Competitions 2024 for Ballinora GAA
Spring 2024 is upon us and the new GAA season is under way. Ballinora GAA will have teams playing throughout 2024 in lots of league and championship competitions. So what competitions have we entered this season? Lets take a look.
Below is a list of competitions that we will be competing in throughout 2024. We’ll be keeping an eye on these throughout the season. Watch out for updates on our social media channels, particularily during the championship time. The very best of luck to all of our players involved in all the competitions in 2024! 🔴🟢💪🍀
Adult Leagues
The Adult Hurling and Football Leagues run off from March to June. The top 10 teams in the County play in County Division 1 and the next 10 teams in County Division 2, etc. There are 7 county league divisions. The remaining teams play within their own region rather than at county level. For these teams there are 3 divisions in each region (8 regions). There is promotion and relegation for the top and bottom placed teams in each division at the end of the league competitions. There are multiple teams from clubs, playing across different divisions. The leagues are often used as preparation for championship. Below is the list of league competitions and where Ballinora have teams entered.
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- County Divisions 1 to 5
- County Division 6 (includes Ballinora’s first football team)
- County Division 7 (includes Ballinora’s first hurling team)
- Regional (Muskerry) Division 1
- Regional (Muskerry) Division 2 (includes Ballinora’s second football team)
- Regional (Muskerry) Division 3 (includes Ballinora’s second hurling team)
Adult Championships
The Adult Hurling and Football Championships run off over the summer months and into the autumn. The top 12 teams in the County play at Premier Senior grade, and the next 12 teams play at Senior A grade, etc. There are 5 county grades. The remaining teams play within their own region. For these teams there are 3 grades per region (Junior A, Junior B, Junior C). There is promotion and relegation for the top and bottom placed teams in each of the top 5 grades at the end of the championship competitions. At the Junior A/B/C grades, each regional winner goes on to play in an inter-regional county competition. The overall Junior A county winner is promoted to Premier Junior, while at Junior B the regional winners can be promoted within their region to Junior A. Below is the list of championship competitions and where Ballinora have teams entered.
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- County, Premier Senior
- County, Senior A
- County, Premier Intermediate
- County, Intermediate A (includes Ballinora’s first football team)
- County, Premier Junior
- Regional (Muskerry), Junior A (includes Ballinora’s first hurling & second football teams)
- Regional (Muskerry), Junior B (includes Ballinora’s second hurling team)
- Regional (Muskerry) Junior C
Juvenile League & Championship (Rebel Og)
The Juvenile Hurling and Football leagues are run off over the spring and the championships over summer months and into the autumn. The top 8 teams in the County play at Premier 1 grade, and the next 8 teams play at Premier 2 grade. There are only 2 county grades at Juvenile. The remaining teams play within a more localised region. Ballinora typically play in the Mid/South region but from time to time play in other regions depending on team numbers. There are typically 2-3 divisions per region (Division 1 to 3). At the regional grades, each regional championship winner goes on to play in an inter-regional county competition. The remaining teams often finish their season with shield or plate playoff games. There are multiple teams from the larger clubs, playing across different grades. Below is the list of championship grade competitions and where Ballinora have teams entered.
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- County, Premier 1 (includes Ballinora’s U14 hurlers and footballers)
- County, Premier 2 (includes Ballinora’s U16 hurlers)
- Regional, Division 1 (includes Ballinora’s U18 Hurlers, U18 Footballers, U16 footballers)
- Regional, Division 2
- Regional, Division 3
The club’s goal is to encourage as much participation as possible so at Juvenile there are many teams formed from U18 down to young ages. The main championship grades are even-aged (U18/U16/U14). Players at odd numbered ages (U13/U15/U17) typically play with the teams a year above. However when there are large numbers at both ages, another team is often entered into a C3 competition or else at the year above but at a lower grade. For example in 2024, the U14s are playing in U14 Premier 1 competitions while the U13s have been entered to U14 Mid Division 2. If time permits towards the end of the season, some odd numbered aged championships are typically run off.
Younger Juveniles
Ballinora U12s have their first taste of competitive action as they transition into Youth Gaelic Games. U12 competitions are divided into a 2 phase league with the Phase 1 league providing a basis for “grading” clubs for the latter Phase 2. In 2024 Ballinora U12s will be playing grading matches in Group 2 Section 2 in Hurling and Football.
Ballinora teams younger than U12s do not enter any competitions and train and play in “Go Games” which refers to a games development pathway focused on developing functional movement skills and the early acquisition of the specific skills of Gaelic Games. Ballinora GAA has boys teams training at U7, U8, U9, U10 and U11 ages. Rebel Og organises monster blitzes at U7 and U8. And U9, 10 and 11 matches are scheduled on a regular basis to give the young boys an opportunity to develop and hone their skills further.
