Cork Senior A Hurling Championship

The Cork Senior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as The Echo Cork County Senior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork SAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the second tier senior clubs in the county of Cork in Ireland.

Cork Senior A Hurling Championship
Current season or competition:
2020 Cork Senior A Hurling Championship
IrishCraobh Iomána Sinsearach A Chorcaí
CodeHurling
Founded2020 (2020)
Region Cork (GAA)
No. of teams12
SponsorsThe Echo
Official websiteCork GAA

The Cork Senior A Championship was introduced in 2020 following a split in the existing Cork Senior Hurling Championship. It is the second tier overall in the entire Cork hurling championship system.

In its current format, the Cork Senior A Championship begins in April. The 12 participating club teams are 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 Chaoimh in October. The winner of the Cork Senior A Championship gains automatic promotion to the Cork Premier Senior Championship. The three bottom-placed teams contest a relegation battle with the losing team being relegated to the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship.

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.[1] On 2 April 2019, a majority of 136 club delegates voted in favour of the proposals which proposed that one round of games would be played in April, with two more in August.[2] The decision meant that, for the first time since 1887, the top tier of Cork hurling would be split in two into the Cork Premier Senior Championship and the Cork Senior A Championship.

The championship

Format

Group stage: The 12 teams are expected to be 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 Premier Senior Hurling Championship for the following year.

Participating teams
Team Location Colours
Bandon Bandon Yellow and white
Ballymartle Riverstick Green and yellow
Bride Rovers Rathcormac Green, white and yellow
Charleville Charleville Red and white
Cloyne Cloyne Red and black
Fermoy Fermoy Black and yellow
Fr. O'Neill's Ballymacoda/Ladysbridge Green and red
Kanturk Kanturk Green and yellow
Killeagh Killeagh Green and white
Kilworth Kilworth Red and white
Mallow Mallow Red and yellow
Newcestown Newcestown Red and yellow

Sponsorship

In keeping with its sponsorship deal for all Cork hurling and football championships, The Echo newspaper was unveiled as a sponsor for the Cork Senior A Hurling Championship.

Venues

Group stage
Páirc Uí Chaoimh; the expected location of the final

Fixtures in the group stage of the championship will played at a neutral venue that is deemed halfway between the participating teams. Some of the more common venues may include Mallow GAA Complex, Brinny Sportsfield, Coachford Pitch, Clonmult Memorial Park and Páirc Uí Rinn.

Final

Páirc Uí Chaoimh was proposed to host the final, possibly as the curtain raiser to the Premier Senior Championship final.

Managers

Managers in the Cork Senior A Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

List of finals
Year Winners Score Runners-up Score Winning captain Venue
2020

References
  1. Cormican, Eoghan (26 March 2019). "Here's a breakdown of the proposals to restructure the Cork county championships". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  2. "Cork clubs vote down radical restructuring proposals". RTÉ Sport. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
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