The Wexford GAA board has decided to change its club championship format and will now introduce alternate blocks between domestic football and hurling championship competitions.
In the past three seasons the Wexford board had opted for a split-season structure. This saw the hurling championships played initially with the series lasting eight weeks and typically ending a fortnight before September.
It left the path clear for the football championships to take place over the following eight weeks.For a county with such dual demands the system was favoured by many. But there were concerns with the intensity that such a schedule contained, with matches coming on a quickfire basis in both codes.
A call for change had been voiced and considered by the executive and delegates in recent months and despite two speakers batting in favour of retaining the split season format, last night's board meeting saw an overwhelming call for a new schedule.
Instead of the split-series blocks there will now be rotating two-to-three-week blocks for hurling and footbal l played from the start of both championships on a basis determined by the county's competitions control committee.
When competitions reach the quarter-final, semi-final and final stages, alternate weekends would then be set aside for each code, however, to allow teams time to prepare between these key games. A motion to present the football championships at eight clubs per grade was withdrawn.
On a broader level, the board has pointed out that while Gaelic football has received much attention and man hours from officers in recent years, interest in getting involved in initiatives or development squads is exceptionally low.
The board feel that the recent establishment of a football development committee chaired by David Murphy and Seamus Hughes is crucial to providing a heartbeat for football in the county and say that their current senior panel are also determined to work on and off the pitch to grow the game.
Last year saw gate receipts of almost €400,000 from Wexford hurling competitions with €150,000 taken in from Gaelic football games.
Streaming revenue from hurling games amounted to just under €75,000,with football streaming revenue bringing in just over €31,000.
