GAA clubs in Cork have been offered an opportunity to drastically alter their county championship structure, and strike a blow for the club player whose schedule is so readily disturbed by the goings on at inter-county level.
At a meeting of the Cork county board last night, club delegates were presented with three potential solutions that may feasibly address the divide that exists between inter-county players and those sole practitioners of the club game.
Whereas options A and B proposed two club championship structures that would see games played either side of the All-Ireland championship series, it is the third available option that certainly caught the imagination.
Opting to play a selection of their club championship games across the Summer months, the proposal would see Cork clubs playing a number of their championship games without their inter-county players.
With clubs guaranteed five group games in the Cork county championship, the implementation of that third option would likely see clubs play two games in May without the services of their inter-county talent.
From the outset, Cork GAA outlined the reasoning behind this notable deviation.
"Recognising the frustration of members with regard to the dominance of the inter-county scene on club fixture programmes," the report read, "it was widely accepted that this is unlike to change greatly in the short term."
"Therefore, the requirement to reform our own championship structures was clear. Integral to any positive outcome in this regard would be a definite calendar for club games."
Given six days to ponder which of the three proposals will be the most favourable, it will be intriguing as to whether Cork clubs opt to implement a plan that would see many of them compete without their star players.
Nevertheless, it is a first tentative step in addressing a situation that will, one way or another, require a radical change.
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