parent coming off the field. He rang me and he was in tears. Now that’s not acceptable.
“I tried to convince him and I failed, he threw his bag away. I asked his father and he said ‘no, I’m not putting him through that anymore’. His second match, and he was very interested in it and he was gutted. A parent who abused the hell out of him for no reason at all only because she didn’t like the result of the game.”
Mr Sheehy said that recent recruitment