Cork Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship

The Cork Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Echo Cork County Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork LIHC) is an annual hurling competition that will be organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2020 and contested by the third tier intermediate clubs in the county of Cork in Ireland. It will be the fifth tier overall in the entire Cork hurling championship system.[1]

Cork Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship
Current season or competition:
2020 Cork Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship
CodeHurling
Founded2020 (2020)
Region Cork (GAA)
No. of teams12
SponsorsThe Echo
Official websiteCork GAA

In its soon-to-be introduced format, the Cork Lower Intermediate Championship will begin in April. The 12 participating club teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams and play each other in a round-robin system. The three group winners and the three runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at Páirc Uí Rinn in October.

History

On 26 March 2019, three championship proposals were circulated to Cork club delegates. A core element running through all three proposals, put together by the Cork GAA games workgroup, was that there be a group stage of 12 teams, as well as straight relegation and promotion.[2] On 2 April 2019, a majority of 136 club delegates voted for Option A which will see one round of games played in April and two more in August – all with county players available.[3]

Prior to the restructuring there were 61 hurling teams spread across Senior (19), Premier Intermediate (16) and Intermediate (26). The plan proposed to gradually reduce the number of teams to 48 come the beginning of the 2022 championships. In order to achieve this figure, the Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship will be in operation for 2020 and 2021. At the end of 2021, these additional teams will be regraded to Junior and the championship will be discontinued.

Format

Overview

Group stage: The 12 teams are divided into three groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, which features one game in April and two games in August, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed at least three games. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top three teams in each group qualify for the knock-out stage.

Play-off: The second best and third best third placed teams from the group stage play off for last quarter-final place.

Quarter-finals: The play-off winner and the seven top-ranking teams from the group stage contest this round. The four winners from these four games advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these four games advance to the semi-finals.

Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions and gain automation promotion to the Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship for the following year.

Participating teams
Team Location Colours
Ballygarvan Ballygarvan Red and white
Ballymartle Riverstick Green and yellow
Barryroe Barryroe Blue and navy
Castlemartyr Castlemartyr Red and white
Dripsey Dripsey Blue and red
Grenagh Grenagh Yellow and blue
Kilbrittain Kilbrittain Black and yellow
Milford Milford Blue and white
Russell Rovers Shanagarry Black and yellow
St. Catherine's Ballynoe Purple and yellow
St. Finbarr's Togher Blue and yellow
Tracton Minane Bridge Green and red

Sponsorship

The Echo will provide the sponsorship for the Cork Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship.

References
  1. Cormican, Eoghan (26 March 2019). "Cork GAA four-tier championship will employ group format". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. Cormican, Eoghan (26 March 2019). "Here's a breakdown of the proposals to restructure the Cork county championships". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. "Cork clubs vote down radical restructuring proposals". RTÉ Sport. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
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