Campbellians opt out over pitch row

MEN'S HOCKEY:CAMPBELLIANS HC have withdrawn from the Irish Hockey Challenge, an all-Ireland competition, in a dispute with St Brendan's.

Campbellians, the holders of the trophy, were due to play St Brendan’s in one of the semi-finals over the weekend.

Campbellians’ expectation was that the match would be played on St Brendan’s’ regular home pitch, the synthetic surface at RCSI. However, the Dublin club fixed the match on grass in Phoenix Park.

Campbellians claim St Brendan’s used a loophole in the IHA competition rules to their advantage. In a letter outlining their reason for withdrawing, the Ulster club claim St Brendan’s have used the rules to play on a surface no longer used by many clubs.

“Whilst our position remains that senior hockey in the 21st century should ideally be played on a synthetic surface, the Campbellians club fully supports the fundamental spirit of IHA competition Rule 9.5.1 (not to exclude from the national challenge competitions those clubs who regularly play their home fixtures on a shale surface).

“It is, however, our contention that a grass pitch can in no conceivable manner ever be construed as a ‘regular’ home surface in this day and age. Consequently the fundamental spirit of Rule 9.5.1 has clearly been cynically abandoned.”

The Ulster club goes on to say that, as grass is not used anymore, the team members do not even possess studded boots and that cost alone would be in excess of €1,000. To play on the grass without studded boots would then, they claim, be a health hazard.

St Brendan’s claim the match should have been played, while the Ulster club says the whole ordeal has been a “fiasco”.

Campbellians also state they do not expect to face censure from the IHA over the matter.

St Brendan’s now meet Limerick in the final.