NEWS:HALTING THE practice of using the competition as a laboratory for experimenting with playing rules and reviewing the disbursement of gate receipts have emerged as suggestions for enhancing the National Leagues.

In the GAA director general, Páraic Duffy’s, annual report he also dismissed calls for the competition to be started in the autumn.

Speaking about the growing tendency for interest in the leagues to be most pronounced at the start of the season before tapering off, he said: “There are a number of reasons for this. After the winter break, players and supporters welcome the return to action, which gives a boost to the early rounds of the competitions.

“In addition, many counties see the winning of promotion or staying in their division as their primary goal, the consequence of which is that, having achieved these less ambitious objectives before the end of the league, counties’ attention turns towards the championships. As a result, the finals of the leagues appear to excite less enthusiasm and interest than heretofore.”

Turning his attention to how interest in the competitions might be increased, Duffy identified the use of the leagues as a testing ground for playing and disciplinary rules changes as an area that needs to be looked at.

“It is probably true that frequent rule-experimentation in the leagues has detracted somewhat from their status. We need, therefore, to look at alternative competitions in which to conduct such experimentation.”

Noting that the most effective marketing of league matches is done by the counties themselves, he said he was disappointed with some of the commitment shown to date. Counties could greatly assist in the promotion of matches, if only by insisting “that team managers announce their teams five days before the game. There is no more effective means of marketing games than the advance announcement of team selections, reconciling with the publication dates of local and national newspapers and the needs of local radio.”

Duffy also mentioned the possibility of reviewing the current system of distributing gate receipts. At present a percentage goes into a central fund for allocation to less successful counties whose revenues aren’t as strong.

“It may also be worth revisiting the system whereby counties are not allowed to retain all of their home league “gates”. The “pool” system is important, as is the underlying principle of the strong supporting the weak, but the benefits that would accrue to less wealthy counties could be compensated for by some adjustments to the general system of annual financial allocations from Central Council.

“It seems to me that the most significant incentive to counties to market the leagues enthusiastically would be the knowledge that any increase in revenues arising from increased attendances would increase their income.”

Finally, the director general looked at the merits of the case for moving the leagues back to before Christmas, as was the case up until 2001. “Among the arguments offered was that it would release dates for club activity, clear the way for a closed season and increase media coverage later in the year. Formerly, when three or more rounds were played before Christmas, there were constant complaints about counties fielding weakened teams. Indeed, the negative media coverage generated in relation to the leagues at that time was due to this very issue.”

At yesterday’s launch, he added that when chair of Monaghan, the county used to hope to get fixtures against strong counties listed for the early rounds when the opponents would probably be under-strength.

“It was also extremely difficult to promote effectively a competition that was played over eight months.

“As far as the closed season is concerned, a pre-Christmas league would virtually guarantee an extension of the time players spend in training with county rather than club, and would serve merely to reduce the period during which players can get a break. We should retain the calendar-year leagues.”